DALTON, Mass. — The Wahconah girls basketball team Wednesday got revenge against Hoosac Valley with a 54-47 win at home. 

 

After trailing for most of the game in the first meeting between these two teams, Wahconah (9-2) was hoping to make sure that wasn’t the case tonight. It started off well, causing all sorts of issues for Hoosac Valley with its press and active zone pressure.

 

The issue for Wahconah on Wednesday was on the offensive end, where they struggled to find consistent good looks. Hoosac Valley started to dominate the offensive glass helping them offset their lack of shot making early on. Midway through the first quarter, Hoosac Valley went on a 10-0 run to give them a 12-6 lead, but Wahconah started to find its stroke from outside, knocking down three triples and taking a slight edge after one, 15-14.

 

The second quarter is where Wahconah really made itself present on the defensive end, holding Hoosac Valley to just four points. This has been a strong quarter for Wahconah all season long, and that stingy defense really helped get some easy looks in transition and more importantly forced Hoosac Valley into some quick foul trouble after turnovers

 

Wahconah also did a much better job handling the pressure of Hoosac Valley, something that has been an issue all season long. 

 

“We did really well with our press break,” Wahconah coach Liz Kay said. “It’s been an Achilles heel, but we were more composed today and shot the ball better.

 

“But, ultimately, we had a really good night defensively. When you see Dani Barry diving on the floor with two minutes left in the game you know you’re not going to lose. That play really inspired energy out of us.” 

 

Wahconah went into the break with a 29-18 lead thanks to Anna Doyle, who scored 10 in the half and 17 on the night. Madison McCarthy helped carry the load with 16 of her own points.

 

Wahconah came out strong to start the second half, looking like they would run away with this one but Hoosac Valley did a good job weathering the storm and keeping the deficit around 10 points after giving Wahconah its biggest lead of the night.

 

The Hurricanes fought back and started the fourth quarter on a quick 4-0 run to get the game into single digits. Wahconah struggled offensively in the fourth and finally got their first basket with just less than 5 minutes to go. Hoosac Valley made one last push at the end of the game, cutting the deficit to just six points with less than a minute left, but time was not on their side as Wahconah was able to knock down a few free throws and end any chance of a comeback win for the Hurricanes. 

 

This was Wahconah’s fifth straight win, and it will look to add to that streak Saturday when it takes on Taconic, on the road. 

 

Hoosac Valley will look to end a two-game skid with a home game against Monument Mountain on Saturday afternoon.

 

Photos from this game here.