WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. -- The last couple of years, there has been no tougher task for a Berkshire County girls basketball
team than taking on Hoosac Valley.
Playing the Hurricanes the game after their first loss in two years to a team from Western Massachusetts? That is an assignment no one would envy.
Hoosac used 25 points and 11 rebounds from Emily Rosse to knock off Mount Greylock, 67-43, on Monday night in the Mountie Dome.
The Hurricanes (9-1) bounced back nicely from Friday night's loss to Sabis in the Spalding HoopHall Classic down in Springfield.
"I guess that might have refocused them a little," Mount Greylock coach Paul Barrett said with a wry smile. "I'm sure it refocused them a fair amount"
After erasing an early deficit in the third minute of the first quarter, Hoosac held the Mounties at arm's length most of the night.
But the Hurricanes really put the game away with a 13-0 run that spanned the third and fourth quarters and left the visitors with a 53-32 lead.
"At times, we looked good," Hoosac coach Ron Wojcik said. "At times, there are still some things we need to work on. With our defense, there are some holes in it. Offensively, I thought we shared the ball pretty well tonight."
The 'Canes passed out 12 assists, led by McKenzie Robinson's four. Amber Lesure had an assist to go with a couple of 3-pointers in her return to the lineup from an injury that kept her out of the Sabis game.
"Not having Amber hurt us the other night," Wojcik said. "Not to make excuses, I mean Sabis outplayed us in the second half. But Amber is one of our best on-ball defenders. And it helps with the rotation to have her back. You don't have pull kids out of position."
Junior Cassidy McMahon, who started in place of the senior captain again on Monday night, grabbed seven rebounds with three assists and had a steal.
Robinson and Maddie Ryan each scored 10 to back up Rosse's double-double.
Mount Greylock's Lucy Barrett scored 23 -- 17 in the second half. And Jenna Benzinger had a game-high 14 rebounds for the Mounties (4-6).
Barrett hit a 3 on an assist from Lauren Howard with about three minutes left in the third draw Mount Greylock within eight, 40-32.
But Hoosac responded with seven straight to the end of the third: three from Ryan, and two each McMahon and Kailynne Frederick to make it a 15-point game at the break.
Then the Canes started the fourth with a 6-0 run courtesy of triples from Ryan and Lesure. They went on to get three more 3s in the fourth quarter -- two by Rosse -- to maintain their lead.
Although the escore was only marginally closer than the teams' first meeting (59-32), Paul Barrett was encouraged.
"After the way we played last time, I thought we handled the ball better," he said.
"And we found some gaps, and we did a lot. There are definitely a lot of positives to take away from it. But they're a good team.
"They're the standard. So we know what we've got to do. We've got Lee on Thursday, and we'll have to take care of the next one. This was a good stepping stone for us."
Mount Greylock is home for the Wildcats on Thursday while Hoosac Valley hosts Wahconah.
