Saturday, February 21, 2009

DIVISION 1

Amherst Regional

Coach: Christal Murphy

Record: 10-10

Last tournament appearance: Lost to Northampton 64-38 in 2008 western Massachusetts Division 1 quarterfinals

Leaders: Alyssa Leonard (15.6 points per game), Mariah Lesure (7.71), Jenna Klaes (7.33)

Key wins: Chicopee Comp twice, Hampshire Regional twice, Holyoke, Belchertown, Lee

Notable losses: Minnechaug, Northampton, East Longmeadow twice, Ludlow twice, Agawam

Outlook: The Hurricanes struggled through an injury-riddled season as their starters missed a total of 10 games. But Amherst is finally close to 100 percent and won five of its last seven games to reach the postseason for the third straight year under Murphy. Amherst played 17 games against tournament teams, the most of any team in western Massachusetts. The trio of Lesure, Nicole DeMarchena and Alex Ferola can rebound with almost anyone and the backcourt duo of Leonard and Klaes are explosive offensively. Leonard, a junior, has scored 927 career points. Ferola, who is the first forward off the bench, is the team's lone senior.

Coach: Perry Messer

Record: 15-5

Last tournament appearance: Beat Andover 50-37 in 2008 state Division 1 final

Leaders: Alannah Driscoll-Sbar (17.9 points per game), Jenny Bell (10.5)

Key wins: Holyoke twice, West Springfield twice, Central, Amherst, Agawam

Notable losses: Minnechaug, East Longmeadow, Mater Dei (Calif.)

Outlook: The defending state champions have struggled down the stretch and need to regroup after finishing the season 1-3. The team appeared to hit its stride midway through the season, rolling off seven straight wins before losing to East Longmeadow on senior night on Feb. 11. The Blue Devils beat Holyoke the next day, but lost a pair of games at the Westborough Invitational Tournament in subpar performances by a team used to overwhelming its opponents. Foul trouble and frustration have been major issues recently. Driscoll-Sbar enters the postseason with 1,119 career points, which is the fifth best mark in school history and fourth among girls. Bell has 926 career points, but is even more dominating on the defensive end. Fellow senior captain Sicard is the team's top rebounder and inside defender.

Other contenders

Minnechaug (17-2) and East Longmeadow (18-2) are likely to draw the top two seeds and are the lone western Massachusetts teams to beat Northampton this year.

The Falcons are led by athletic post player Bridget Crowley, who is headed to Amherst College next year. She averages 12.3 points per game, but is even more valuable on the defensive end, where she sets the tone in Minnechaug's aggressive zone defense.

The Spartans have won 15 of 16 to finish the year behind strong play from junior forward/center Krista Ferrentino (15.5 points per game).

Ludlow (15-5) is led by the program's all-time leading scorer - and first-ever 1,000-point girl - Elisha Homich. The Lions were also one of only two teams to knock off Minnechaug.

Central (14-6) has had an up-and-down season under first-year coach Jay Fenlason, but they are athletic and talented. Their wins include Minnechaug and Ludlow and they put a scare into Northampton early in the season.

DIVISION 2

Belchertown

Coach: Jason Woodcock

Record: 12-8

Last tournament appearance: Lost to Palmer 57-53 in 2008 Western Massachusetts Division 2 quarterfinals

Leaders: Katelyn Cavanaugh (9.8 points per game), Kierstin Del Valle (8.4), Briana Del Valle (8.2), Olivia Pare (7.9)

Key wins: Monson, New Leadership

Notable losses: Monument Mountain, Lee, Drury, Palmer twice

Outlook: The Orioles opened the season 8-2, but struggled in the second half after an injury to senior center Kierstin Del Valle, who returned for the last three games of the regular season. Belchertown's biggest strength is its size with the Del Valle sisters inside, but must work hard to protect the ball against the better perimeter defenses.

Frontier Regional

Coach: Ralph Loos

Record: 11-9

Last tournament appearance: Lost to Mahar 72-47 in 2007 Western Massachusetts Division 2 first round

Leaders: Amanda Koldy (7.3 points per game), Molly Wickline (6.8), Melanie Stier (6.2)

Key wins: Smith Academy, Easthampton

Notable losses: Mohawk twice, Athol twice, Mahar twice, Smith Academy, Easthampton, Ware

Outlook: The Red Hawks improved by 10 wins under their first-year coach after missing the tournament last season for the first time in program history. Frontier used an aggressive defense and balanced scoring to finish second in the Franklin South and finished the year with five wins in its final six games.

Gateway Regional

Coach: Elijah Robbins

Record: 11-7

Last tournament appearance: Lost to Mohawk Trail 65-9 in 2008 Western Massachusetts Division 2 first round

Leader: Kaila Arsenault (10.3 points per game)

Key wins: Franklin Tech, Pathfinder

Notable losses: Putnam three times, Franklin Tech twice, Pathfinder twice

Outlook: The Gators reached their second straight postseason since moving down to the Tri-County League last year. Arsenault has been a breakout performer in the league with 10 double-digit scoring performances. Before last season, Gateway had not reached the postseason since 1996, but it has posted back-to-back, 11-win seasons in the Tri-County playing an all-Division 3 schedule.

Hampshire Regional

Coach: Desi Vega

Record: 5-15

Last tournament appearance: Lost to Palmer 56-40 in 2008 Western Massachusetts Division 2 first round

Leaders: Ashlee Moussette (11 points per game), Lauren McGrath (7.1), Stephanie Provo (6.8)

Key wins: Monson, Easthampton, St. Mary, South Hadley

Notable losses: Central, Drury, Wahconah, Northampton, Ludlow twice, East Longmeadow twice, Amherst twice

Outlook: For the second straight year, the Red Raiders reached the postseason by going 4-2 against non-Division 1 teams this season. Their schedule included 14 Division 1 games, by far the most among Division 2 squads. Moussette, the team's point guard, averaged 16.6 points per game against Division 2 and 3 teams this year. The team plays solid defense, especially by McGrath and Moussette in the backcourt.

Other contenders

Defending champion Palmer (20-0) heads a deep field. The Panthers are led by junior standout Alyssa Orszulak (15.9 points per game) and have won 19 of their games by at least 15 points. The only closer game was a 47-41 win at Mahar (17-3).

The Senators are led by forward Genny Averill (13.6 points per game) and 1,000-point scorer Mary Kovacevic (10.9), both seniors. They shared the Franklin North with Mohawk, which went 18-2 behind a balanced scoring attack led by Johanna Miner (11.2 points per game) and Kelsey Schmidt (11.1).

Commerce (18-2) finished the year on a 13-game winning streak behind seniors Tiaunna Nieves (21.3 points per game) and Angie Couyoute (14.9).

Monument Mountain (16-4) returned most of its core from last year's run to the final and tied rival Wahconah Regional (14-6) for the Berkshire North title. Mare McCormick (11.9 points per game) and Darcey Sullivan (11.9) lead the Spartans and Warriors, respectively.

Taylor DeSanty (21.6 points per game) of Drury (14-6) is the leading scorer in the Berkshires this season and the all-time leader at the school.

Athol (16-4) finished third in the Franklin North, but will be a scary matchup after going 7-1 down the stretch with wins over Wahconah, Monument Mountain and Mohawk.

DIVISION 3

Smith Academy

Coach: Ted Wilcox

Record: 13-7

Last tournament appearance: Lost to Granby 56-45 in 2004 Western Massachusetts Division 3 semifinals

Leaders: Abeni Davies (12.7 points per game), Andrea Klepacki (8.9), Allison Slysz (8.8)

Key wins: Athol, Frontier Regional, Easthampton twice

Notable losses: Monson, Mohawk twice, Mahar twice, Athol, Frontier

Outlook: The Falcons improved by 10 wins and won the Franklin South with the help of new coach Wilcox and transfer Davies, an athletic post player who also averaged five blocks per game this season. Klepacki, a center, has improved over the course of her freshmen year, while Slysz has been hot lately, averaging 11.8 points in the team's final four games.

Other contenders

Sixteen-time champion Lee (15-5) returns once again as the favorite of the field after a third-place finish in the Berkshire North behind a balanced scoring attack and intense defense.

Rivals Ware (15-3) and Monson (16-4) shared the Bi-County West title and feature standouts Justine King (19.2 points per game) and Meghan Boyle (17.9), respectively.

New Leadership guard Bilqis Abdul-Qaadir, the first 3,000-point scorer in state history, makes the Wildcats (14-6) a threat against anyone in the field. The senior, who is headed to Memphis next year, is averaging 41.3 points per game this year.

Putnam (18-2) features the best record in the field, but played just two games outside the Tri-County League and lost both to New Leadership and Granby. The Beavers will likely be given the No. 8 seed.