Hurricanes ride defense to final
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AMHERST - The Amherst Regional offense was off on Wednesday night.
It didn't matter. The defense was plenty good to keep the team undefeated.
The No. 1 Hurricanes overcame three quarters of shooting woes with a suffocating defensive effort to earn a 46-25 victory over No. 4 Pittsfield in the Western Massachusetts Division 1 Tournament semifinals at American International College.
"I've always told (my players) that their shots might not be falling, but the thing they can control is their defense," fourth-year coach Christal Murphy said. "I've got to hand it to them, they worked very hard on defense all game."
With the victory, Amherst advances to the sectional final for the first time since losing to the region's last unbeaten Division 1 team, Minnechaug Regional in 2000. Murphy was a senior on that Falcons team, which finished 25-0 and won the state title.
The Hurricanes, whose last title came in 1993, will face No. 3 East Longmeadow (17-4) at the Curry Hicks Cage at 5:45 p.m. Saturday.
The Spartans advanced with a 52-46 victory over No. 2 Holyoke (19-3) in Wednesday's other semifinal.
"We have two days of practice to get ready," Murphy said. "We'll work hard and be prepared."
Amherst defeated East longmeadow 58-47 in their only meeting during the regular season on Dec. 23.
In Wednesday's semifinal, Alyssa Leonard scored the game's first six points and Mariah Lesure added a free throw to give Amherst a 7-0 lead with 5 minutes, 45 seconds left in the first quarter.
But then the offense disappeared.
"My favorite offense for us is the fast break," Murphy said. "I want our defense to turn into offense. But Pittsfield did a good job of getting back and keeping us from running as much as we would like."
Amherst was held without a point for 7:55 until Lesure made a free throw for an 8-4 lead with 5:50 left in the second quarter. It went more than nine minutes between field goals. The team had different theories for the struggles.
"We had so much time off that we had trouble finding our rhythm," said Lesure, a 6-foot junior center who finished with 14 points, 14 rebounds, three blocks and three steals.
Nicole DeMarchena pointed to the game being the first-ever semifinal for every Hurricane.
"I think it had more to do with the nerves than the time off," said the junior forward, who finished with five points, seven rebounds and three blocks. "There was definitely more nervousness because we weren't sure what to expect. It was a big crowd and a big gym. ... I think this (experience) will get us ready for Saturday."
But while the offense was turning the ball over and having shots rim out, the defense was overwhelming the Generals (16-6).
Amherst allowed just four first-quarter points and only six through the game's first 13:24, when it led 10-6.
Rachel Quetti made a fast-break layup to cut the deficit to two with 2:36 left in the half, but Lesure and Leonard (game-high 15 points, six rebounds) combined for eight points down the stretch to give Amherst an 18-10 halftime lead.
The Hurricanes carried the defensive effort into the second half, pushing the advantage to 32-15 through three quarters and cruising to the victory.
The win marked the 11th time this year that Amherst allowed 27 or fewer points.
"Our defense is definitely a big part of our game," Lesure said. "We work hard on it in practice."
Kayla McNeice led Pittsfield with 12 points, including six in the fourth quarter.
Jenna Klaes (four steals) and Brianna Leonard (six rebounds) each had six points in the win, which Lesure said was well worth the wait.
"It was good to finally have a game," she said. "We tried to make practice even harder than (game conditions) to make sure we were ready, but we were getting restless. I'm happier we had a game and even happier, obviously, because we won."
Jim Pignatiello can be reached at jpignatiello@gazettenet.com.
