Girls Hoop Week Guide
NOTE: It feels weird to be putting this together right now considering that there will likely be massive postponements over the next two days, blowing up my entire entry. ... As always, I can be reached at jpignatiello@gazettenet.com.
Tuesday, Feb. 1
Mahar at Athol - The Senators won at their place 55-44 on Dec. 28, but that's a long time ago in another place. Franklin North title could be decided here in rivalry matchup.
Wednesday, Feb. 2
Sci-Tech at Palmer - If Sabis won Monday, Palmer will be looking to snap a five-game losing streak here.
Thursday, Feb. 3
East Longmeadow at Northampton - Terrific game featuring two squads with very young players at key positions that seem to be maturing with every game. Very interested to see this one.
Longmeadow at Amherst - Hurricanes have run off 10 straight wins heading into tonight's game. They're remaining games don't seem overly challeging. This is one of a very few that could still be competitive in the second half.
Wahconah at Lee - Are these the two best teams in the Berkshires? Is Lee truly unbeatable? It was a nine-point game last time and Wahconah seems to have improved since then.
Chicopee Comp at Agawam - Brownies are 4-8 heading into tonight's game against Amherst, so this is an absolute must-win to keep their playoff hopes alive.
Drury at Pittsfield - Last time was a 48-45 Pittsfield win, but Generals are 1-3 since heading into Monday night's game at Monument. Berkshire North teams will be well battle-tested come postseason. Biggest question, will injured Jill Ritrosky play after missing the team's win over Greylock?
Belchertown at Cathedral - Orioles won by 12 at their place on Jan. 4. Both teams have similar results so far this year and will be well-challenged down the stretch. Cathedral, meanwhile, needs three wins to get to 10 and has one relatively easy game remaining. Could come down to the Wire. Brianna Del Valle enters the game needing 14 points for 1,000.
Smith Academy at Frontier Regional - Red Hawks are closing in on clinching the Franklin South title. Knocked off the Falcons by 27 in Hatfield last time.
Lenox at Greylock - Mounties won by seven last time and a win here would be big toward tournament bid.
Palmer at Ware - This is suddenly a big game for Palmer's playoff hopes not to come right down to the wire.
Sabis at South Hadley - The Bulldogs' have been impressive all year and look to add yet another quality Division 2 squad to its win list.
Granby at Monson - Rams are at .500 entering the week and have a brutal final five games. They'll need to knock off a few quality teams to get to 10 wins or they'll be a very, very good team that isn't in the postseason.
Friday, Feb. 4
Hoosac at Sci-Tech - If Hurricanes topple Greylock Monday night, they go for win No. 10 here.
Monday, Feb. 7
Holyoke at Northampton - Young Blue Devils backcourt will be challenged here. If they can do enough to get bigs Sam Barnes and Lauren Weston enough touches, this could be a good one. Still, Hamp doesn't have anyone nearly as explosive as Monique Heard (who does?).
Hampshire at Sabis - Two of the top teams in the area square off in a very interesting matchup. Rosters matchup up quite well and I'll be interested to hear how they defend each other.
Frontier at Mahar - Two of the top teams in Franklin League square off in rematch that went to double overtime in South Deerfield the first time around.
Monument at Taconic - A must-win for the Spartans if they hope to get to the tournament. They won by nine in first meeting.
Palmer at South Hadley - Terrific young guards square off in this matchup.
Hopkins at Athol - Kiley Cleveland broke the Golden Hawks' hearts with a buzzer-beater last time. Can Hopkins get a little revenge on the road?











