Class B girls basketball: South Hadley sneaks past Frontier, advance to third straight Class B final

SOUTH DEERFIELD — With one minute left to play, the third-seeded South Hadley girls basketball team faced a 60-59 deficit against second-seeded Frontier in the semifinal round of the Western Mass. Class B tournament, looking to come through in the clutch. Cara Dean controlled the ball on the right wing, darting toward the hoop and drawing contact.

As the referee’s whistle blew, the junior’s layup attempt banked off the glass and in to take the lead. The Tigers celebrated with each other, getting back on defense with a one point cushion.

The Redhawks found an open look at the 3-point line on the right wing, and another under the hoop off an offensive rebound, with each shot narrowly missing. Dean was fouled after getting possession with 4.1 seconds on the clock, hitting one free throw and watching the second fall into the hands of the Redhawks’ Skyler Steele.

Steele’s full-court heave came up well short, with the final buzzer sounding and giving South Hadley a hard-fought, 62-60 victory on Friday night. The Tigers now move forward to the Western Mass. Class B finals.

“We all came in with the thought that we could beat [Frontier] even though we lost to them the first time,” Dean said. “We knew what we had to do to beat them this time. It felt so good.”

The first duel between the two teams came on Jan. 27, with the Redhawks earning a 67-62 win on the road. Similar to the first go-around, Friday night’s battle was riddled with lead changes and momentum swings.

Neither team held more than a seven-point lead throughout the contest, making for an intense night in a matchup that could come again in the state tournament.

“[Friday] played out almost exactly like we thought it would,” South Hadley head coach Paul Dubuc said. “We’re pretty evenly matched. [When the Redhawks] beat us at our place, we wrote on the board, ‘We owe them one,’ … they’re very good, well coached.”

Dean was the driving force for the Tigers in the win, finishing the night with 22 points, 11 of which came in the fourth quarter. The junior attacked the big moments, making deep 3-pointers with ease, while getting to the lane as well in the final eight minutes.

South Hadley had to be conservative with Dean’s playing time down the stretch, with No. 12 picking up her fourth foul of the night with 2:43 left to play in the third. The team used some well-timed offense-defense substitutions, while Dean made the most of every possession she was on the court.

“Obviously, it was not going my way,” Dean said. “I kind of just kept my head up and was like, ‘I can’t go down. I have to be here for my team,’ so I think that really helped.”

Addie Harrington dealt with foul trouble of her own for Frontier on Friday, picking up her third foul before halftime, and fourth with 5:41 left in the fourth quarter. In a similar fashion to her opponent, Harrington still produced through the final buzzer, tallying 20 points.

Kate Phillips was tasked with guarding Harrington for the Tigers, keeping constant pressure and fighting over screens and through traffic. South Hadley stayed in the game with huge production from their entire starting lineup, with four of the five starters finishing in double figures.

In addition to her aggressive defense, Phillips tallied 14 points offensively, while Olivia Athas scored 12 and Taylor Bullough finished her night with 11.

Steele led the Redhawks in scoring on Friday, earning 22 points of her own in the loss. The junior was aggressive throughout all four quarters, proving to be the team’s main option through a large chunk of the game and continuing to produce at a high level on both ends.

“[Steele] is just an all-around player that gives the ultimate hustle every minute she’s on the court,” Frontier head coach David Hastings said. “I thought [Friday], she played through everything that was going on out there… she’s just the kind of girl that’s a real leader on the team when she’s on the floor.”

With the narrow victory, the Tigers advance to the Western Mass. Class B finals, with a rematch of last year’s final against top-seeded Pittsfield coming up next. The Generals have put together an impressive 17-4 record over the course of the season, including a pair of wins over South Hadley.

The Tigers know Pittsfield will be a tough opponent, coming off back-to-back 35-plus point victories to start the tournament. South Hadley will look to build on its six-game win streak, learning from the previous matchups against the Generals.

“It’s our third Western Mass final, so we’ve been there, and you have to learn how to do it,” Dubuc said. “It wasn’t easy when we did it the first two times, and it wasn’t easy [Friday].”

Although it was a heartbreaking loss for Frontier on Friday, the team is set to make a run at the state tournament, awaiting its first matchup to be solidified.

Class D

Granby 61, Pioneer Valley 23 — The Rams punched their ticket to the Class D title game with the comfortable win against the Panthers.

Granby, the top seed, will play third-seeded Pioneer Valley Christian Academy in the final at a date and time to be announced.