WESTHAMPTON – After a close first quarter between the Amherst and Hampshire girls basketball teams, the Raiders ramped up the pressure and got hot on the offensive end.

The Hurricanes had no answer.

Hampshire outscored Amherst 21-5 in the second quarter – and didn’t surrender a field goal on defense until the three-minute mark – to pull ahead. The Raiders played keep away in the second half, ultimately defeating the ‘Canes 59-41 on their home floor in a Suburban League matchup on Friday night.

With the win, Hampshire has now won four of its last five games.

Those eight minutes before halftime were the difference in the outcome. Addie Miklasiewicz (18 points) and Ali Jenkins (14 points) combined for 32 points to pace Hampshire’s offense – a unit that improved to 4-0 when scoring 50 or more points in a game – during its big run.

“We installed a 1-3-1 zone this week to kinda change it up a bit, and we just did a great job jumping passing lanes and pushing the ball in transition,” Raiders head coach Matt LaCoille said. “We used our press to help us get some easy offense. The girls worked together and played really hard tonight.”

Despite facing a 34-13 halftime deficit, Amherst didn’t go away easily. Hurricanes leading scorer Zola Higham came out of the game in the second quarter and did not return, and several other players dealt with foul trouble, but whichever five players were on the floor never quit.

Shannon Klaes played all 32 minutes and put up a team-high 20 points, leading the charge in a second half where the ‘Canes outscored Hampshire 28-25. Amherst broke a two-game stretch where it didn’t score 30 points.

“I think they finally found that energy they needed in the second half,” Hurricanes head coach Erin Klaes said. “When it came down to it, we stepped up on defense. In the first half, we didn’t do our greatest. But we stepped up, we got boards, and we weren’t fouling as much. I think we just wanted the ball more in the second half; we were ready to want the ball. We came out ready to play after halftime.”

Fran Sloan added eight points and Keira Cunniffe tallied six for the ‘Canes in the loss.

Amherst returns to action on Wednesday as it welcomes Taconic at 6 p.m.

Shayne Moynahan put up 10 points, Alyssa Colon Garcia tossed in five, Destiny Saltis chipped in four, and Emma Allyn had three points in the win. Down starter Kat Simmons on Friday, LaCoille knew his team was going to need other players to step up – and that’s exactly what they did.

“I said it to them before the game, ‘Every night is gonna be different. When your time is called, you just gotta be ready,’” LaCoille said. “A lot of girls stepped up with Kat sick and not being able to play tonight. Emma stepped up, Alyssa stepped up, and we had big scoring off the bench. That’s what we’re looking for.”

Hampshire (5-5) hosts Belchertown on Tuesday at 7 p.m.

Northampton 55, Holyoke 31 – Ava Azzaro scored nine of her team-high 19 points in the third quarter, when the Blue Devils pulled away for a 55-31 win over the Purple Knights on Friday.

Bri Heafey added 14 points (two 3s) in the win, and Sarah Molnar chipped in nine points for Northampton.

Holyoke's Amilyan Treadwell-Mercedes led the hosts with 13 points.

South Hadley 64, Monson 43 — Ava Asselin’s 17 points helped power the Tigers past the Mustangs in South Hadley on Friday. 

CC Gurek scored 14 points, Maddie Soderbaum finished with 10 points, Cara Dean tallied eight points while Caitlin Dean added seven points in the win for South Hadley. 

Belchertown 46, Mount Greylock 39 – Chloe LaRoche led three Orioles in double figures with 18 points, helping Belchertown hold serve at home on Friday.

Laura Cote scored 10 of her 12 points in the first half for Belchertown, and Morghan Litz tossed in 10 points in the win.

Boys basketball

Granby 67, Southwick 51 – The Rams came charging out of the gates, scoring 19 points in the first quarter and building a double-digit halftime lead en route to their eighth win of the season on Friday.

Colin Murdock hit three 3s and scored nine of his 20 points in the first quarter for Granby (8-2). Gavier Fernandez followed with 16 points in the win, and Riley Goodhind made it three Rams in double figures with 15 points.

Hampshire 39, Mount Greylock 34 – Tied going into the fourth quarter, the Raiders outscored the Mounties 13-8 in the final eight minutes to score a key Hampshire League North win in Williamstown on Friday.

Braylon Jarrett went for 14 points and Liam Pond scored 13 to pace Hampshire, while Brendan Stevenson added eight points.

Smith Voc 93, Gateway 47 – The Vikings outscored the Gators 57-26 in the second half, riding four different double-digit scorers in the process.

Dom Sanchez (18 points), Myles Chinappa (17), Jack Riley (14) and Joshua Cole (10) led the offensive charge for Smith Voc.

Gateway's Jesse Balboni led all scorers with 28 points, and Ron Leach added nine points.

Drury 62, Hopkins 54 – A 14-2 edge in the second quarter was the difference as the Blue Devils built a double-digit halftime lead and held on for a Hampshire League South win on Friday.

Locked in a 15-15 game after one quarter, Drury outscored Hopkins 14-2 in the second to take a 29-17 halftime lead.

The Golden Hawks were paced by Owen Earle’s 20 points (18 in the second half), while James Fitzgibbons notched 17 points and Chace Earle tossed in seven.

Northampton 68, Longmeadow 49 — Naihmond Peters-Wolfe put up 29 points as the Blue Devils raced away with a win over the Lancers in Longmeadow on Friday. 

Silas Coles scored 10 points while Luke McGrath added nine points in the victory. 

Athol 51, Smith Academy 26 — The Bears led 30-16 at the half and held the Falcons to just 10 points in the rest of the way to pull away with a Hampshire League North win in Hatfield on Friday. 

Greg Stone scored six points while Connor Kowalski, Ryan McCoy, Cam Graves and Garret Willard each had four points for Smith Academy. 

Boys swimming

Central 113, Amherst 50 – Hassan Abdel-Maksoud was the lone individual winner for the Hurricanes, as he snagged the top spot in the 500-yard freestyle (6:33.59) on Friday. 

Chicopee 54, Holyoke 31 — Jared Lapite took first in the 50 freestyle (26.53) and 100 breaststroke (1:22.13), and teammate Brady Pijar won the 100 freestyle (52.69) and 100 backstroke (1:01.72) for the Purple Knights.

Girls swimming

Amherst 107, Central 73 – Sadie Cyr won a pair of individual events for the Hurricanes, touching first in the 100-yard freestyle (1:01.13) and 100 backstroke (1:09.58).

Malin Gubrium took first in the 200 free (2:28.05), Finnley Chambers won the 100 fly (1:09.39) and Aurora Donta-Venman outlasted the competition in the 500 free (6:34) for Amherst.

Holyoke 93, Chicopee 60 — Trinity Roy touched first in the 200 IM (2:40.90) and 100 backstroke (1:10.88), and Scarlett LaRose won the 50 free (28.54) and 100 butterfly (1:23.60) for the Purple Knights.

Holyoke’s Adaline Woods won the 200 free (2:14.44) and Madison Mendoza took first in the 100 breaststroke (1:29.47).