The Amherst girls basketball team trailed 35-32 going into the final eight minutes of action but outscored Taconic 14-10 in the fourth quarter to pull away with a tight 46-45 victory in Pittsfield on Monday. 

Shannon Klaes tallied 15 points for Amherst, seven coming in the fourth quarter. Zola Higham scored 12 points, Ahiya Morales-Fernandez finished with seven points while Niyama Adadeuoh added five points in the win. 

Northampton 71, SICS 57 — Ava Azzaro was a force for the Blue Devils, pouring in 32 points to help propel Northampton to a victory over the Bulldogs in Springfield on Monday. 

Bri Heafey scored 14 points, Liv Joensen tallied seven points while Teagan McDonald added six points for the Blue Devils. 

Smith Academy 56, Sci-Tech 34 — Vivian Higuera’s 11 points helped power the Falcons to a victory over the CyberCats on Monday.

Anna Scagel finished with nine points while Caitlin Graves and Emelia Neves each tallied eight points in the win. 

Holyoke 48, Longmeadow 44 — The Purple Knights led 40-28 going into the fourth but had  to withstand a strong push from the Lancers late, hanging on for a victory in Holyoke on Monday. 

Amilyan Treadwell-Mercedes recorded 14 points, Jaylaness Santiago scored 11 points, Xenedy Jacobs finished with nine points while Victoria D’Amico scored seven points for the Purple Knights (4-11), which avenged a 61-37 loss to Longmeadow just over two weeks ago.

Southwick 58, Granby 50 — Southwick outscored Granby 15-10 in the third quarter and Granby was unable to make up the difference in the fourth, as Southwick earned a victory in Granby on Monday. 

Kalli White led Granby with 20 points. Aubrey Parent scored 13 points, Sophia Gagnon tossed in six points while Brenna Moreno scored five points in the loss. 

Palmer 47, Easthampton 43 — Samone Young scored 18 points for the Eagles, which dropped a second game in a row on Monday.

Sophia Faginski also scored in double figures for Easthampon (11-4) with 10 points.

Pioneer 70, Hopkins 17 — The Panthers led 35-6 at the half before cruising to an independent victory over the Golden Hawks in Hadley on Monday. 

Cassidi Mushenski scored five points while Chloe Koscuisko and Cassidy Fyden each had four points for Hopkins.

Boys basketball

Frontier 84, Easthampton 70 — Make it five wins in a row for the Redhawks. 

Frontier pulled ahead 42-33 at the half and kept its foot on the gas in the second half, leading by as many as 24 points in the fourth quarter as the Redhawks earned an independent victory in Easthampton on Monday. 

Max Millette was the engine leading the offense, finishing with 29 points for Frontier. Owen Babb scored 17 points, Alex Ellis tallied 13 points, Sasha Dragicevich tossed in seven points while Nico Fasulo scored six points in the win. 

Trevor Canon-Smith scored a game-high 31 points for Easthampton. Noah Murray and Brayden English each added 13 points in the loss. 

Hoosac Valley 67, Granby 38 — The Rams were held to just two points in the first quarter in a loss on Monday.

Frank Field scored 20 points for the Hurricanes in the road win. Granby’s Gavier Fernandez scored 12 points to pace the hosts, and Colin Murdock scored nine points.

Smith Voc 67, PV Christian 54 — Myles Chinappa led three Vikings in double figures with 19 points in a double-digit win on Monday.

Dom Sanchez scored 17 points for Smith Voc, and Jack Riley followed with 15.

Agawam 78, Belchertown 61 — The Orioles put four players in double figures but couldn't contain Agawam's Elijah Maldonado, who scored 26 points in a Brownies victory on Monday.

Ian McDonald led Belchertown with 14 points, followed by teammates Tyler Marino (13 points), Shea MacLean (11) and Cal Orzech (10).

St. Mary’s 60, PVCICS 45 — Sasha Paul drilled four 3-pointers and finished with 12 points for the Dragons in a loss on Monday.

RJ Allen and Owen Tuttle scored eight points apiece for PVCICS.

Weekend results

Hockey

Easthampton 8, Gardner 2 — The Eagles clinched a state tournament berth thanks to a convincing victory over a good opponent on Saturday night.

Mikey Thompson and Drew Thompson scored two goals apiece for Easthampton, while Rob Herman, Brennan Stortz, Anthony Torchia and Hunter Stockseth also tallied. Paige Galpin made 25 saves in net.

Boys basketball

Hopkins 67, Easthampton 53 — A lot of James Fitzgibbons, and a 19-4 edge in the second quarter helped the Golden Hawks snatch control and secure an independent victory on Saturday night.

Fitzgibbons poured in a season-high 38 points, getting to the free throw line early and often where he made 15 shots from the stripe. Julian Gaudette scored nine points and Owen Earle added seven in the win for Hopkins.

Trevor Canon-Smith led Easthampton with 26 points.

Nordic ski

Amherst boys win race

The fifth race of the Berkshire Nordic Ski League season took place on Saturday on the two-loop course at Notchview in Windsor.

On the girls’ side, Amherst won the meet as a team with 19 points, followed by Mohawk Trail, which co-ops with Hampshire Regional, in second (27).

Amherst’s River Wolaver was second overall (22:37), followed by teammates Elizabeth Sawicki (third, 22:35), Isla Cusick (sixth, 23:11) and Addie Mager (eighth, 24:00).

Corinne Somes crossed in fourth place overall for Mohawk Trail (22:41), with teammate Charlotte Niswonger right behind in fifth (22:43). 

On the boys’ side, Mohawk Trail took fourth place as a team with 59 points, led by Augustus Niswonger’s fifth place overall finish in 18 minutes, 10 seconds.

Vincent Gauthier finished eighth for the Warriors (18:38), while teammates Adam Muller (22nd), Luke Pickard (28th) and Curtis Casey (31st) also contributed to the effort.

Amherst was fifth as a team, led by Julian Camera in 18th place (20:14). Otis Fairey crossed in 27th place (21:56) and Geoffrey Fitz-Gibbon was 29th (23:35).