SOUTH HADLEY — Once the draws started to go Granby’s way, the lead came with it.

The eighth-seeded Rams beat No. 9 Nipmuc, 19-7, in the first round the Central/West Division 2 Girls Lacrosse Tournament Tuesday. They’ll visit No. 1 seed Groton-Dunstable in the quarterfinals.

Granby won 17 draws compared to 11 for the Warriors.

“Draws are always going to control the game,” Granby coach Sallie Gilliland said. “Whoever gets possession usually controls the game, and we got a lot of draw controls.”

Granby (15-6) outscored Nipmuc (11-9) 13-3 over the game’s last 40 minutes. It was tied at 4 with 16 minutes, 6 seconds to halftime after Jade Dougherty scored for Nipmuc.

Jess Patruno found the net twice in a row after that to put Granby up 6-4. One was from a free position, and the other was assisted by Kate Sarnacki.

“We just really work well together,” Sarnacki said. “I know when she’s going to cut, where she’s going to cut, it’s just easy for us.”

It was the first time either team led by more than a goal before Nipmuc narrowed the margin on another tally from Dougherty.

“We started out strong and got confident, then I think they broke down,” Nipmuc coach Chrissy Manzella said.

Granby scored the next five goals to take an 11-5 lead into halftime.

“I knew we had it in us to be able to pull ahead and get the dub,” said Patruno, who finished with three goals.

Nipmuc scored two of the opening three goals of the second half, but the Warriors didn’t find the net after that.

Granby closed the game on a 7-0 run. Sarnacki scored three of her game-high 10 goals during that stretch. She also finished with three assists.

Julia Frappier added a hat trick, while Kaelyn Croteau and Madison Sexton also scored. Sexton, Kayla Grenier and Gabrielle Walz also had assists.

The late scoring binge clinched the second playoff win in Granby girls lacrosse history. It also gave the Rams some revenge after they lost to Nipmuc in overtime during last year’s postseason.

“Senior year it’s the last season, could have been our last game ever, that was definitely motivation for everybody to stay in it,” Sarnacki said.

Jasmine Jones found the net from Grenier to give Granby a 17-7 lead with 14:37 remaining. The 10-goal lead started a running clock.

“We cannot let up, ever. I don’t care if the score keeps going up,” Gilliland said. “It’s playoffs. It’s what we need to do.”

Kyle Grabowski can be reached at kgrabowski@gazettenet.com.

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