SOUTH HADLEY – A suffocating press helped the South Hadley girls basketball team pull away from Greenfield 60-24 at home Friday.
Alex Jackson led the Tigers with a career-high 20 points. She put up 10 in the first quarter and five in the second.
“We moved the ball. If it wasn’t for my teammates I wouldn’t be able to get the ball in the places I did,” Jackson said.
The teams exchanged blows early. Greenfield banked in two 3-pointers to keep the Green Wave on pace. Azemina Cecunjanin tied the game at 10 with 2 minutes, 34 seconds left in the third quarter off the glass from beyond the arc. Greenfield didn’t score again for more than 11 minutes.
Jackson leaked out for a fast break layup to regain South Hadley’s lead 12-10, which began a 22-0 run that put the game out of reach.
“One like this early is good and bad. It can be good because it shows you where you need to be, and at times it can be bad because sometimes you’re just outclassed, and that’s what it was,” Greenfield coach John Hickey said.
Jackson splashed a deep 3 just 28 seconds into the second half that extended the Tigers lead to 32-10.
Then Greenfield forward Tess Rancourt responded with a jump hook at the 7:10 mark to halt the run. She put away eight of her team-high 14 points in the third quarter and scored 12 in the second half.
“It looks like we found a post player for this year. I don’t think she’s played that well with her back to the basket,” Hickey said. “So we’re gonna build off that.”
Talia Uribe added nine points for the Tigers, while Olivia Marion and Erin Bullough each scored six. Twelve South Hadley players had at least one point.
“It was good for everybody to get their feet wet and play a home game and take care of our court,” South Hadley coach Paul Dubuc said. “I know we’re a little undersized, so we’re going to have to scramble.”