SPRINGFIELD — As the final buzzer sounded on Monday night, the Pope Francis girls basketball team jumped for joy, along with their fans. They had completed not one, but two second-half comebacks and ultimately defeated South Hadley, 58-53, in the Western Mass. Class B quarterfinal round.

On the flip side, the fifth-seeded Tigers, which controlled the first half and looked poised to finish the game off in regulation, found themselves out of the sectional tournament. South Hadley, which led 48-44 with 30 seconds to go in the fourth quarter, committed a foul and then a turnover, leading to the game-tying layup by Cardinals guard Isabella Meadows.

No. 4 Pope Francis took advantage of the Tigers’ sloppy play late in the fourth, something South Hadley head coach Paul Dubuc was not happy about.

“We didn’t make our foul shots at the end of regulation,” Dubuc said. “And we didn’t take care of the ball either. We just made some unforced errors we usually don’t make.”

Though the Cardinals pounced on mistakes late in the game, the Tigers played a relatively clean contest up to that point, controlling the pace, hitting shots, and limiting turnovers.  

At halftime, the visitors held a 23-16 lead, playing with an aggressive full court press defense that stifled the Cardinals’ high-powered offense. 

“It gives us momentum when we get stops,” Dubuc said. “It really gets us going and if the weak side gets back then we’re OK, but if not then it's not.”

The Cardinals’ offense, led by Meadows, seemed to find a weak spot in the press after halftime, and started to find a rhythm. Meadows scored 13 of her 22 points in the second half, including a six-point third quarter where she led the Cardinals back — for the first time. 

Pope Francis entered the fourth with a 34-29 lead, but the Tigers wouldn’t go away quietly.

Kacie Levrault, who had two points entering the final quarter, exploded for eight in the fourth, doing all she could to bring the Tigers back.

And she did. 

South Hadley went on a 14-6 run, and retook the lead 43-40 with just under four minutes remaining. The Tigers looked like their first half selves, leading with their aggressive press defense, and making shots.

But the Cardinals were ready for another comeback.

The duo of Meadows and Ajade Marsh combined for nine of their 13 fourth-quarter points, while Ava Albano and Tracetta Caudle gave them a timely boost on the defensive end. After Meadows sank the game-tying layup, momentum seemed to have shifted toward Pope Francis. And as overtime began, it was evident.

The Cardinals locked in, scoring the first five points of OT, and ultimately never relinquished the lead.

Pope Francis advanced to play at No. 1 Pittsfield in the Class B semifinals, while South Hadley will compete in a non-playoff game this week, with a chance to hopefully improve its stock prior to next week’s MIAA Division 4 state tournament. 

“We’re gonna come back,” Dubuc said. “And we're gonna be a tough draw for anybody.” 

Pittsfield 75, Belchertown 30 — The top-seeded Generals jumped out to a 27-11 edge after one quarter en route to the 75-30 victory in the Class B quarterfinals on Monday in Pittsfield.

Pittsfield led 42-15 at halftime.

The eighth-seeded Orioles, which fell to 10-9 with the loss, received a team-high 13 points from Macie Bolton. Chloe LaRoche joined her in double figures with 10 points.

Belchertown will play a non-playoff game against a team to be determined later in the week before opening the MIAA Division 3 state tourney next week.

Class A quarters

Holyoke 71, Longmeadow 64 — On a team with two 1,000 point scorers, it was Amilyan Treadwell-Mercedes who led the way offensively for the fourth-seeded Purple Knights in Monday night’s quarterfinal win.

Treadwell-Mercedes led all scorers with 28 points, helping Holyoke reach the Class A semifinals with a 71-64 win over No. 5 Longmeadow at John “Jinx” O’Connor Gymnasium.

Bianca Ortiz-Cordero scored 23 points and Ashley Vazquez added 14 for the Knights, which await the winner of Tuesday’s quarterfinal between No. 1 Central and No. 8 Chicopee Comp. Holyoke led 34-25 at halftime.

Class D quarters

Lenox 53, Hopkins Academy 25 — Kacey Earle led the No. 7 Golden Hawks with nine points in a loss to No. 2 Lenox. 

Lenox dropped seven 3-pointers against Hopkins, which couldn’t slow down the No. 2 seed’s offense. Sadie Cyr added five points for Hopkins and Chloe Jekanowski and Daisy Venditti had four points each. 

Hopkins will play a non-playoff game later this week.

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