ATHOL — A furious comeback fueled by multiple players gave the Athol girls basketball team a chance to win with just seconds remaining against Smith Academy on Thursday night.
The Red Raiders had possession in a tied game with 15 seconds left.
However, a call on an inbounds pass near the Athol student section did not go the Red Raiders’ way, and it led to the game-winning free throw for the Falcons.
The final score was 34-33.
Much of the gym was in disbelief after the ball went back to Smith Academy.
“I wasn’t over there,” Athol coach Kelly Kaczmarczyk said of the call. “So I don’t know.”
Haley Bigwood gave the Red Raiders the lead with under 30 seconds left with her relentless pursuit of the basketball after missing a shot initially. Bigwood corralled an offensive rebound before flinging it toward the hoop for the go-ahead basket.
“They finally got a spark,” Kaczmarczyk said. “That’s what I was trying to get out of them.”
Smith Academy’s Emma Kelly got to the line twice in the final seconds, making one to tie and one to give the Falcons the winning point.
Kelly’s length bothered the Red Raiders the whole game on both ends, making scoring near the basket difficult.
Athol (3-9) got some great minutes from Rozlyn Nelson during the comeback. A soft, calm jumper by Nelson cut the lead to 32-28 before a Bigwood runner made it 32-30.
“I am proud of her (Nelson),” Kaczmarczyk said. “She did what we asked her to do.”
That’s when spark plug Kendall Deleo got a steal for the Red Raiders. Deleo then got fouled and made 1 of 2 to cut the lead to a point.
Athol went through a slow first half offensively after Bigwood picked up two early fouls, but picked up the scoring in the second half.
“I thought we stayed with them fine,” Kaczmarczyk said. “Stayed within range of getting back into the game.”
Bigwood led Athol with 11 points.
Taylor Cleveland had five points, with Sophie Putnam and Nelson adding four each.
Kelly had 17 points for the Falcons (7-6).
