ATHOL — A well-rounded fourth quarter on both ends of the floor gave the Mahar girls junior varsity basketball team a 45-36 win over Athol on Wednesday.
The Senators got stops on defense and offense from multiple sources to close out the Red Raiders.
Ava Liberty, Makayla Mathurin and Abby Henne all scored early in the fourth to help build a cushion against the comeback-minded Red Raiders.
Henne led Mahar with 20 points and three 3-pointers while Liberty finished with nine.
Athol jumped out to an early first-quarter lead on the Senators with some hustle buckets near the rim by Emma Bacigalupo and Rozlyn Nelson.
Bacigalupo had 17 points for the Red Raiders.
Reily Polana and Nelson both had seven points for Athol.
The Red Raiders went cold from the outside in the second quarter and Mahar took advantage.
The Senators came back to tie the game and took the lead with a 14-0 run in the second quarter.
Bacigalupo ended Mahar’s run with a basket off the glass near the end of the second quarter.
The halftime score was 27-18.
A big third quarter from Bacigalupo and Polana cut the Senators’ lead to three points entering the fourth.
Polana hit a big 3-pointer from the top of the key for the Red Raiders in the final minute of the third quarter.
It was 34-31 going into the fourth quarter.
Mahar 32, Athol 14 — The Red Raiders fell to the visiting Senators on Tuesday night.
Jenna Bonenfant led all scorers (7-6) with eight points for Athol. Kylah Blundon added four points for the Red Raiders.
Alivia Patch had six points for Mahar.
