There’s no way to replicate in-game experience in practice, and the Greenfield girls basketball team showed just how important a little experience can be.
The Wave opened their season against Mahar on Wednesday. Fast forward 24 hours, and the Green Wave followed up with a tilt against a young Pioneer squad — one that features seven new players competing in their first varsity action — on Thursday. Greenfield got out to a fast start and didn’t look back, leading to a 49-21 victory in Northfield.
“Just getting through two and a half weeks of practice and getting a game in is a win for us,” Pioneer head coach Mike Churchill said. “We have a lot of young players, we’re fielding one of the youngest rosters in Franklin County. This was a really good first experience out on the court for us.”
Katie Haselton took over the game for the Green Wave, pouring in a game-high 25 points. Amber Bergeron and Tess Rancourt both dropped in eight points while Alina Cecunjanin had four points in the winning effort.
Greenfield raced out to an 11-4 lead at the end of the first quarter before surrendering just three second-quarter points to take a 29-7 advantage into the half.
Charlotte Kahler finished with five points and seven rebounds for Pioneer, while Emily Tibbetts had three points and 10 rebounds in the loss.
Mahar 51, Franklin Tech 41 — Leading 24-20 at the half, the Senators scored 16 points in the third quarter and allowed just five, paving the way to a 51-41 victory over the Eagles on Thursday in Orange.
Mahar didn’t get out to the start it wanted, and head coach Larry Fisher said his team didn’t quite have the legs it would have liked after playing a game on Wednesday.
“Today we showed tired legs,” the Mahar head coach offered. “Any time there’s a back-to-back, it’s a challenge. It’s especially tough this season.”
Micalyn Mailloux paced the Senators with 16 points, while sophomore Saylor Kegans had 13 points and pulled down 15 rebounds. Delaney Parker joined the two in double figures with 10 points while Sienna Moore had seven points and Natalie Belloli had five points.
Gemanaia Cruz had a big night for Tech, finishing with a game-high 18 points while snagging seven boards. Emily Ryan had seven points and nine rebounds, Kaitlin Trudeau had six points and seven rebounds, and Kendra Campbell scored five points in the loss.
“We played better tonight than we did on Tuesday,” Eagle coach Joe Gamache said, referring to Tuesday’s loss to Athol. “We’re improving each game and that’s our goal.”
Turners 46, Athol 26 — It was a third quarter to remember for the Thunder.
Trailing 15-14 at the half, the Turners offense came alive in the third quarter, outscoring Athol 18-2 in the stanza en route to a 46-26 victory on Thursday in the Powertown.
“We were taking shots we shouldn’t have in the first half,” Thunder coach Jim Cadran said. “In the second half we picked up the defense and had a big third quarter. Defense is going to be our calling card this season.”
The Thunder kept the momentum going from the third quarter into the fourth, outscoring Athol 14-9 to keep their lead intact.
Madi Liimatainen and Abbi Holloway each finished with 10 points for Turners in the win, with Taylor Greene adding nine points and Emily Young scoring six points.
Emma Bacigalupo was a force for Athol, scoring 14 points. Rozlyn Nelson had six points while Lindsey LeBlanc, Jenna Bonenfant and Reily Polana all scored a basket for Athol.