TURNERS FALLS — It wasn’t easy, but the Mohawk Trail girls basketball team is officially in the win column.
The visiting Warriors trailed by nine points at halftime on Tuesday night, but closed the game on a 24-6 run to pull away from Franklin Tech, 34-27, in an independent contest.
The win halted a six-game losing streak for Mohawk Trail to start the season, as the club improved to 1-6 with a much-needed victory.
“For confidence, we really needed this,” Mohawk Trail coach Larissa Harrison said of the win. “We haven’t played with confidence for most of the season and it’s been kind of a domino effect. But it feels really good.”
Stella Clark’s bucket with 3 minutes, 42 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter gave the Warriors their first lead since the opening minute of regulation. Her up and under move staked the visitors to a 26-25 advantage, and it jump started a 10-0 run that all of a sudden put Mohawk Trail up 34-25 with 41 seconds remaining. Clark scored all seven of her points in the fourth quarter, helping her team outscore Franklin Tech by a 15-4 margin over the final eight minutes of action.
“Our execution was not great down the stretch, obviously,” Franklin Tech coach Joe Gamache said. “When we were forced to play in the half court set, we didn’t make the plays we needed to to stay in the game.”
Mohawk’s defense changed the complexion of the game in the second half. Harrison had her squad switch to a full court press, causing problems for the Eagles (5-2) all over the place. Trailing 21-10 early in the third quarter, Mya Lesieur sank two free throws that began a 7-0 spurt to help the Warriors get back within striking distance.
“We talked at halftime about how someone needs to step up and be a leader,” Harrison said. “We had a couple kids do that. And going (full court press), we had nothing to lose so we might as well go as hard as we can, go all out to try and make something happen.”
Grace Poplawski, who helped keep the Warriors within striking distance offensively during their first-half struggles, scored six points in the fourth quarter. She finished with a game-high 15 points.
Franklin Tech looked good early, as its own full court press created countless Mohawk turnovers. The hosts led 9-4 after one quarter and 19-10 at halftime, but it was a defensive effort that held the Warriors off the scoreboard over the span of 7:42 in the first quarter that really established an early advantage.
“That’s the style we play,” said Gamache of the press. “We try and stay uptempo. (Mohawk) made some adjustments and we couldn’t match them.”
Leading 14-10 late in the second quarter, the Eagles closed the frame on a 5-0 run over the final 1:30. Jocelyn Crowningshield completed an old-fashioned three-point play, and two free throws from Gem Cruz had the hosts feeling good sprinting into the locker room with the nine-point cushion.
Down the stretch, the Eagles had key players off the floor at inopportune moments due to foul trouble. Jordan Hurlbert and Isabelle Duga both fouled out in the fourth quarter, and the Warriors took advantage.
“With Jordan and Izzy in foul trouble, when other teams pressure us it takes away some key ingredients for us,” Gamache offered.
Gabby Castagna scored a team-high eight points for Franklin Tech, while Crowningshield added seven. The hosts got some nice minutes off the bench from Emily Ryan, who scored two points and grabbed some big rebounds over the course of the night.
Behind Poplawski, Clark and Grace Ward registered seven points apiece for the Warriors.
“This was a huge next step for us,” Harrison said of the win. “Hopefully moving forward now, they’ll be able to carry this over because they didn’t know what it felt like to win yet this season. Now they’ve got that feeling, let’s see if they can keep it going.”
Mohawk heads to Athol for another independent contest on Thursday night, while Franklin Tech hosts Smith Voke.