Southwick’s McKenzie Sullivan attempts to drive the baseline against the Greenfield Green Wave. (Photo by Chris Putz)
GREENFIELD – If the Southwick Rams manage to string together a solid run in the high school girls’ basketball tournament, the Rams will likely look back on a big road test they nearly passed.
Southwick continually fought its way back into Wednesday’s road game at mighty one-loss Greenfield before falling 57-46 to the Green Wave.
Greenfield (17-1, 7-0) raced out to a 22-10 first-quarter lead, and maintained a double-digit lead at the half, 31-20. A determined Southwick team kept at it.
Tournament-bound Southwick (12-5) pulled within three points of a tie, 34-31 with just over four minutes remaining in the third quarter. Greenfield made two baskets within a 15-second span, converting a turnover in the Rams’ backcourt into a quick uncontested lay-up for a seven-point lead.
Southwick cut the Greenfield lead to three again, 38-35, with a free throw from Brooke Waitte. The Green Wave went on a 9-0 run over the next 2 minutes, 19 seconds to seize a nine-point advantage, 44-35.
“We had a lot of spurts,” Southwick’s Ashley Shea said. “We just couldn’t keep up enough to get the lead. If we gave up, we would have been out in the first quarter … We sure played with a lot of heart.”
Greenfield went up by 10 points early in the fourth quarter, but Southwick fought back again. Rams’ Mckenzie Sullivan (21 points) drained a 3-pointer to cut the lead to five, 45-40. The Green Wave made it a seven-point game. The Rams pulled to within five again late but that would be as close as they would get.
“We definitely knew they [the Green Wave] were coming with a lot of heart,” Sullivan said. “This was great preparation for the playoffs. It was an eye-opener … We don’t want to get slapped in the first round of the playoffs.”
McKinley White finished with eight points for Southwick. Rams’ Karli Langan and Haley Parker each had six.
Greenfield’s Raegan Hickey scored a team-high 18 points, followed by Green Wave’s Molley Duclos, 12, and Kelsey Roberts, 10.
Tough climb for Saints
Mount Everett 57, St. Mary 21
Parker Synder (19 points) and Gwen Carpenter (15) combined for 34 points as Mount Everett forged a victory at Westfield Middle School North.
Francesca DePergola led St. Mary with five points. Saints’ Jessica Crosby, Marissa Hannoush, and Madie Donais each chipped in four.
