Ram-ping it up!
Senior O’Neill, Lady Rams get revenge
By CHRIS PUTZ
Staff Writer
WESTFIELD – It was an incredible night for one local senior, and her teammates.
Southwick-Tolland senior Melissa O’Neill scored a game-high 19 points and grabbed 14 rebounds to highlight a wonderful senior night – she’s the lone graduating senior – for the Lady Rams.
Southwick avenged an earlier one-point loss to McCann Tech with a 40-34 victory over the Berkshire team Friday night at home in front of a raucous crowd.
“It was one of the biggest crowds I have seen here in five years,” said Southwick coach Mike Gill, who was not only surrounded by his current players, but also former alumni, the high school band, and a boisterous crowd.
“It felt like a real Friday night basketball game,” Gill said. “Melissa really appreciated it.”
O’Neill was not the only star though.
Junior Mariah Collins recorded a double-double (10 points, 13 rebounds), and Southwick’s defense clamped down on McCann Tech’s Ashley Alibozek, who scored 25 points in the first meeting between the two teams earlier this season. The Lady Rams employed a box-and-one on the senior sharpshooter, limiting her to just two points last night.
“We rotated four different players on her,” Gill said.
Southwick was solid in the fourth quarter, making 10 points from the free throw line. Collins and O’Neill were each 8-of-12 from the stripe in the game.
“It was a real good team win on senior night,” Gill said. “That’s all Melissa wanted – a win.”
Southwick senior Taylor Cordeiro was also recognized for three years as the team scorekeeper.
Southwick (11-7) will close out the regular season at Putnam next Tuesday night, February 21 at 6 p.m. The Rams, who will return to the postseason after a long hiatus, will then await the announcement of their tournament seed later next week.
Chicopee 49, Westfield 38
On senior night, Westfield senior Carina Soto scored a team-high 10 points, and freshman Alicia Arnold drained three 3-pointers.
Westfield trailed 9-6 after the first quarter and rallied several times, but Chicopee responded with key baskets to protect its lead. Pacers’ Ashley Dion led all scorers with 18 points.
Local fans will have one more chance to see Soto and fellow seniors’ Evonne Tapases, Melissa Welch, and Devon Fitzgibbons when the Bombers (4-15) wrap up their season at Chicopee Comp next Tuesday, Feb. 21 at 7 p.m.
JV RESULTS
Southwick 31, McCann Tech 13
Jacqui Richard (13 points) and Caitlyn Sylvia (7) helped the Southwick-Tolland junior varsity girls’ hoops team complete an unbeaten league season, and finish 14-4 overall.
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Bombers bid adieu to seniors
Big league win highlights senior night for WHS hockey
By PETER FRANCIS
Intern
WESTFIELD – It was an emotional evening at Amelia Park Friday, as the arena morphed into a hangar of loud, boisterous Bomber fans, dressed in red and black. And as the home team skated off the ice following a big 7-3 statement win over divisional foe Ludlow, the arena cheered as Robbie Cagliostro, Nick Sibilia, Kyle Levere and Conner Laraway skated off the ice for their last regular season home game at Amelia Park.
The Bombers flew out to an early first period lead with two goals in the first two minutes of action, as Sibilia would continue his season-long scoring tear with a goal on an assist from defenseman Ethan Nassar, while forward Neil Parrow would crush another one 30 seconds later. By the end of the first period, the Bombers were in firm control of the game, up 4-0 thanks to two more goals from Laraway and Brandon Miemiec.
But the Lions would show their claws at the end of the first, baiting the Bombers into two cheap penalties. By the end of the period, Westfield would have two boys in the sin bin, giving the Lions a limited opportunity to get back into the contest.
A dark horse in Western Mass this season, Ludlow has been playing as well as any team with a 413 area code, threatening to usurp the traditional kings of the division, the Lancers of Longmeadow and the defending Western Mass champion Bombers of Westfield high school. The Lions, however, played more like Simba than Mufasa on the evening, and by the end of the second, despite scoring two goals of their own in the period, still trailed the Bombers 4-2.
Following a brief tour by the Zamboni, the Bombers buckled up and took flight, reeling off three more goals in the final third to put the first place Lions in a catnap, sending a message to the rest of the hockey establishment not to throw rocks at the throne.
After the game, the patriarch of Westfield hockey, Coach C.B. “Moose” Matthews, spoke.
“There were definitely some tears in there,” a somber Matthews said. “They’re all like sons to me. You know, you coach them for two or three years, and then they go off to college. I just hope to see them in the old timers league someday.” He said jokingly, exhibiting the grandfatherly charm that has so endeared him to Westfield fans over the years.
The four seniors also spoke highly of the connection they share on the ice.
“It’s an amazing feeling, to have played with these guys since mites,” captain Nick Sibilia said, “it took a little while, but we are finally moving the puck well, just in time for playoffs.”
Said Laraway: “Wins don’t get much bigger than this. Ludlow is ranked higher than us right now, so it’s a great feeling to know we can beat them, especially with an atmosphere like senior night.”
Cagliastro added: “Great final game, a real statement for us going into playoffs. We’re a team of individuals who form a family that goes out and plays its best every night.” Cagliostro also spoke of the balance of the Westfield attack, as seven different Bombers registered goals on the evening.
Reiterating the words of his fellow seniors, Kyle Levere described the keys to the Bombers’ success on the evening. “We took their momentum, and really stuck it to them in the first period. It’s a big one because we will likely see them first round. But it was great to be a part of, and we now know that we’re capable of knocking them out.”
Next season, the four Bombers will either be in college (Levere plans to major in athletic training, Cagliostro hopes to do civil engineering, and Laraway is shooting for pre-med or prep school (Sibilia).
But for now, they are shooting for a second straight Western Mass championship. And the Bombers are locked and loaded following Friday’s memorable victory.
