FOURTH QUARTER
Laviolette called for foul. Curry at line. Makes both. 56-43 Wahconah.
Laviolette scores and the foul. Lavino called for foul. 56-46 Wahconah 20.0 left.
Curry misses first and makes 2nd. 57-46.
Lavino makes two free throws. 59-46 5.1 left.
59-46 Wahconah wins.
Turnover to Wahconah. 1:00 left.
Double dribble on Wahconah. 54.9 left.
Welch misses jumper.
Foul on Daring (3rd, 9th). Curry at the one-and-one. Curry makes both. 54-43 Wahconah. 37.9 left. Palmer calls time out.
Offensive foul on Ingram (3rd, 8th). Curry at the line. Makes the first and second. 52-43 Wahconah. 1:22 left. Wahconah calls timeout.
Whitestone hits a big 3. 50-43 Wahconah.
Laviolette no good in the paint. Foul in the rebounding action on Heilman (4th, 7th). Hamilton at the line for one-and-one. Misses. 1:43 left.
Welch misses the jumper.
Held ball to Palmer. 1:22 left.
Yarney foul line jumper. 47-43 3:00 left Wahconah.
Welch misses the inside jumper.
Farris steals the ball back and is called for traveling. 2:11 left.
Darling misses 3 as shot clock was running out.
Lavino hits a long jumper. 41-40 Wahconah 4:53 left.
Ingram no good.
Lavino no in the paint. Hamilton no good. Palmer rebounds.
Lavino steals and scores the layup. 43-40 Wahconah 4:00 left.
Laviolette from the corner for the tying 3. 43-43 340 left.
Yarmey inside for 2. 45-43 Wahconah 3:27 left.
Jasak misses the jumper.
Wahconah calls timeout 3:07 left. 45-43 Wahconah.
Wahconah misses jumper.
Ingram misses jumper but foul on Hamilton. Ingram makes first and second. 40-37 Palmer 7:13 left.
Yarmey on the drive scores and the foul (welch 2nd, 6th). Misses free throw. 40-39 6:55 left.
Lavioleete bounce pass knocked out of bounds to Palmer. Darling misses the 3 and Ingram no good on second try.
Hamilton misses jumper. Lavino also misses. Foul in rebounding action on Hamilton (3rd, 4th). Palmer calls timeout. 40-39 Palmer 5:49 left.
THIRD QUARTER
Hamilton spins and scores inside. 36-35 Palmer 3:20 left.
Out of bounds to Wahconah.
Held ball to Palmer. 2:54 left.
Darling drives down the lane and travels. 36-35 Palmer. 2:44 left.
Hamilton losses the ball to Palmer. Laviolette inside to Ingram and she spins and scores. 38-35 2:08 left.
Curry drives and is fouled by Jasak (2nd, 3rd). Curry at the line. Makes first and second 38-37 Palmer 1:56 left.
Wahconah gets the ball on turnover. Curry 3 no good.
Heilman rebound to Laviolette. In the paint and she is called for steps. 38-37 Palmer 1:13 left.
Dumas throws the ball away. Turn over to Palmer. 58.0 seconds left.
Laviolette to Darling to Welch and she is fouled by Curry (3rd, 2nd).
Jumper no good. Out of on loose ball to Wahconah.
Dumas called for traveling. 10.7 seconds left.
Laviolette to Darling to Heilman. Losses the ball. Diving on the floor and foul on Heilman (3rd, 5th).
Long three at buzzer no good. 38-37 Palmer after 3.
Darling inside pass to Ingram and she sweeps through the lane for 2. 34-28 Palmer 4:20.
Lavino hits a 3. 34-31 Palmer 4:10 left.
Ingram hits a long jumper. 36-31 Palmer 3:50.
Lavino hits a jumper 36-33. 3:40.
Out of bounds to Wahconah. Palmer calls timeout 3:33 left. 36-33 Palmer.
Wahconah ball to start. Laviolette with the steal to Darling to Laviolette for the 3 (15 points). 30-23 Palmer 7:35 left.
Whitstone misses jumper.
Darling no on the drive.
Laviolette steals to Darling. Darling to Laviolette for 3 (no good).
Hamilton foul line jumper. 30-25 Palmer 6:12 left.
Heilman no good. Own rebound out to Darling for a mid range jumper. 32-25 Palmer. 5:40 left.
Wahconah misses jumper. Darling with the bal and she is fouled by Zink (2nd, 1st). 5:20 left.
Palmer turns ball over.
Hamilton on the other end scores it and the foul on Farris (3rd, 1st). No good. Curry rebounds and she is fouled on the block by Heilman (3rd, 2nd). Curry at the line. 32-28 4:52 Palmer 1 of 2 at line.
SECOND QUARTER
CENTRAL MASS UPDATE: 44-25 Millbury 5:00 left. Will be back at about 3:02 p.m. with the second half.
Farris jumper no good. Foul on Heilman (2nd, 8th) in the rebounding. Dumas to the line for one-and-one. Misses 1:38 left.
Wahconah takes the ball away from Palmer. Curry no good.
Palmer rebound. Farris on the inside from Darling. 27-23 Palmer. 55.0 left.
Dumas misses jumper out. to Wahconah. Jumper no good.
Farris called for traveling. 26. 1 left.
Zink misses the jumper just before halftime. 27-23 Palmer at the half. Panthers outscore Wahconah 13-5 in the second.
Hamilton misses the jumper. Warriors still not have scored this quarter (Palmer 6-0 run).
Panthers called for traveling.
Whitestone called for a carry. Palmer ball. 3:37 left.
Darling lobs a beautiful pass inside to Heilman for two. 22-18 Palmer 3:13 left.
Hamilton drives to the basket and is fouled by Farris (2nd, 7th) and Hamilton is down and now limping off the floor with an apparent knee injury. Curry comes into to shoot free throws. Makes first and second. 22-20 Palmer 3:00 left.
Heilman in the low post out to Lavioleete for 3 (14 points). 25-20 Palmer 2:18.
Lavino answers with a 3. 25-23 2:10 left.
Burgner misses the shot. Hamilton rebound. Foul on Darling (1st, 5th). 5:08 left.
Curry misses jumper. Held ball to Palmer. 5:03 left.
Darling to Laviolette drives no good, but is fouled by Curry (2nd, 5th). Laviolette makes first and second. 18-18 tie 4:52 left.
Whitestone fouled by Darling (2nd, 6th). 4:48 left.
Hamilton no good. Laviolette hits a jumper on the end (11 points),. 20-18 Palmer 4:32 left.
Wahconah throws ball away. Out of bounds to Palmer. 4:25 left.
CENTRAL MASS UPDATE: 31-15 Millbury late third.
Laviolette rebounds. Heilman to Laviolette no good. Wahconah rebound and pushes down the floor. Jump ball to Palmer.
Welch drives to the basket and is fouled by Curry (1st, 4th). Welch makes first and 2nd. 18-16 Wahconah 5:48.
Out of bounds to Wahconah.
Farris steals the inbound. Drive and held ball to Wahconah. Wahconah calls time out. 5:29 left. 18-26 Wahconah.
Welch drives to the basket and misses. Welch called for foul (1st, 4th) in rebound action.
Held ball to Wahconah.
Wahconah jumper no good.
Laviolette down the floor. Long pass out of bounds. 7:12 left.
Palmer steal. Jasak to Laviolette to Jasak — called for traveling. 6:41 left. 18-14 Wahconah.
FIRST QUARTER
CENTRAL MASS UPDATE: Millbury 21, Northbridge 12 at halftime.
Welch misses baseline jumper. Whitestone passes to Curry and she is fouled by Laviolette (1st, 2nd). 2:14 left.
Yarmey hits a jumper and is fouled by Ingram (1st, 3rd) Makes the free throw. 16-10 Wahconah.
Laviolette (7 points) hits a jumper. 16-12 Wahconah 1:50 left.
Curry no good. Palmer rebound. Called for travel.
Curry inside for two more. 18-12 1:08 left.
Laviolette pass to Welch, who dishes inside to Jasak and she is fouled by Whitestone (2nd, 3rd) Misses both. 50.0 18-12.
Heilman steals Farris to Welch. Heilman to Jasak on the drive for 18-14. 7.0
Curry jumper at the buzzer no good.
After 1st, 18-14 Wahconah.
Curry misses the 3.Out of bounds to Wahconah. Foul inside on Ingram (1st, 1st) on inbounds. Hamilton at the line. 1 of 2 5-4 Palmer 5:35 left.
Laviolette hits the jumper (5 points) 7-4 Palmer. 5:20 left.
Out of bounds to Palmer. Darling in the paint. Stripped out of bounds to Wahconah. Darling misses the 3, Heilman rebound out to Laviolette. Farris pass to Heilman blocked inside. Ingram rebound fouled by Hamilton (1st, 1st). Ingram makes the first and the second. 9-4 Palmer 4:20 left.
Whitestone hits jumper. 9-6 Palmer 4:00 left.
Heilman battles for loose ball. Jump ball to Wahconah.
Hamilton (3 points) inside for two. 9-8 Palmer. 3:36 left.
Darling (2 points) on the drive and she is fouled by Whitestone (1st, 2nd). Darling hits the first and misses 2nd. 10-8 Palmer 3:17.
Yarmey hits a jumper to tie 10-10.
Ingram misses the jumper.
Curry hits the 3 from the corner — her second. 13-10 Wahconah 2:41 lst. Palmer calls time out.
Wahconah wins the tip. Missed shot.
Palmer rebounds Darling to Laviolette for 3 from the corner. Palmer 3-0 7:35.
Wahconah loses ball out of bounds.
Darling drives to the basket and is called for traveling. 3-0 Palmer 7:03.
Curry hits a 3 to tie the game at 3-3.
Ingram long jumper off the mark. Out of bounds to Palmer. 3-3 6:35.
Farris hands off to Darling and she drives and scores on a runner off the glass 5-3 Palmer 6:20.
Good afternoon and welcome to the Curry Hicks Cage on the campus of the University of Massachusetts at Amherst for the Western Massachusetts Girls Basketball Division 2 final between ninth-seeded Palmer (16-6) and third-seeded Wahconah 16-6.
This is only the second meeting ever between these two programs. The first happened last year at the Cage in the semifinals, which Palmer won 58-39.
Both sides have plenty of Cage experience as Palmer has nine girls back from last year and Wahconah returns seven. One difference is that they both have new head coaches this time around — Shawn Gersbach for Palmer and June M. Blake for Wahconah.
For those unfamiliar with the Lady Warriors, let us take a closer look at some of their top players. Senior guard Aliah Curry, who had a game-high 23 points in the semifinals against second-seeded Hampshire, is the team’s leading scorer at 12.3 points per game and their top deep threat as she had connected on 40 3-pointers during the regular season.
Senior forward Sarah Hamilton provides an inside presence at 5’9″ and is second on the team in scoring at 11.8 per game. Senior guard Sarah Whitestone averaged 7.7 points per game in the regular season and hit 23 3-pointers. Sophomore guard Gabby Lavino also can hit from the outside as she had 13 during the season and averaged 6.7 points per game.
Curry and Hamilton also led the team in free throws made at 58 each.
Wahconah is 11-1 this year when they scored 50 or more points. They averaged 50.1 points on the year. They finished 5-5 when they scored less than 50.
Wahconah is 3-1 in finals game with their last appearance in 2009 — a loss to Monument Mountain.
Palmer received big offensive performances from two surprises — senior forward Tara Ingram and freshman guard Karyce Welsh — in their semifinal victory over Belchertown. Ingram had a game-high 12 points, including several key baskets during a 10-0 Panthers run, and Welsh had a big basket and two free throws in the final 1:30 as she came up with seven points.
Palmer junior guard Halie Laviolette is the team’s top scorer at 13.1 points per game. Laviolette and sophomore guard Alyssa Darling are also the team’s top 3-pointer shooters at 20 and 19 apiece. Darling is the team’s second-leading scorer at 9.0.
In Palmer’s 16 wins this season, they are averaging 50.0 points on offense and 35.5 on defense. In their six losses, the scoring average dips to 40.5 and the defense goes up to 50.5 per game.
Palmer is 8-0 when they score at least 50 points and 11-2 when they score at least 46.
PALMER ROSTER
#2 Halie Laviolette junior guard
#3 Isabella Coffey-Moore junior forward
#10 Shannon Trybus senior forward
#11 Alyssa Jasak sophomore guard
#12 Alyssa Darling sophomore guard
#13 Bev Farris senior guard
#15 Tara Ingram senior center
#24 Summer Cavanaugh sophomore forward
#35 Karyce Welsh freshman guard
#42 Morrissa Heilman junior forward
#44 Taylor Dupuis sophomore forward
WAHCONAH ROSTER
#3 Kelcie Yarmey junior center
#4 Sarah Whitestone senior guard
#5 Cate Cherry junior guard
#10 Jamie Budaj junior guard
#11 Gabby Lavino sophomore guard
#12 Carly Zink senior guard
#14 Aliah Curry senior guard
#15 Shannon Lussier sophomore center
#20 Kelsie Dumas senior forward
#23 Sarah Hamilton senior forward
#32 Laura Harnett sophomore guard
#33 Sam Burgner senior center
We will back in just a moment with the starting lineups and the opening tip!
PALMER STARTERS
Laviolette, Darling, Farris, Ingram and Heilman
WAHCONAH STARTERS
Whitestone, Zink, Curry, Burgner and Hamilton
