WESTHAMPTON- With basketball shoes squeaking on the court floor and the swish of the net being heard inside Hampshire Regional Middle/High School, girls’ high school basketball is officially back.
Friday evening, Hampshire and Wahconah faced off for both schools’ season opener.
With a final score of 63-35 in Wahconah’s favor, the Warriors put up a gritty game with Madison McCarthy leading the way in points.
“Resilience,” Warriors coach Liz Kay said. “I think at halftime we were a little bit out of sorts…you have two choices through adversity, you can go internal, or you can become external. And I thought especially our effort in [the] third quarter really set the tone for the remainder of the game.”
In the third quarter alone, Wahconah made 17 points. This was the second-highest scoring quarter of the matchup after the first ended with it having 19 on the board.
Last season, McCarthy was the leading scorer for the Warriors with 350 and was named to the All-Western Mass. First Team for Class B. Friday, the senior scored 22 points. She went two-for-two from the charity stripe, made seven two-point baskets, and two three-pointers to become the game’s leading scorer.
“[McCarthy] is a shooter, that’s what she’s known as,” Kay said. “But what she showed tonight in the growth from last season is that she’s now a scorer. If she’s going to get face carded, then she’s going to make basket cuts and score that way. She’s finding other ways to score, and I thought just a tremendous all-around effort from her too.”
Friday was anything but smooth sailing for the Warriors, though. Addie Miklasiewicz, Hampshire’s leading scorer, made eight of her 12 points from the free-throw line.
With about four minutes in the first quarter, Miklasiewicz found herself on the stripe for the second time, where she went two-for-two. Her first time on the line came just after being fouled going for a layup. But she only made one of her two awarded shots.
“[Miklasiewicz is] our leader, she does everything right, she works her butt off at practice…she pushes her teammates to be the best they can be, and she’s the ultimate competitor,” Hampshire coach Jason Plamondon said. “I love coaching that girl…every coach dreams of having a player like [Miklasiewicz].”
Despite being led by Miklasiewicz on the court, Friday’s hosts are missing their leading scorer from last season. Shayne Moynahan, who is out for the season with a torn ACL injury. During the 2024-25 season, she led Hampshire with 226 points.
Hampshire’s first basket of the evening came from a Sammi Moreau jumper inside the paint from the right side of the basket.
In the second, Anna Doyle opened the scoring for Wahconah. About a minute into the second eight-minute quarter, Doyle made a layup from underneath the basket after an offensive rebound off a three-pointer attempt. On the night, she totaled seven points, making two other two-point baskets and one free throw.
About two minutes remained in the second quarter when both teams had a bonus. After Moreau made a personal foul against Warrior Grace Farley. On the line, Farley went two-for-two to bring the score line to a seven-point margin with Wahconah leading 27-20.
To end the quarter, Aubrey Parent for Hampshire was fouled with 4.3 seconds on the clock. The foul came directly after play resumed from a timeout called by Plamondon. Parent went one-for-two to enter the half.
The second quarter was the only set of eight minutes where Hampshire outshot the Warriors, making 12 points to Wahconah’s 11.
For the Warriors, Sydney Payson made her varsity debut Friday night. The sophomore made two three-pointers to total six points during the matchup.
The third quarter was when the Warriors took off, but Hampshire began to show its inexperience. During the first, the scoreline was brought down to a five-point margin, and the intensity from the student section and home fans intensified.
As the third quarter wore on, Plamondon said that intensity was something he wished his team could’ve carried with them.
During the fourth quarter, Wahconah outshot Hampshire 16-to-7.
“We’re going to be really good,” Plamondon said. “I don’t know when we’re going to be really good, it could be a week from now, it could be a month from now, it could be in February. But this is going to be a really good basketball team that this community is going to really enjoy watching, and I’ll never question the effort of this team. These girls are going to work their butt off every week.”
Hampshire will next face Southwick Regional at home on Dec. 16, while Wahconah next faces Drury on the road on Dec. 17. Both games are scheduled for 7 p.m.
