Mount Greylock Girls Advance in D4 State Tourney
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. – The Mount Greylock girls basketball team was firing on all cylinders in its return to the state tournament on Wednesday.
Tanley Drake and Madison Powell each scored 14 points to lead the way as the Mounties earned a 59-46 win over Oxford in the preliminary round of the Division 4 State Tournament.
It was Mount Greylock’s first game in the tourney since 2022, a first-round loss in the D5 tourney.
On Wednesday, Audrianna Pelkey and Naelyn Robinson joined Drake and Powell in double figures with 10 points apiece. Each had two of the Mounties’ 10 3-pointers.
Madison Drake hit three times from behind the arc to finish with nine points.
Defensively, the Mounties forced 20 Oxford turnovers in the first half in building a 33-14 lead and never looked back in setting up a Thursday first-round matchup at third-seeded South Hadley.
The Mounties’ press accounted for five of Oxford’s first-quarter turnovers.
“We struggled a little bit at times [this season], but the games where we’ve run [the press] really well, with a lot of energy, we’ve done really well,” Mount Greylock coach Jabari Powell said. “And it sets up the offense. It gets some nice, easy baskets, which is good to see.”
Three of those baskets in the first period came from behind the 3-point arc.
Madison Drake hit a pair of triples, and Pelkey connected from long-range in the middle of a 13-0 run that opened a double-digit lead midway through the first quarter.
It was a 10-point lead early in the second when the Mounties went on a 10-1 run to close the half.
Tanley Drake got things started by driving the lane and getting to the foul line, where she hit a pair of free throws to make it 24-13.
Powell scored five straight, and Robinson capped the run with a putback in transition that sent Mount Greylock to the locker room with a 33-14 lead.
The Mounties led by as many as 29 at the end of the third after a triple from Tanley Drake to make it 55-26.
In the fourth quarter, both coaches leaned on their reserves, and the Pirates were able to get within 13 by the final horn.
No. 30 Mount Greylock (12-9) will need rested starters in its next game, when it goes to play the Tigers (11-10), who last week came from behind to upset Pittsfield in the Western Massachusetts Class B Championship Game.
“I want the girls to come out and just play hard,” Coach Powell said. “I just want them to come out and do what they can do. Anything can happen, right? We’re gonna have to play a really good game. That’s a really good team, and we’re going to have to play our best game of the year. But as long as they go out and play hard, I think I’ll be happy.”
Win or lose in the Round of 32, the Mounties have plenty to be happy about after getting back into the tournament.
“Our goal at the beginning of the year was to make it to the tournament, and we did that,” Powell said. “It was a little rough because we qualified relatively early (Jan. 29), like with six or seven games left, and we’re not used to that.
“So I guess keeping the focus and everything like that is hard. We struggled a little at the end of the year. But we had three really good days of practice with a lot of energy. … And they shot well tonight. Typically, when we do bad, our shooting from everywhere is non-existent, even the layups. They shot well tonight.
“It was nice for the seniors to get a final win on this court. The fact that it was a playoff win makes it even better.”