NORTH ADAMS -- The Pittsfield girls' basketball team used a swarming full-court press to hold Drury to just 21 first-half points.
It was a completely different story in the second half. Shannon Garvey alone scored 22 on her way to a game-high 27, and the Blue Devils rolled to an important North Division victory, 63-44 on Monday night.
"We came up from halftime and we realized that we really needed to pick it up," Garvey said. "We knew once we started playing good defense then the shots would come."
Garvey also led the charge for the Blue Devils in the paint. She recorded 16 rebounds to top off her double-double on senior night in North Adams.
Most of Garvey's baskets came after she caught a pass from Danielle Racette. Racette finished the night with only seven points, but had 11 assists.
"As a point guard, it's not really your job to score," Racette said. "It's more like when you score when you have to, and if you don't have to, you get the assists. That's the way it was tonight. They played two players on me all the time. You just have to find the open person and they left Shannon open a lot."
Racette's vision was the main reason the Blue Devils were able to break the press in the second half. They started the third quarter with a 16-2 run over the Generals to start pulling away.
Pittsfield answered with a late 5-0 run of its own to close the third, but the damage was done. Drury had a 39-27
"When [Drury] went on that run in the third quarter, Danielle was getting free from the press and they were making all those shots," Pittsfield coach Joe Racicot said. "In the first half, they weren't making those [shots]."
The Generals found themselves in foul trouble early and often. That gave the Blue Devils an even bigger boost. All seven of Racette's points came from the foul line. Emily Moulton was 4 for 4 from the line on her way to 10 points for the Blue Devils.
As a team, the Blue Devils were 18 for 21 from the charity stripe. They didn't miss a single shot from the line in the second half.
"We got to the line, and I think everyone was making their foul shots," Garvey said. "No one was missing those, that's what you need."
Pittsfield's Courtney McLoughlin led her team with 13 points. Drury held three of the five Pittsfield starters without a point in the first half.
Morgan Lamarre was also a key contributor to the Blue Devils' third-quarter run. She scored all six of her points during that run. Moulton also came alive in the second half, scoring eight of her points. Ali Tatro had just four points, but contributed five assists and eight rebounds.
"You talk about players that do the little things and that's really where you see Ali and you see Morgan making their contributions," Drury coach John Franzoni said. "Playing great defense, rebounding, just doing all the little things to help the team win."
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