Women’s Basketball to Play for New England Championship
Lady Cougars Victorious in Region XXI Semifinal
(Holyoke, MA) – HCC women's basketball has earned the right to play in the New England (Region XXI) championship game for the first time since the 2010-11 season. The Lady Cougars were victorious at home on Friday night, defeating Northern Essex CC 64-49 in the regional semifinals. Holyoke played progressively stronger as the game went along, outscoring their opposition 34-19 in the second half on their way to the win.
It took a full team effort from the Lady Cougars to secure the semifinal victory, with each member of the team significantly impacting the outcome of the game. Johanys Andrades (Springfield, MA / Putnam Vocational Technical HS) and Emily McGrail (Ware, MA / Ware HS) played particularly well for Holyoke, Andrades leading the way offensively and McGrail dominating defensively.
Women's basketball improves their regional record to 11-3 and their overall record to 15-7. The Cougars will square off against the winner of the region's other semifinal between #1 CC of Rhode Island and #4 Bristol CC, to be played on Saturday, February 28th. If CCRI wins, Holyoke will travel to play in the final and if Bristol wins, Holyoke will host the matchup. The New England championship game is scheduled to tip off at 1pm on Sunday, March 1st at either location. Let's go Cougars!
Photo: The team listens to Coach Paige during a timeout during yesterday's game. Andrades standing left, McGrail sitting left.