PITTSFIELD, Mass — Ahliya Phillips scored 23 Taconic past Wahconah in a tight battle, 48-46, Thursday night in a battle of Berkshire County North Division heavyweights.
It was a very back-and-forth game between these sides and it came all the way down to the final seconds to determine the winner after Phillips hit a late 3-pointer to give her team its final margin.
Taconic (11-0, 8-0) was able to get things going offensively in the first quarter thanks to Ciany Conyers, who scored seven of her 16 points in the quarter. It had a 16-8 lead before Maria Gamberoni knocked down a 3-pointer at the buzzer. Wahconah (10-3) took this momentum into the second quarter going on a 10-0 run. Wahconah was able to swing the ball around getting good looks at the rim allowing for easy kick out chances and held the halftime lead by two, 28-26.
The third quarter was a bit sloppy on both ends on the floor seeing only 11 points combined between the two teams. Taconic went a full four minutes without a basket but were still able to stay within striking distance. The fourth quarter is where things picked up with both teams starting to knock down shots especially from downtown.
Conyers got things going with a 3 of her own that led to Ahliya Phillips knocking one down right after. Phillips started to catch fire and followed her triple up with an and-one and a layup giving Taconic a 40-37 lead with 6 minutes to go in the game.
“I thought Ahliya did a great job with some putbacks and some cuts, I thought Ciany set the tone with our half press and that got us going with some energy,” Taconic coach Matt Mickle said. “Our game is being aggressive and try and get turnovers, but it was an all out war.”
Wahconah battled back and tie the game but once again it was Phillips who knocked down another big 3 to give Taconic a two-point lead with less than a minute left in the game. Wahconah had a few tries at sending the game to overtime but was unsuccessful due to that swarming Taconic defense.
With this win Taconic continues its perfect season and will look to add to the impressive run against Hoosac Valley on Monday.
Wahconah (10-3, 4-3) will get a quick turnaround and face Mount Greylock at home on Friday night.
