PITTSFIELD, Mass. – For the first time since 2016, the Pittsfield girls basketball team opened the season with a win in December.
For the first time since January of 2018, the Generals have a win over their city rivals.
Jamie Duquette scored 23 points and grabbed seven rebounds Tuesday to lead Pittsfield to a 59-31 win over Taconic at the Boys and Girls Club.
“It feels so good,” the senior said after the victory. “We’ve been playing against Taconic my entire life. It feels good to get a win.”
Duquette put her stamp on the game early with 12 first-quarter points to help the Generals build a 21-12 lead through the first eight minutes.
Her 3-pointer made it a 9-5 game midway through the period, and Taconic never got any closer.
Duquette scored twice in the post in the opening minutes of the second quarter to make it 25-12, and Pittsfield was able to keep the margin in double digits the rest of the way.
“I thought we ran the floor pretty well, and we moved the ball,” Pittsfield coach Joe Racicot said. “They were pretty aggressive early, and we moved the ball when we needed to and got it to the open person.”
Taconic (0-1) got a strong game from Amelia Leasure, who hit three 3-pointers on her way to a 12-point night and also pulled down nine rebounds. Alex Hudson hit a couple of 3s and finished with nine points.
Dezerea Powell backed up Duquette with seven points, and Britain Sadowy and Madison Stetz had six and five, respectively, as 10 different Generals put their name in the scoring column.
Stetz, a ninth-grader, also finished with 11 rebounds and three assists.
She was joined on the floor by classmates Harolyn Castillo, Bre’Jai Ellerbee and Kyanna Summers, who each made contributions in the win.
“Our freshmen played a lot of basketball – they played about 200 games the last few seasons,” Racicot said. “The bottom line is they’re well groomed, and they blend in well with what we already have.”
Pittsfield will look to blend up another win when they go on the road to face Holyoke on Friday.
Taconic will try again for win No. 1 next Monday at home against Chicopee Comp.
