Search Results

By Line search: By GARRETT COTE

By GARRETT COTE

AMHERST — On two separate occasions this winter, Mullins Center staff spilled onto Jack Leaman Court as soon as the final horn sounded to end a UMass men’s basketball game. They aren’t typically in a huge rush to break down equipment, especially if the next event to take place in the arena is another basketball game, but the Minutemen hockey team had a game about five hours later – they needed to change the hardwood to the ice in time for warm-ups.

By GARRETT COTE

LOWELL — South Hadley girls basketball head coach Paul Dubuc said his team didn’t show up to the Tsongas Center for a moral victory. That very well could be true, but the Tigers did one thing that no other team in Division 4 had done in the postseason: put up a fight against No. 1 Cathedral.

By GARRETT COTE

LOWELL — It felt like history had repeated itself at the Tsongas Center on Sunday afternoon. A year ago, the South Hadley girls basketball team got off to a hot start before ultimately falling to No. 1 Cathedral in the MIAA Division 4 state championship game on the third Sunday of March.

By GARRETT COTE

Smith College is ‘elite’ once again.

By GARRETT COTE

SOUTH HADLEY — Paul Dubuc met with his senior captains – Ava Asselin, Caitlin Dean, CC Gurek and Maddie Soderbaum – prior to the start of the season back in late November. The South Hadley girls basketball head coach and his Tigers were coming off the program’s first-ever state championship appearance, where they lost to Cathedral in the Division 4 title game.

By GARRETT COTE

When the NCAA Division 3 Women’s Basketball bracket was released on March 3, Smith College was thrilled to be hosting yet another opening weekend, just as it had done the previous three tournaments. But despite earning the right to play first and second round games at home, the Pioneers were given an extremely rigorous path to a potential third straight Final Four.

By GARRETT COTE

AMHERST — When Joe Harasymiak accepted the UMass football head coaching job back in early December, a handful of members on the Rutgers staff – where Harasymiak was previously the defensive coordinator – were excited for him. They also wanted to go with him based on the relationships they had built with him over the course of their time together.

By GARRETT COTE

WORCESTER — After making the MIAA Division 4 state final and graduating only one senior from last season’s team, the town of South Hadley, all of western Mass. and competition across the state expected the South Hadley girls basketball team to end up in that same exact spot come March 2025.

By GARRETT COTE

The time has come for the UMass men’s basketball team, as it begins its trek through one final Atlantic 10 Conference tournament on Wednesday afternoon.

By GARRETT COTE

The Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame announced the 2025 Western Massachusetts Senior High School All-Star Game rosters Monday – and 12 Daily Hampshire Gazette area players made it across the three games scheduled to be played on Thursday, March 20 at the Hall of Fame in Springfield.

By GARRETT COTE

AMHERST — AJ Hairston dropped back to pass during the 11-on-11 live portion of the UMass football team’s first spring practice of the season Monday morning.

By GARRETT COTE

SUFFIELD, Conn. – Preston Edmead was made for March.

By GARRETT COTE

NORTHAMPTON — The Smith College women’s basketball team’s nine-point fourth quarter lead in the NCAA Division 3 Women’s Basketball second round had evaporated. Amherst College clawed its way back in it on the defensive end, holding the host Pioneers to just six points for the first 9 minutes, 30 seconds of the frame, and got a massive 3-pointer from guard Reagan Pahl with 13 seconds left to tie the game at 50 apiece. Smith’s deafening crowd turned silent as head coach Lynn Hersey called timeout to draw up a play.

By GARRETT COTE

AMHERST — When the final buzzer sounded to signal the end of the UMass men’s basketball team’s regular season, which ended in a 74-51 loss to Loyola Chicago on Saturday afternoon at Mullins Center, the arena’s staff immediately began tearing up the floorboards of Jack Leaman Court to get ready for the Minutemen’s hockey game at 7:30 p.m.

By GARRETT COTE

NORTHAMPTON — Two years away from the NCAA Division 3 Women’s Basketball Tournament felt like an eternity for Amherst College and head coach G.P. Gromacki.

By GARRETT COTE

NORTHAMPTON — The Smith College women’s basketball team once again earned the right to host the first two rounds of the NCAA Division 3 Women’s Basketball tournament following its fifth straight NEWMAC tourney championship. The Pioneers have hosted Round of 64 and Round of 32 games for the past three seasons, so this winter makes it four in a row.

By GARRETT COTE

After defeating George Washington in their regular season finale on Feb. 26, the UMass women’s basketball team completed a turnaround for the ages and earned the No. 7 seed in the Atlantic 10 Conference tournament.

By GARRETT COTE

SOUTH HADLEY — Paul Dubuc thought he wrote Cara Dean’s name down on the board as part of the list of starters for the third quarter on Tuesday night. Dean, a sophomore, is a regular in the South Hadley girls basketball team’s starting lineup. Dubuc turned to his bench and asked, “where’s Cara,” after the first possession of the second half. She was sitting down waiting patiently to get subbed back in.

By GARRETT COTE

GRANBY — A see-saw first half between the No. 3 Granby boys basketball team and No. 19 Rockport ended with an 8-2 Rams run thanks to a pair of Cody Breault 3-pointers. Granby headed to the locker room ahead 29-23. The two sides traded field goals out of the break to make it 31-25, then Vikings guard Josiah Whitley took over.

By GARRETT COTE

NORTHAMPTON — After walking through the ground-level door of Ainsworth Gymnasium, up a flight of stairs and through the first-floor doors, you’re immediately met with five trophies staring right back at you. The two on the end are NEWMAC championship trophies. The three in the middle? A pair of Division 3 Women’s Basketball Final Four trophies and a national-runner up one.

By GARRETT COTE

NORTHAMPTON — Each member of the Smith College women’s basketball team climbed up the ladder to cut down a piece of the net on the home side of Ainsworth Gymnasium following the No. 1 Pioneers’ 79-66 victory over No. 6 MIT in the NEWMAC championship game on Sunday afternoon.