AMHERST -- The Tigers opened their season with a dominant victory on Friday, setting the tone for another successful season.
South Hadley girls basketball cruised past Belchertown, 64-30, at the Mullins Center to open the Pioneer Valley Tip-Off.
The Tigers led from the start, but the team did not find their rhythm until midway through the first. Leading the Orioles by three, a quick 8-0 burst helped South Hadley push into double-digits.
"Our energy was really up from the start," South Hadley's Cara Dean said after the game. "Our bench was involved, our coaches were encouraging (us), so I feel like that also just leads to happiness out on the court."
As the game wore on, South Hadley's defense continued to muck up the Orioles' offense, swiping at the ball and cutting off passing lanes to create multiple live-ball turnovers. South Hadley coach Paul Dubuc emphasized the importance of winning the possession battle every night and a team-wide commitment to not letting up.
"We want to make more (shots) than they take," Dubuc said.
"The first half, we turned them over fairly frequently. We're pretty quick (but) we can get caught on that too. We go too soon, now they're playing five-against-four."
The Tigers' advantage continued to grow, reaching 25 by halftime. The Orioles did well to match the Tigers in the third, but they struggled in the fourth offensively as South Hadley pulled away to a 34-point win.
Dean finished with a game-high 18 points, with Athas and Kate Philips supporting her with 15 and 11 points, respectively.
The Tigers graduated six players from last year's state finalist roster, but as they demonstrated against the Orioles, South Hadley's youth is ready to take the reins.
Athas, in particular, is expected to play a big role in the Tigers' setup this year. After a promising freshman season, earning an All-Western Mass. Honorable Mention while playing off the bench, Athas stepped into the starting lineup on Thursday. Her performance on both ends of the court was key in the Tigers' victory, a confident display from the sophomore guard.
"I wanted to come out strong and bring in a different kind of energy to the court to get the game going," Athas said of her first varsity start.
South Hadley (1-0) will look to build on this result when the Tigers head to Pittsfield to face the Generals on Friday, Dec. 19, at 6 p.m.
"This win just really showed that we really want it this year and we have a good chance to go all the way," Dean said. "As a captain, I feel like we just got to keep everyone up and be together. It's a team sport, so everyone goes together."
Belchertown (0-1) will look to pick itself up and regroup after this tough loss, with a road matchup against Chicopee ahead on Saturday, Dec. 13, at 7 p.m.
"(The key is) trying to get them all to recognize the pace and speed we want to play with," Belchertown coach Jason Woodcock said. "We didn't press tonight, that's something we're going to be doing a lot of... first game (of the season), limited bench, big court, it's kind of hard to do that. But it's some things we want to work on going forward, and I think our athleticism will eventually kick in."