Taunton girls basketball falls to Durfee in Holiday Classic

TAUNTON— In a battle of undefeated squads Thursday afternoon, it was Durfee that came out on top.

Thanks to a second quarter scoring run by the Hilltoppers (4-0), Taunton (3-1) suffered their first loss of the young season, 49-39, in the first round of the annual Taunton Holiday Classic at the Rabouin Field House.

After a back-and-forth first quarter, in which the Tigers came out to an early lead, Durfee outscored Taunton 10-3 in the second quarter to take an eight point lead and kept up the pressure in the second half, fighting off a Tiger comeback effort by just outpacing the hosts 27-25 to seal their spot in the Taunton Holiday Classic title game for a second straight year.

"I was just proud of the way we fought back," Hilltoppers coach Jeff Caron said. "They came at us early and then they did the same thing in the second half and so I was proud of how we just sustained (through) those two runs that they made us (so) that’s the biggest take away that we didn’t fold because (Taunton is) an aggressive team and we wanted to make sure that we handled their pressure and there were a couple of times when we didn’t, but overall I was really proud of the effort."

Junior guard Mya Hayes-Paulette led the way for Durfee with 14 points, despite sitting much of the second half, while senior forward Jada Holley had 10 and both senior forward Landry Caron and junior guard Julia Hargraves had eight.

"(Hayes-Paulette) was plagued with fouls but she was productive when she was in there," Jeff Caron said. "As for Jada, I don’t think she came off the floor. She was great. She was good in our press with takes to the basket, so you need to have those kinds of efforts to win. You need a couple people or else you’re going to be on the losing side, so proud of their efforts."

As for Taunton, coach Gretchen Rodridgues said it was a case of the visitors just wanting it more.

"I thought Durfee just out hustled us," Rodrigues said. "I thought they just wanted it more than us and they were also very prepared for us. Excellent coaching job by them. We just had a tough game. I thought we played hard, we ran what we had to run (but) baskets just weren’t falling and it just was a tough day for us."

Sophomore forward Jillian Doherty led the way offensively for the Tigers with 11 points while freshman guard Taryn Campbell scored 10 and sophomore forward Skylar McCrohan had eight.

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Taunton came out of the gates the stronger side to start the game as junior guard Lexi Haywood sunk back-to-back baskets before Hayes-Paulette dropped one for Durfee. The Tigers twice went out to three point leads but the Hilltoppers kept responding and ended the quarter with a 12-11 lead.

From there, Durfee went on a six point run to start the second quarter and went up 22-13 before Melo hit a free point to bring the hosts within eight as they went into the half.

For Rodrigues, that scoring run by the Hilltoppers was a turning point.

"That hurt us and I thought after that we really couldn’t come back from it, but like I said, that happens," Rodrigues said.

Coming back for the second half, the Tigers showed their teeth as they brought the game back within two before Durfee went on another scoring run, building a 12 point lead before Taunton added a couple back to head into the final quarter trailing 36-27.

The fourth quarter played out much like the first with both teams going back and forth, but a 13-12 scoring advantage was all the Hilltoppers needed to seal the deal and improve to 4-0 on the year.

Still, Rodrigues said she was impressed with the effort her team showed in the second half.

"We’re not always going to play good, but that effort has to be there and I thought in the second half we definitely had a much better effort," Rodrigues said. "We’ve just got to put this game behind us."

Durfee now moves on to the championship game Friday where they'll face Holliston (2-2) while Taunton will face fellow Hockomock Kelley-Rex members North Attleboro (1-5) for the second time this season in the consolation game.

"You never know what you’re going to get, especially in high school basketball," Jeff Caron said. "I like our chances, but Holliston, I saw them for the first time today and they’re well-coached, they run some good things on offense and they’ve got (Megan) Simpson, she’s a good player and there’s a couple of others, so we’ll have to have an effort like today to come out victorious against a good opponent from a really good league."

As for the Tigers, while they may have beaten the Red Rocketeers in their first matchup 46-32, Rodrigues knows nothing is guaranteed.

"I’m feeling confident, but like I said, the girls need to come to play," Rodrigues said. "You can’t take anyone for granted and hopefully we get the win tomorrow."

Taunton will play North Attleboro first in the Rabouin Field House at 1 p.m. Friday while Durfee and Holliston will face off for the tournament title at 3 p.m.

Taunton Daily Gazette sports reporter Cameron Merritt can be reached at cmerritt@tauntongazette.com. You can follow him on Twitter at @CamMerritt_News. Support local journalism by purchasing a digital or print subscription to the Taunton Daily Gazette today.

This article originally appeared on The Taunton Daily Gazette: Taunton girls basketball falls to Durfee in Holiday Classic