Tantasqua seeks a perfect ending

For the Tantasqua Regional boys' basketball team, it has been a year of firsts. It began with an unbeaten regular season. It continued with a Division 2 Central Mass. title. Now Tantasqua is on the threshold of a state championship when it meets Catholic Memorial (20-5) at the DCU Center in Worcester tonight at 7:30.

Like so many other squads that have come out of obscurity to reach the pinnacle, the Warriors have been tabbed a "Cinderella" team.

This team, however, doesn't appreciate the moniker.

"I don't think we're a Cinderella team," said senior point guard Terry Peretti, who averages nearly 14 points per game. "I think we're a team that's been underestimated. This is a very good and very talented team."

Tantasqua (24-0) is no stranger to the postseason, but the program has never played for the state crown, which has brought a community together.

Located in Fiskdale, a town just down the street from Old Sturbridge Village, Tantasqua fans showed up in droves for last Saturday's Central Mass. final at WPI and Wednesday's state semifinal at Assumption College.

"Everywhere we go, this community is abuzz about this," fifth-year coach Jeff Child said. "If you asked me before the season if I thought we would be in the state final, I would've said no."

The Warriors have been criticized for playing a less-than-stellar schedule. But there are no apologies. A victory at Division 1 Milford last month silenced a lot of critics. Next year, Tantasqua will move up to Division 1.

Child said during the season that his club has not received the respect he believes it deserves and has been using it as a catalyst to ignite his team.

"We're going to States knowing it's going to be two great teams out there," said Warriors center Andrew Kazanovicz, who averages 14 points.

Division 1 boys -- Holy Name has been down this road before: The Naps reached the title game last year only to fall to Newton North. But with some key components back, Worcester-based Holy Name is on a mission to seal the deal when it faces BC High (24-0) at 4 p.m.

While most teams are happy to have one 1,000-point scorer in its arsenal, the Naps (24-0) have three -- Michael Baldarelli, Dominique Price, and Ryan Brown.

"I think being there last year helped us," Holy Name coach Jason Chavoor said. "We've played a bunch of big games [against Plainfield, N.J., Charlestown, and East Boston]. Obviously, a state championship is a little bigger than that, but we've played in those types of games before."

Added Brown, "We've faced teams that were fast and we've seen pretty much everything. [BC High] should be nothing new to us and we're prepared for it."

Division 3 boys -- Defending champion Sabis International Charter School is back and even better than last year's model as it prepares to meet Watertown (21-3) at 12:30 p.m. The Bulldogs (21-3) are loaded offensively, led by 6-foot-3-inch senior forward Isiah Wallace , who averages 24 points. Wallace netted 33 points in Wednesday's 77-64 semifinal victory over Bartlett.

"He's our go-to player," said Bulldogs coach Dan Sullivan. "He controls the tempo of the game. He's probably the most underrated player in the state."

Division 1 girls -- Springfield Central (23-1) makes its third trip to the finals in as many years, having lost in the previous two outings, including a 3-point loss to Braintree last year. This time, the opponent is Central Catholic (20-5) at 2:15 p.m.

Springfield used a 27-2 run in the opening half to blow past Holy Name, 72-51, in Tuesday's state semifinal.

After missing out on last year's postseason because of academic ineligibility, senior Jasmine Lovejoy has become the backbone. She scored 32 points against Springfield. Junior Felicia Barron is also a strong offensive threat, adding 19 points Tuesday.

"I think we have a little more determination this time around," Golden Eagles coach Bill Ross said.

Division 2 girls -- Making its fifth consecutive trip to the finals, Hampshire Regional (19-5) is looking to add another championship banner when it meets Lincoln-Sudbury (23-2) at 5:45 p.m. Hampshire won state crowns in 2003 and 2005. Last year, the Red Raiders lost to Oliver Ames.

Hampshire is led by senior guard Anne Lasek and senior center Cara McCormack, both of whom have eclipsed the 1,000-career point mark. It is expected the 6-4 McCormack will have a competitive battle with Carolyn Swords, L-S's 6-5 Boston College-bound star.

"It'll be the first time in a few years that Cara will be playing against someone bigger than her," said Red Raiders coach Jay Fortier. "But I think we'll be OK. We've been lucky over the years in regards to our success. We haven't been starless for quite a while."

Division 3 girls -- After finally getting past perennial nemesis Lee to win the Western Mass. title, Granby has continued its quest for a first state championship. The Rams (22-1) hope to accomplish that by defeating Archbishop Williams (20-7) at 10:45 a.m.

Granby, situated on Route 202 between Belchertown and Holyoke, has succeeded in large part because of a well-balanced offense and defense. The Rams average more than 51 points, while allowing just 31.

In its upset win over defending state champ Quaboag in the semis, Granby used a 20-5 run in the opening half to keep the Cougars at bay. Junior guard Genn Roy is the Rams' key player, averaging more than 16 points.

"[Going to the finals] is going to be a new experience for us," first-year Rams coach Tom Burke said. "It's going to be a different atmosphere because we're used to playing in those small, cozy buildings and now we go into the big building, so it'll be a change for us. I've felt that this team could take it all the way. We didn't talk about it much during the season but I told them [after the Quaboag victory] that they could certainly do it."