MILLIS — The Millis defense didn’t give the Franklin Tech girls basketball team an inch to work with on the offensive end the court Monday.

The 17th-seeded Eagles scored the opening two baskets of the game, as Kendra Campbell hit a runner while the shot clock expired and Kait Trudeau sank a 3-pointer to stake Franklin Tech to a quick 5-0 edge. 

The top-seeded Mohawks locked in from that point on however, and the hosts didn’t allow the Eagles to score another field goal until the two-minute mark of the second quarter. All told, Millis used a 28-3 run to ultimately take a 34-15 lead into the half.

The Mohawks held on in the second half to knock Franklin Tech out in the MIAA Division 5 Round of 16 with a 67-38 victory.

“That’s a solid team,” Eagles coach Joe Gamache said of Millis. “Clearly they have a lot of girls who have played high level basketball. They move the ball well, they play good defense and they shot it well. We tried a bunch of different things defensively to slow them down and it would work for one trip but they figured it out quickly.” 

Millis (14-8) advanced to meet No. 8 Palmer in the Div. 5 quarterfinals on Thursday. Franklin Tech closed out its stellar season with a 21-3 record, having won the Franklin County League South as well as the MVADA Small School Vocational Tournament. 

“Hats off to our girls,” Gamache said. “This is probably the best season is our program’s history. The girls battled all season and it was such a fun group. I’m going to miss our seniors. The good news is hopefully the rest of the girls come back and we continue to build. It had to come to an end at some point and unfortunately that was tonight.” 

After the Eagles’ 5-0 start, Millis rattled off eight straight points on baskets from Olivia Hockman, Lindsey Grattan and Hailey Basset to take the lead. 

Kyra Goodell made a free throw to halt the run but Bassett scored back-to-back baskets, Hockman knocked down a 3 and Ava Hockman scored inside to put the Mohawks ahead, 16-6.

Franklin Tech’s Hannah Gilbert got to the line and made a pair but Millis scored three points to close out the quarter and hold a 19-8 lead going into the second. 

It was a 9-0 run from the Mohawks to open the second quarter, with baskets coming from Bassett, Grattan (2) and Mia Molinari. While the Eagles defense gave opponents fits all year with its press, Millis was able to handle the pressure and not allow Tech to turn the game into a track meet as it did so often during the season. 

Gilbert knocked down a 3 with two minutes to play in the second, Franklin Tech’s first basket of the frame, while Campbell made a pair of free throws and Lilianna Inman scored in the paint to cut the Mohawk lead to 34-15 at the break. 

“We don’t see too many teams like that,” Gamache said. “They were the No. 1 seed for a reason.” 

The Eagles settled in during the second half, but every time they scored a basket, Millis answered on the other end to stay in control of the game. 

The Mohawks outscored Tech 18-14 in the third quarter to take a 52-29 lead into the fourth. Gilbert knocked down a 3, Campbell got inside for two, Gilbert sank a midrange jumper, Lea Chapman converted an and-one and Cordelia Guerin scored inside for the Eagle baskets.

It was more of the same in the fourth, with Millis having an answer for each Tech basket. Campbell made a free throw, Gilbert hit a 3, Chapman scored in the paint and Campbell closed out the Eagles’ scoring with two free throws. 

It was the Mohawks size that proved to be an issue. Bassett led the way with 18 points, Molinari finished with 15 points and Hockman recorded 11 points in the win. 

Gilbert led Tech with 12 points, Campbell tossed in nine points while Trudeau and Chapman each scored six points in the defeat.

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