It's been an up-and-down season for the Brattleboro Colonels girls' basketball team, but they have one thing going for them as they head into the final quarter of the regular season - they have played more games than any other team in Division I.
COVID-19 has made a total hash out of the Vermont high school sports schedule for many teams this season, but the Brattleboro girls have stayed healthy and ended last week having played 13 of the 18 basketball games on their schedule.
Not having to cram a bunch of make-up games in the final three weeks of the regular season gives the Colonels some time to iron out some of the wrinkles in their play after a week that saw them win one game and lose another.
Against Hartford at home on Jan. 17, the Colonels beat the Hurricanes, 44-34. Senior point guard Kiki McNary had eight points and eight steals, while Chloe Givens had 14 points and six rebounds and Brenna Beebe had 10 points and seven rebounds.
Coach Chris Worden is trying to get his players to be more patient on offense and play better team defense. That formula worked against the Hurricanes, but was harder to accomplish on Jan. 23 against South Burlington. The Wolves beat the Colonels, 54-38, in a matinee at the BUHS gym.
The Colonels got off to a 9-3 start in the first three minutes of the game, but the Wolves rallied and cut the lead to 11-10 at the end of the first quarter. Brattleboro had trouble scoring in the second quarter as South Burlington started to pull away and led 25-17 at the half.
Brattleboro started the third quarter strong and sliced the Wolves' lead to 29-27 with 4:02 left in the quarter. South Burlington's Aleah Staley then banked in a three-pointer and started a 9-2 run to close out the third with the Wolves in control, 38-31.
South Burlington kept the Colonels from getting any closer in the final eight minutes as Staley made two more three-pointers and finished with 13 points. Miranda Hayes added 15 points for the Wolves. Beebe and Mallory Newton each scored 10 for the 4-9 Colonels.
Boys' basketball
• Junior forward Alex Carpenter stole the show by scoring 10 straight points off the bench in the second quarter as Brattleboro beat Windsor, 54-38, at the BUHS gym on Jan. 21.
Carpenter broke open a close game with a pair of three-pointers and a pair of inside shots to put the Colonels in control to stay. Senior guard Sam Mattocks also had a good night from long distance with three three-pointers to key a second-half surge.
On defense, junior center Paul McGillion blocked five shots; he and sophomore forward Willem Thurber each scored seven points. Mattocks was the high scorer with 11 points to go with Carpenter's 10. It was the second win in three games for the Colonels, who improved to 2-5 on the season.
• Jonathan Terry had 13 points and eight rebounds to lead Bellows Falls to a 75-40 win over Mill River on Jan. 21. Patrick Barbour and Jackson Goodell contributed with 12 and 11 points, respectively, while Jamison Nystrom added nine points and five assists as the Terriers improved to 6-2. Nate Hoague led Mill River with 23 points.
• Poultney cruised to a 62-34 win over visiting Twin Valley on Jan. 19. The Blue Devils led 39-13 at the half and were never seriously challenged by the shorthanded Wildcats. Twin Valley then lost to Rivendell, 63-18, on Jan. 21 to finish their week at 1-8.
• After being idle for eight days, Leland & Gray dropped a pair of games last week. The Rebels lost at home to Proctor, 60-51, on Jan. 18 and lost a road game against White River Valley, 63-26, on Jan. 21 to fall to 2-5 on the season.
Girls' basketball
• Proctor's Maggie McKearin showed Bellows Falls why she is the best girls' basketball player in Vermont when she scored 42 points to lead the Phantoms to a 76-33 win over the Terriers at Holland Gymnasium on Jan. 18.
The senior point guard, who reached the 1,000 point milestone for her high school career two nights later by scoring 40 points against Poultney, played a phenomenal game against the Terriers. Laura Kamel scored 20 points and had 12 rebounds for BF.
McKearin is the third member of her family in the 1,000-point club. Big sister Abby got 1,202 for her career, while her big brother Conner made it past 1,000 last season.
• After three weeks of COVID-19 and weather-related forced inactivity, Leland & Gray finally got a chance to play a game on Jan. 19, and made the most of it as they defeated Rivendell, 35-29. Mary Sanderson scored 13 points for the 3-5 Rebels, while Maggie Parker added 11 points.
Nordic skiing
• The Brattleboro Colonels girls' Nordic team finished second in a four-team meet on Jan. 19 at Prospect Mountain in Woodford.
Mount Anthony's Eden White won the girls' race, while Ava Whitney led the Colonel girls with a third place finish. Mount Anthony won the team meet, besting Brattleboro 13-23. Katherine Normandeau was fifth, Anna Cummings was 10th, and Elena Hannigan came in 13th to round out the Colonels' scoring.
Twin Valley's Luke Rizio won the boys' race in 15:57. Brattleboro's Tenzin Mathes ended up in seventh. Mount Anthony won the boys' team competition with 10 points, followed by Rutland (43 points), and Burr & Burton (54).
Girls' hockey
• Juliana Miskovich had two goals and an assist as Brattleboro defeated Middlebury, 4-3, on Jan. 22. It was the first game the Colonels had played in more than three weeks due to COVID-19 and weather-related postponements.
Willow Romo had a goal and an assist, and Kaitlyn Blouin added another goal with Willow Romo getting an assist. Angela Jobin made 22 saves in goal as the Colonel girls improved to 2-4.
Vermont's Free Ice Fishing Day is Jan. 29
• If you've wanted to try ice fishing, and haven't gotten around to picking a fishing license, the Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department is offering its annual Free Ice Fishing Day on Saturday, Jan. 29, the one day each season that residents and nonresident anglers may ice fish on any Vermont water body that is open to ice fishing without a fishing license.
“Ice fishing can be a great way to introduce people to how much fun fishing can be,” Fish and Wildlife Commissioner Christopher Herrick said in a news release. “Showing youngsters or adult new anglers how to jig for perch or how to use tip-ups is rewarding, and it can provide an excellent meal of fresh fish. Perhaps best of all, the experience almost always creates fond memories to last a lifetime.”
For ice fishing tips and to learn how to safely go ice fishing, go to www.vtfishandwildlife.com. Be sure to visit the virtual ice fishing festival for a video presentation on fish identification, safety, and cooking your catch. To learn about fishing regulations, you can pick up a free copy of the 2022 Fishing Guide & Regulations booklet from any Vermont license agent or Interstate highway rest area, or it can be downloaded from the website.
Senior bowling roundup
• Week 3 of the winter/spring 2022 season of the Brattleboro Senior Bowling League at Brattleboro Bowl on Jan. 20 saw the league contract to seven teams, as league secretary Nancy Dalzell said Good Times is disbanding after three weeks due to not having enough bowlers.
The week ended with Bowling Stones (13-2) going 5-0 to move into first place, while Trash-O-Matic (12-3) moved up to second. A Rose/Tulips (11-4) fell to third place, followed by Stayin' Alive and the 844s (both 9-6), The Anythings (4-11), and Good Times (1-14) and Slow Movers (both 1-14).
Pamela Greenblott had the women's high handicap game (256) and series (688). Chuck Adams had the men's high handicap game (258), while Jerry Dunham had the high handicap series (700). The Anythings had the high team handicap game (859), while Bowling Stones had the high handicap series (2,511).
In scratch scoring, Adams had the high men's game (258), and his 639 series also led the men. Robert Rigby had a 590 series with games of 212 and 199. Warren Corriveau Sr. had a 585 series with games of 231 and 221. Jerry Dunham had a 583 series with games of 215 and 204. Gary Montgomery had a 567 series with games of 200 and 198, and Duane Schillemat had a 503 series.
Carol Gloski (529) and Greenblott (514) had the high scratch series for the women. Gloski had the high scratch game with a 201, while Greenblott rolled a 198.