The Leland & Gray girls' basketball team wasn't able to win its own tournament to start the season, but the Rebels made a big splash in the Green Mountain Holiday Tournament last week in Chester.
Mary Sanderson scored the winning basket with two seconds to play to give the Rebels a 32-30 win over the host team, the Green Mountain Chieftains, in the championship game of the tournament on Dec. 15. The Rebels are off to a good start to the season with a 4-1 record.
Sanderson and Maggie Parker scored eight and 11 points, respectively, to lead the Rebels. This dynamic duo were also the Rebels' top scorers in the tourney's opening round game on Dec. 13 as Parker scored 23 and Sanderson chipped in eight points in a 43-34 win over Long Trail School.
Eighth-grader Callie Spaulding led the Chieftains with 14 points and Colie Roby added six points in the loss to the Rebels.
Boys' basketball
• Twin Valley had a rough time of it in the boys' side of the GM Holiday Tournament. Owen Traynor scored 41 points as Mount St. Joseph blitzed the Wildcats, 79-21, on Dec. 13.
• Bellows Falls fared better in their opening round game in the GM tourney on Dec. 13 with a 58-39 victory over Green Mountain. The Terriers rallied from a 17-8 deficit in the second quarter to eventually take the lead and dominate the second half. Colby Dearborn led BF with 22 points, while Caleb Merrill led the Chieftains with 13 points.
BF then faced Mount St. Joseph in the GM tourney's championship game on Dec. 15, and the Mounties used a strong second half effort to put away the Terriers, 55-37.
Owen Traynor led MSJ with 25 points, while Walker James and Eli Allbee led Bellows Falls with eight points apiece.
• In the consolation game on Dec. 15. Green Mountain held off Twin Valley, 45-39. Twin Valley started off hot and scored 18 points in the opening quarter. But the Chieftains picked up steam and tied the game by the start of the fourth quarter and outworked the Wildcats for the victory.
Eben Mosher led Green Mountain with 21 points and Tanner Swisher added another 12 points. Noah Dornburgh led Twin Valley with 17 points.
• Cam Frost put on a show for the Brattleboro fans as he scored 24 points to lead the Colonels to a 67-56 win over the St. Johnsbury Hilltoppers in the home opener on Dec. 13 at the BUHS gym.
Center Paul McGillion finished with 10 points and 15 rebounds and Tate Chamberlin contributed with 13 points. The Colonels needed big games from their top three scorers to counter the game-high 26 points scored by St. Johnbury's Harry Geng.
Together with a 63-58 road win over the Windsor Yellowjackets on Dec. 15, the Colonels are off to a 2-0 start.
• Parker Jennings scored a game-high 18 points as visiting Leland & Gray defeated the West Rutland Golden Horde, 54-45, on Dec. 13. The Rebels opened up a 41-12 lead at the half before the Horde made the game competitive with a stronger second half effort.
Girls basketball
• The Windsor Yellowjackets overpowered the Bellows Falls Terriers, 89-30, on Dec. 15 in Westminster. Sydney Perry had 15 points and 10 assists, Sophia Rockwood scored 23 points and Audrey Rupp had 13 points, eight assists, seven steals, and six rebounds as Windsor controlled the game all the way. Tela Harty and Laura Kamel each scored eight points for the Terriers (0-2), while Nola Sciacca added six points.
In the Terriers' season opener on Dec. 12 in Westminster, the Springfield Cosmos came away with a 40-22 victory and put coach Pete Peck into an exclusive club. Peck became only the fourth coach in the school's long history to win 100 games, joining legends Bo Birsky, Richie Wyman, and Mike Hatt.
Sophomore point guard Macie Stagner led the Cosmos with a game-high 22 points, including 12 in the third quarter that keyed an 18-5 Springfield run that broke open what was a close game to that point. Aliya Farmer led BF with five points, while Harty, Kamel, Izzy Stoodley, and Hannah Terry each added three points.
• Both of Brattleboro's scheduled games last week got postponed. The Colonel girls will be back in action on Dec. 23 against Fair Haven at the BUHS gym.
Ice hockey
• The Brattleboro boys won their home opener on Dec. 14 with a 3-0 victory over the Woodstock Wasps. Carter Mialkowski, Evan Wright, and Alex Dick were the Colonels' goal scorers. Rowan Lonergan tallied a pair of assists, and Will Miskovich and Dylan Sparks were also credited with one assist each as goalie Darek Harvey picked up the shutout victory for the 1-1 Colonels.
Give the gift of hunting and fishing in Vermont
• If you are looking for a last-minute gift, the Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department has a solution: a gift certificate for hunting and fishing licenses.
“It's a perfect gift for a friend or family member who hunts or fishes,” Fish & Wildlife Commissioner Christopher Herrick said in a news release. “You can go to our website (vtfishandwildlife.com/licenses-and-lotteries/license-center), fill out the gift certificate, pay for it online, and then print the certificate to present to your recipient.”
The gift certificate can be found via a link in the license section of the Vermont Fish & Wildlife website. The recipient of the certificate must go to the website to redeem their certificate and purchase their licenses.
“If you have a friend or relative who hunts or fishes, this is an easy gift-giving solution,” said Herrick. “The gift certificate can cover licenses for 2023, or for future years.”
Rec. Dept. hosts Ice Skating 'FUN'damentals program
• The Brattleboro Recreation & Parks Department says that the Nelson Withington Skating Facility still has room available in its Ice Skating “FUN”damentals program for those 3- to 30-years-old. Stacey Chickering, Suzanne McCaughtry, and Megan Pratt will be offering two sessions of ice-skating fundamentals.
Session two will run on Jan. 3, 10, 17, 24, and 31 and Feb. 7 from 5 to 6 p.m. at Withington Rink. The fee is $113 for Brattleboro residents and $128 for non-residents.
This session requires a minimum of 15 skaters to run. This hour-long class includes lessons and practice time. Skate rentals are available for $3 per night, but are not included in the lesson fee. Register online at register1.vermontsystems.com/wbwsc/vtbrattleboro.wsc/splash.html, or stop by the Gibson-Aiken Center at 207 Main St. Monday-Friday from 9 a.m. to noon and 1 to 4:30 p.m.
Circus classes provide fitness and wellness benefits
• Get fit and have fun with circus classes at the New England Center for Circus Arts (NECCA), with a new fitness routine that you may actually want to do in 2023.
No experience needed, as NECCA is a welcoming and inclusive circus school with innovative teachers known for providing training that is catered to the individual. Weekly circus classes at NECCA begin Jan. 4 with more than two dozen beginner-friendly classes, including an online novice stretching class, low tight wire, tots and youth classes, and weekly juggle jams.
NECCA says many of its students begin in their 50s and 60s (with several in their 70s) and the combination of stretching and strengthening helps with balance and muscle tone for bodies of all ages. There are also more athletic classes for adults including trampoline (great cross training for acrobatic skiers), partner acrobatics, German wheel and pole, plus a wide variety of youth and teen specific classes for all levels. For more information, call 802-254-9780 or visit www.CircusSchool.org.
NECCA's trapezium is located just 1 mile north of downtown Brattleboro at 10 Town Crier Drive, and is served by local buses as well as middle school and high school bus routes.
Senior bowling roundup
• Week 16 of the fall/winter season of the Brattleboro Senior Bowling League on Dec. 15 saw first place Keglers 4 (49-31) have a 1-4 week and second place Good Times (47-33) have a 5-0 week to cut the Keglers lead to two games with two weeks left in the season.
The Strikers (42.5-37.5) are in third, followed by Trash-O-Matic (41.5-38.5), Lucky 7 (36.5-43.5), Old Farts (36-44), Split Happens (36.5-44.5), and Slow Movers (32-48).
Diane Cooke had the women's high handicap game (231), while Carol Gloski had the high handicap series (661). Chuck Adams had the men's high handicap game (259), while Duane Schillemat had the high handicap series (684). Trash-O-Matic had the high team handicap game (880) and series (2,483).
In scratch scoring, Robert Rigby led the men with a 645 series that featured games of 234 and 224. Chuck Adams had a 625 series with games of 259 and 214, while Warren Corriveau Sr. had a 618 series with games of 222, 199, and 195.
Schillemat had a 564 series that featured games of 207 and 194 and Marty Adams had a 503 series. Other notable games included Wayne Randall (212), Skip Shine (190), and John Walker (186).
Gloski had the women's high scratch series (518) with games of 177, 172, and 169.
Holiday cheer to one and all
• This is the last sports roundup for 2022, as The Commons takes its annual holiday break next week. We'll be back on Jan. 4 with the first issue of 2023. Thank you to everyone who has helped to make this page of the paper so much fun to do every week, and may the coming year be a good one for us all.