The Vermont high school girls' basketball playoffs began this week. Contending teams always want to go into this stage of the season with momentum. However, for the Leland & Gray Rebels, they entered the Division IV playoffs coming off a pair of losses to end the regular season.
On the road against White River Valley on Feb. 15, the Rebels were held scoreless in the first quarter and trailed 26-5 at halftime on the way to a 48-12 loss. That loss was painful, but it came against a top Division III team and wasn't that surprising.
A better barometer of what the Rebels will face in the playoffs came in the regular season finale in Townshend on Feb. 17, when they hosted the undefeated West Rutland Golden Horde. The defending Division IV champs turned up the defensive pressure in the third quarter and outscored the Rebels 22-5 on the way to a 65-29 victory.
The game started out close as the Rebels trailed, 12-11, at the end of the first quarter. Leland & Gray lost a bit of ground in the second quarter as the Horde took a 21-15 at the half.
Then West Rutland sophomore superstar Peyton Guay took over the game in the second half, scoring 21 of her game-high 31 points. Guay was scoring baskets from all distances and, when she wasn't shooting, she was able to quickly dish the ball off to whoever else was open. Teammates Bella Coombs (15 points) and Aubrey Beaulieu (10 points, all in the second half) were the chief beneficiaries.
Samantha Morse led Leland & Gray with 10 points, followed by Hannah Greenwood with eight points and Maggie Parker with six points for the Rebels. Greenwood and Abby Towle, the only seniors on the Rebels squad, were honored before the game.
The Rebels finished the regular season with a 15-5 record and the third seed in Division IV. They will host No. 14 Rivendell in a first-round game on Feb. 22. The good news for the Rebels is that West Rutland is not in their side of the tournament bracket. If there is to be a rematch between these two teams, it will happen in the state championship game on March 4 at high noon at the Barre Auditorium.
• Brattleboro bounced back from a 42-40 loss to Mount Anthony in Bennington on Feb. 14 with a 36-32 win over the Burr & Burton Bulldogs on Feb. 16 in the Colonels' home finale.
The Colonels finished with a 6-14 regular season record and the No. 12 seed in the Division I tournament. The good news is that their first game will be close by as Brattleboro was scheduled to travel to Manchester to face fifth-seeded Burr & Burton in a first-round game on Feb. 21.
• Bellows Falls lost to West Rutland, 72-35, on Feb. 14, but ended the regular season on Feb. 18 with a 50-21 win over Rivendell to finish with a 6-14 record and the No. 10 seed in Division III. They were scheduled to travel north to Bradford to face the No. 7 Oxbow Olympians in a first-round game on Feb. 21.
• Twin Valley ended its season with a 0-16 record. On Feb. 14, the Wildcats were beaten in their home finale by Mount St. Joseph, 55-14. The Wildcats played one of their most competitive games of the season on Feb. 15 against the Mid-Vermont Christian Eagles, but fell short, 50-21. Twin Valley trailed by one point after the first quarter, but the Eagles led by 10 at the half and scored 19 points in the third quarter to clinch the win. Long Trail ended the Wildcats' season with a 51-16 win on Feb. 17.
Boys' basketball
• This is the final week of the high school boys' basketball season in Vermont, and the contending teams are tuning up for the playoffs. Bellows Falls got a great dress rehearsal on Feb. 16 when they hosted the Windsor Yellowjackets. Holland Gymnasium was filled and full of energy for this game, a hard-nosed battle between neighborhood rivals.
The Terriers won the game, 67-57, but had to work hard to do it. The game was tied, 15-15, after one quarter and Windsor led by as many as eight points in the second quarter before BF rallied and cut the Jacks' lead to 33-32 at halftime.
The second half was a battle of attrition as the fouls began piling up, but it was the Terriers who started to pull away as they wore the Jacks down. Colby Dearborn scored nine of his team-high 19 points in the fourth quarter as BF took a 46-42 lead into the final eight minutes. Jake Moore and Jamison Nystrom scored 13 and eight points, respectively before both fouled out in the fourth quarter. Walker James and Cole Moore each added seven points.
Windsor's top scorer, senior guard Maison Fortin, scored 27 points, with his final point - a free throw late in game - giving him 1,000 points for his high school career. Rodger Pellerman added 15 points.
“We knew he was going to get his points,” said BF coach Evan Chadwick, “but he was going to have to earn them. It wasn't an easy 27 points.”
Chadwick said he was pleased with his team's effort on offense and defense, and how they fed off the energy of the crowd. “This was like a playoff game,” he said.
For a team that is determined to play for the state championship at the Barre Auditorium next month, it was a good sign that the Terriers are ready for the task. With a 77-31 win over Sharon Academy on Feb. 18, BF entered the final week of the season with a 14-4 record and riding a seven-game win streak.
• After a 44-37 win at Burr & Burton on Feb. 14, Brattleboro suffered a 58-34 road loss against Rutland on Feb. 16. Paul McGillion led the 10-8 Colonels with 15 points and eight rebounds, while John Haskins added eight points.
• Leland & Gray defeated Twin Valley, 48-25, on Feb. 16, but lost to Green Mountain, 48-37, to finish the week with an 8-9 record.
Nordic skiing
• With the temperatures in Brattleboro in the 50s on Feb. 15, the scheduled relay leg of the Southern Vermont League Championships got moved from the Brattleboro Outing Club's trails at the Brattleboro Country Club to Prospect Mountain in Woodford.
Prospect Mountain is Mount Anthony's home course, not that MAU's boys' and girls' teams needed any help in making it a clean sweep in all three events - skate, classic, and relay - to win the SVL title for the second straight year.
Mount Anthony bested Woodstock, Burr & Burton, Brattleboro, and Rutland in both relay events. In the boys' race, the team of Finn Payne, Luke Rizio, Riley Thurber, and Peter McKenna finished in 30 minutes, 33 seconds, 2:05 faster than second-place Woodstock. The girls' team of Eden White, Elyse Altland, Aurora Rella-Neill, and Tanis White finished in 38:06, 22 seconds ahead of Woodstock.
Next for the Brattleboro teams will be the Division I state championships, with the classic race on Feb. 23 at Craftsbury Outdoor Center and the skate race on Feb. 28 at Rikert Nordic Center in Ripton.
Ice hockey
• The Brattleboro boys were shut out by Lyndon, 3-0, on Feb. 13, and lost to Stowe, 5-2, on Feb. 15 to finish the regular season at 5-12-1.
• The Brattleboro girls lost to Stowe, 7-4, on Feb. 15, and got shut out by Burr & Burton, 6-0, to end the week with a 2-17 record.
Snow golf fundraising event at Scott Farm
• Landmark Trust USA (LTUSA) invites the public to play snow golf right where it was invented on Sunday, Feb. 26, from 12:30 to 3 p.m., at Scott Farm, 707 Kipling Rd., Dummerston. Tickets for the “Snow Golf Skills Competition: Chip, Drive, & Putt for Preservation” are $25, and advance registration is suggested.
According to the U.S. Golf Association, author Rudyard Kipling invented snow golf at Naulakha, his home in Dummerston, following his introduction to golf by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle of Sherlock Holmes fame.
The competition will feature six skills challenges - including Chipping Skeeball, Longest Drive, and Blindfolded Pick-A-Club - and 1 hole. Players may register solo or with friends or family, and prizes will be awarded for best overall score, best score on each challenge, and more. Snacks and drinks will be provided, and all players are entered to win a $250 LTUSA gift certificate.
For more information and registration, visit landmarktrustusa.org/snow-golf. All proceeds from the event support the historic preservation work of The Landmark Trust USA to help maintain the nonprofit's beautiful historic properties, such as Naulakha and the Scott Farm, and save additional historic buildings.
Rec. Dept. offers indoor youth soccer
• The Brattleboro Recreation & Parks Department will be offering a youth indoor soccer program beginning Monday, Feb. 27 and running through Wednesday, March 27 at the Gibson-Aiken Center, 207 Main St.
Children will be broken into small co-ed teams to play pick-up games as well as practice skills and drills. Scores will not be kept. All participants should come dressed and ready to play.
The program, which takes place from 5 to 6 p.m., will be broken down based on grade, with Mondays for Kindergarten and first-graders, Tuesdays for second- and third-graders, and Wednesdays for grades 4-6. Shin guards and sneakers are required. Participants should enroll before the first night of the program. The fees are $20 for Brattleboro residents and $35 for non-residents. Space is limited, call 802-254-5808 for more information.
Senior bowling roundup
• Week 6 of the winter/spring season of the Brattleboro Senior Bowling League at Brattleboro Bowl on Feb. 16 saw The Markers (23-7) have a 5-0 week to move into first place. Slo Movers (20-10) had a 1-4 week to slide down to second place, followed by Split Happens and The A-1's (both 16-14), Trash-O-Matic (15-15), Fab Four (14-16), and 10 Pins and The Strikers (both 8-22).
Carol Gloski had the women's high handicap game (231) and series (612). Robert Rigby had the men's high handicap game (265) and Pete Cross had the high handicap series (675). Trash-O-Matic had the high team handicap game (855) and The Markers had the high handicap series (2,486).
In scratch scoring, Rigby led the men with a 649 series that featured games of 265 and 217, while Cross and Jerry Dunham both had a 549 series. Skip Shine had a 533 series with games of 194 and 192, while Marty Adams had a 529 series with a pair of 181 games, and Milt Sherman had a 526 series.
Gloski had the women's high scratch series (522) and game (201) for the fourth consecutive week.
Withington Rink closes for season on March 5
• The Brattleboro Recreation & Parks Department says that the Nelson Withington Skating Facility at Living Memorial Park will be closing for the season on Sunday, March 5, following the last program, and thanks everyone “for another wonderful season.”