-The team motto on the back of the warm-up shirts worn by the Brattleboro girls' basketball team is "Choose Your Hard."
The Bears have seen plenty of hard so far in the season as they have struggled against the best teams in the state. The effort is there, particularly on defense, but the offense still needs some work.
An example of this was the Bears' 41-33 loss to Rutland at the BUHS gym on Jan. 18. Rutland took a 13-3 lead after one quarter and led 23-14 at halftime. Bears point guard Reese Croutworst was held scoreless in the first half, as Naima Harris's eight points kept Brattleboro afloat.
The Bears offense then came alive in the second half as Croutworst scored 14 of her team-high 15 points, including three three-pointers in the third quarter, as Brattleboro rallied to take a 28-27 lead. Lola Sparks then ended the Bears' comeback with a pair of three-pointers in the final two minutes as Rutland took a 33-29 lead into the fourth quarter.
Rutland then turned on the defense and held the Bears to just four points in the fourth quarter. Brattleboro committed a total of 17 turnovers in the game, several of which led to points by Rutland, and went 6-for-14 from the free throw line.
Sparks finished with 11 points to lead Rutland, Lanza Bellomo added nine, and Brinley Gandin scored eight. The Brattleboro defense forced 24 turnovers, but Rutland showed patience on offense when it did hang on to the ball and got the points when they needed them.
Harris finished with eight points for the Bears, none of them coming in the second half. Abby Henry scored five points, and Kylee Mager and Parker Thibault added three and two points, respectively.
With the loss, the Bears fell to 4-5 at the midpoint of the season.
Ice hockey
• In a rematch of the 2021 Division II boys' championship game, Harwood's Griffin Nelson scored the winning goal with 0.5 seconds to play as the Highlanders defeated Brattleboro, 2-1, at Withington Rink on Jan. 15.
After two scoreless periods, Alex Dick scored a shorthanded goal for the Bears, with Evan Wright getting the assist, for a 1-0 lead with 9:24 left in the third period. Harwood's Milo Lavit then tied the game with 1:57 left in the third period.
Harwood pulled its goalie in the final minute and, after winning a face-off, Nelson got loose on a breakaway and slid the puck by Brattleboro goaltender Senji Kimura as time was about to expire.
Kimura had a busy night in goal, as he made 38 saves, while Harwood goaltender Andrew Achilles made 23 saves.
With a 4-1 win over Rutland at Withington Rink on Jan 18, the Bears are now 6-4-1. They will host Missisquoi on Jan. 22 at 7:15 p.m.
• The Brattleboro girls remain winless. On Jan. 15, the Bears were shut out by the undefeated Spaulding/Northfield Crimson Tide, 8-0, at Withington Rink. The 9-0 Tide has made a habit of scoring a lot of goals; they have won by eight or more goals five times this season.
On Jan. 18 in Montpelier, the Bears lost to U-32, 7-2. Sophomore forward Jaidyn Denny scored both of Brattleboro's goals, with Kelis Melo and Avery Hiner credited with assists. Bears goaltender Dakota Vonfeldt made 36 saves.
The 0-9 Bears will next face Harwood in Moretown on Jan. 25.
Boys' basketball
• Champlain Valley made 12 three-pointers on the way to a 73-53 win over Brattleboro on Jan. 13. Owen Scott (17 points) and Connor Dubois (16 points) each had three three-pointers as the Redhawks took a 45-23 lead at halftime. Oscar Korson had 18 points and Jack Cady scored 14 for the Bears.
• Bellows Falls controlled the game from start to finish in a 67-46 win over Springfield at Holland Gymnasium on Jan. 18. Carson Clark had 18 for the 7-4 Terriers; Jaden Bazin added 12 points. Nick Wiese led Springfield with 15 points.
• Cody Hescock scored 17 points, but it wasn't enough as Leland & Gray lost to Springfield, 59-45, at Dressel Gymnasium on Jan. 15.
The Cosmos had four players in double-figures, led by Bradley Gallant with 14 points. Nick Wiese added 12 points, and Oliver Kelley and JohnPaul Stagner had 11 and 10 points, respectively.
• Brayden Brown scored 23 points and Niko Gerding sank four three-pointers in the second half as Twin Valley narrowly defeated Green Mountain, 53-52, on Jan. 16 in Whitingham. Tanner Swisher led Green Mountain with 22 points.
Girls' basketball
• Twin Valley put up a good fight, but the Bellows Falls Terriers were able to turn aside a late rally to hang on for a 44-34 win in Westminster on Jan. 14.
Abby Nystrom led the Terriers with a game-high 20 points, while Aubrey Maxfield added 10 points and Nola Sciacca had nine rebounds and three steals.
BF held Twin Valley to just 14 points in the first three quarters, but the Wildcats made the outcome closer with a 12-0 run in the final quarter. Kate Oyer led the Wildcats with 13 points and Alanna Bevilacqua added 11 points.
The Terriers then held off Green Mountain for a 51-46 win in Chester on Jan. 17. Nystrom led BF with 19 points and Laura Kamel had 16. Colie Roby led Green Mountain with 15 points. BF ended the week with a 7-1 record.
• Twin Valley lost to Mount St. Joseph, 58-27, on Jan. 17 in Rutland. MSJ had a 13-10 lead at the end of the first quarter, then got hot with 21 points in the second quarter and 18 points in the third to put the game away. The loss dropped the Wildcats record to 2-6.
• The Poultney Blue Devils rallied from a 34-23 halftime deficit to beat Leland & Gray, 57-48, on Jan. 14 in Townshend. The Devils held the Rebels to three field goals the entire second half, while Annaleice Taylor led Poultney with 17 points - 14 of them in the second half - with five three-pointers.
The Rebels recovered with a 41-18 road win over Proctor on Jan. 17. Abigail Emerson led Leland & Gray with 15 points, as the Rebels improved to 3-7.
Nordic skiing
• Nico Conathan-Leach and Willow Sharma are continuing their winning ways. In a nighttime Southern Vermont League skate race at Viking Nordic Center in Londonderry on Jan. 14, the dynamic duo again finished 1-2 against their competition.
Conathan-Leach won the boys' race in 11 minutes, 1.2 seconds, while Sharma finished second in 11:22. Desmond Longsmith, Galen Fogarty, Liam Conathan-Leach, Elijah Cummings, and Sam Mathes also competed for Brattleboro as the Bears finished tied for second with Woodstock with 34 points. Mount Anthony won the meet with 29 points, and Burr & Burton and Rutland tied for fourth with 56 points.
Maayan Coleman was the only skier for Brattleboro in the girls' race, finishing sixth in 15 minutes, 38 seconds. Mount Anthony's Roey Rella-Neill finished first in 13:44.
The Bears will have their first home meet of the season on Jan. 24 at the Marlboro Outing Club.
Bowling
• Fair Haven has dominated the southern Vermont competition so far this season. The Slaters won another match on Jan. 18 at Maple Lanes in Claremont, New Hampshire, defeating second-place Windsor and third-place Brattleboro.
The Slaters beat Brattleboro, 2-0, with scores of 166 and 189 in Baker play, to advance into the final against Windsor. Fair Haven won, 2-0, with scores of 189 and 200. Brattleboro will next take on Fair Haven and Randolph on Jan. 25 at Rutland Bowlerama.
Newfane man wins license lottery
• Travis Shine, 46, of Newfane, is the lucky winner of the 2024 Vermont Lifetime Hunting and Fishing License Lottery. Shine will now be entitled to hunt and fish in Vermont for free for the rest of his life. His name was drawn as the winner from among 18,496 Lifetime License Lottery tickets purchased in 2024 from the Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department.
Proceeds from the annual drawing help support fish and wildlife conservation in Vermont. According a news release, sales of the $2 tickets brought net sales of $36,787.50 to the department.
A person can enter Vermont's License of a Lifetime Lottery by adding the $2 entry fee when they buy their license on the Fish & Wildlife Department website at vtfishandwildlife.com. They can also enter by applying at wherever Vermont hunting, fishing, and trapping licenses are sold, or with a printable application available on the department website. There is no limit on the number of times a person may enter during the year.
Senior bowling roundup
• Week 3 of the winter/spring season of the Brattleboro Senior Bowling League at Brattleboro Bowl on Jan. 16 saw Full Monty (14-1) go 5-0 to take over first place. Slo Movers (12-3) also had a 5-0 week to move into second, followed by Niners (10-5), Let 'Em Roll (9-6), Renagades and Wayne's World (both 8-7), Charlie's Angels (5-10), and Double Trouble and Sandbaggers (both 4-11),
Anne Sherman had the women's high handicap game (252) and series (701), while Warren Corriveau Sr. had the men's high handicap game (247) and Kevin Napaver had the men's high handicap series (710). Full Monty had the high team handicap game (811) and series (2,614).
Napaver had the men's high scratch series (710) with games of 246, 234, and 239, while Corriveau had a 658 series with games of 232, 234, and 192 and John Walker had a 580 series with games of 222 and 191, Robert Rigby and Peter Deyo each had a 562 series; Deyo had games of 201 and 195, while Rigby had a 222 game. Gary Montgomery had a 555 series with games of 192 and 192, Mike Pavlovich had a 520 series with a 196 game, Milt Sherman had a 507 series, and Rick Pietro had a 506 series.
Carol Gloski had the women's high scratch series (524) and game (195). Gloski also had a 179 game while Diane Cooke had games of 170 and 169. Debbie Kolpa had a 163 game and Carole Frizzell rolled a 160.
Randolph T. Holhut, deputy editor of this newspaper, has written this column since 2010 and has covered sports in Windham County since the 1980s. Readers can send him sports information at [email protected].
This Sports column by Randolph T. Holhut was written for The Commons.