The pairings for the 2015 Vermont girls' basketball tournaments came out on Feb. 16 with some intriguing first-round matchups for our local teams.
Topping the list in Division III is the latest installment of the West River vs. Deerfield River rivalry between Twin Valley and Leland & Gray.
Twin Valley (12-8) earned the sixth seed and played host to 11th-seeded Leland & Gray (8-12) in Whitingham on Feb. 17. The teams split the season series, with the Rebels winning in Whitingham on Jan. 9, 52-44, and the Wildcats winning in Townshend on Jan. 30, 41-26.
Bellows Falls (7-11) got the 12th seed and was scheduled to play at fifth-seeded Rivendell (13-7) on Feb. 17. The two teams have not played each other this season.
Results for these two games were unavailable at press time.
In Division I, Brattleboro (13-7) was seeded ninth. They travel to Manchester to play No. 8 Burr & Burton on Feb. 18 at 7 p.m. The Colonels swept the season series with the Bulldogs, winning 50-47 in Manchester on Jan. 22 and winning 42-37 at the BUHS gym on Feb. 7.
• Bellows Falls started out a busy final week of the regular season with a 73-32 win over Poultney. Keri Ticino led a quartet of Terriers in double figures with 22 points, followed by Hannah Kelly (17), Chelsea Wilder (15), and Murphy Hicks (10).
Leland & Gray cooled off the Terriers with a 39-30 win on Feb. 11 in Townshend. Haley Buffum led the Rebels with 14 points, while Kelly and Molly Dufault scored seven and six points, respectively, for BF.
The Terriers ended the regular season on Feb. 14 with a 49-42 loss at Arlington, their fourth game in five days.
• Defense has been Brattleboro's strong suit this season, but Mount Anthony became the first team to score more than 50 points against the Colonels this season with a 53-34 win in Bennington on Feb. 10.
Brattleboro trailed 18-17 at the half, then the Patriots outscored the Colonels, 23-11, in the third quarter to take control of the game for good. Nine different players scored for the Colonels, who were led by Taylor Bird's seven points.
The Colonels bounced back with a 67-23 rout of Bellows Falls on Senior Night at the BUHS gym on Feb. 12. Brattleboro was in control of this one from start to finish as Bird scored 18 points to lead the victors.
Bird, along with fellow seniors Abbie Lesure, Abby Brooks, Maddy Derosia, Meghan Powell, Nina Goodhue, Emily Rounds, and Katie Damian, were all honored before their final home game. Chelsea Wilder was the top scorer for BF with 11.
The Colonels lost their chance at possibly hosting a first-round playoff game with a 37-36 overtime loss to Rutland on Feb. 14. Devin Millerick was high scorer with nine points.
• Twin Valley took care of Arlington, 51-38, in their regular season finale on Feb. 11. Kirra Courchesne led the Wildcats with 15 points, including 10 in the second quarter. Twin Valley heads into the postseason having won seven of their final eight games.
Wildcats coach Buddy Hayford also learned last week that he will be inducted into the Vermont Basketball Coaches' Association Hall of Fame next month. As a girls' basketball coach, he has won more than 300 games and two state titles.
Boys' basketball
• Leland & Gray put up a good fight against Proctor on Feb. 10 in Townshend, but ultimately fell short, 52-42. Ryan Borgesen scored 12 points and Corey Nystrom added 10 for the Rebels as the Phantoms completed a season-series sweep.
The Rebels followed that effort up with another home loss, this time a 79-60 defeat at the hands of Woodstock. Leland & Gray ended the week at 5-10.
• Brattleboro crushed Springfield, 69-24, at Dressel Gym on Feb. 10 in one of their most lopsided wins of the season. The Colonels led 35-5 at the half as 12 of the 13 players on the roster scored. Liam Perra led Brattleboro with 12 points.
The Colonels then traveled to Manchester on Feb. 13 and lost 47-37 to Burr & Burton. The Bulldogs broke open a 22-22 tie at the half with an 18-4 burst in the third quarter. Brattleboro finished the week at 7-11.
• Brett Swanson scored 14 points to lead Twin Valley to a 44-39 win over Green Mountain on Feb. 12 in Whitingham. The Wildcats improved to 16-2 with the win and were still hanging on to the top seed in Division IV at week's end.
• Bellows Falls won only its second game of the season when it beat Black River, 52-49, in Ludlow on Feb. 11.
Nordic skiing
• Brattleboro's Declan King finished 10th, while Catey Yost finished 18th in the Marble Valley League's Classical race at Prospect Mountain in Woodford on Feb. 11.
The Brattleboro boys were fourth overall, behind Woodstock, Mount Anthony, and Burr & Burton. Rounding out the top five for the Colonels were Jonah Koch (12), Issac Frieta-Eagan (18th), Tyler Clement (24th), Phelan Muller (27th).
The Brattleboro girls finished fifth behind Woodstock, Mount Anthony, Burr & Burton, and Rutland. Isabella Thurber was 17th and Evy Williams was 30th for the Colonels.
Ice hockey
• Feb. 11 was a rough night for the Brattleboro hockey teams as the Colonel girls lost to Missisquoi, 3-0, at Withington Rink, while the Colonel boys' lost a 7-4 road match to St. Johnsbury Academy.
The Colonel girls lost to Stowe on Feb. 13, 4-2, at Whitington Rink and fell to 5-14 on the season.
Feb. 14 wasn't much better for the Colonel boys as they dropped a 6-5 decision to Hartford at Withington Rink.
This was a particularly frustrating loss. Brattleboro had a 35-20 shot advantage, yet fell behind 4-0, rallied to tie the game at 4-4, and then gave up two more goals to Hartford to fall to 6-13 on the season.
Declan Lonergan had a goal and two assists for the Colonels, Brennan Zolonoski, Braxton Lynn, Evan Perkins, and John Peloso also scored.
VPA Hall of Fame selects Class of 2015
• Three local sports figures were selected last week for the Class of 2015 in the Vermont Principals' Association Hall of Fame.
Lawrence “Poody” Walsh, a graduate of Bellows Falls High School, was selected in the Media category. A native of North Walpole, N.H., he spent more than four decades at the Claremont (N.H.) Eagle Times as sports editor. Now retired, he continues to freelance for the Rutland Herald and the Valley News.
I had the pleasure of working with him at the Eagle Times between 1995 and 2001, and can personally attest to his devotion to covering high school sports in the Connecticut Valley. The description the VPA offered for Poody - thorough, thoughtful, and committed - is absolutely true.
He was tough but fair, in his writing as well as in the way he ran his sports department. In my 35 years as a professional in the news business, Poody is on the short list of the best journalists I've worked with.
Other locals include Reagan Coffey, a standout three-sport athlete at Bellows Falls Union High School between 1993 and 1997. She was great at soccer and basketball, but was one of BF's all-time best at track in winning 10 individual state titles as a sprinter in the 100 and 200 meter dashes and the 110 meter hurdles.
She got a full athletic scholarship to the University of Vermont, and continued her track and field career at the collegiate level. When she graduated, she held seven records for individual and team achievement.
Olympian Susan Dunklee of Craftsbury was also inducted.
She had a phenomenal career at St. Johnsbury Academy and Dartmouth College and competed in the 2014 Winter Olympics as a member of the U.S. Biathlon Team. At St. J, she earned top honors as a distance and cross-country runner, and was named an All-American three times at Dartmouth for her nordic skiing exploits.
She is the daughter of two-time Olympian (1976 and 1980), former NCAA nordic champion and Brattleboro native Stan Dunklee, and the niece of Olympian Everett Dunklee of Brattleboro, who competed in the 1972 Winter Olympics and was a two-time state cross-country running champion.
The induction ceremony for the Class of 2015 will be held on May 1 at the Capital Plaza Hotel in Montpelier.
How not to die in the woods
• With all the snow we've gotten over the last few weeks, ski conditions in Vermont are the best they've been for years.
So it's not surprising that the Vermont State Police has had to deal with a sharp increase in lost skier incidents, with seven incidents in just the first two weeks of this month alone.
Fortunately, no lost skiers, or the people who had to search for them, have been seriously injured or killed so far this winter.
The two surest ways to get into trouble when you are outdoors are over-estimating your abilities and not being prepared when things don't go as planned. The state police offer these tips to skiers and riders:
• Start early in the day. Allow plenty of time for your adventure.
• Watch the weather. Know what the conditions are expected to be when you go out, and prepare accordingly.
• Do not ski or ride off-trail unless you are familiar with the area, have a map and compass (your cell phone and GPS may not work deep in the woods), and have the appropriate clothing, food, water, and equipment for the weather and environment. This includes extra layers of warm clothes, a headlamp, and a first aid kit.
• Do not ski alone. Make sure someone knows when you're going out, where you're going, and when you expect to be back.
• Deep snow is very difficult to travel through, especially in remote terrain. It is challenging for rescuers as well.