Enosburg Clips Lady Cats in Season Opener
by Ken Brown
ENOSBURG – A shorthanded Hazen Union girls’ basketball squad gave Division III-power Enosburg all they could handle last week, but ran out of gas late on the road in both teams’ season opener.
Lily Robtoy’s team-high 14 points fueled a furious second half comeback to power Enosburg to a 50-41 home win over the Lady Cats last Friday. Caitlyn Davison’s game-high 24 points gave Hazen a 21-17 edge at the break and helped build the lead to double digits for the visitors before fatigue set in. First year head coach Randy Lumsden and his Lady Cats battled the flu leading up to their tough season opener and had limited numbers to practice or scrimmage all week. Senior Alexis Christensen and Craftsbury Academy’s Ella Gillespie were unable to fully practice during the week and their availability was limited.
“We basically practiced with five players for most of the week and Alexis and Ellas did a great job gutting it out after being out for most of the week. Caitlyn and Tessa Luther fueled a nice run for us after halftime and we were able to build a good lead, but Enosburg did a nice job of executing their full court pressure in the second half and we just ran out of gas,” said Lumsden.
Robtoy hit a pair of three-pointers to lead the third quarter comeback and Gabi Spaulding (11 points) nailed a three and added a layup to tie the score at 32-32 late in the period. Daise Gabree completed the comeback with a jumper to give the home team the lead with less than 30 seconds left and the Lady Hornets never looked back. Robtoy added four assists and four steals to her big night as Enosburg improved to 1-0 on the season. Davison, a Vermont Dream Dozen selection as just a sophomore last season, added seven rebounds and seven steals to her impressive stat line. Freshman Isabelle Gouin scored four points and added five rebounds in the loss for Hazen Union.
“Overall it wasn’t a bad start given the circumstances. The girls competed really hard and we did some nice things for two and a half quarters, but Enosburg really dictated the tempo in the second half with their pressure and we just didn’t have enough healthy bodies to withstand it. Coaching my first varsity game was nerve racking to say the least, but I really enjoyed it and I’m looking forward to seeing this group grow and mesh together as a team. We should be more at full strength this week in practice and it should give us a chance to be able to work more on our press breakers and continue to develop the continuity of our offense. This is a good group and I look forward to watching them progress throughout the season,” said Lumsden.
The Lady Cats welcomed Danville to town for their home opener on Tuesday and will stay in the “Cat Den” for a matchup with Oxbow on Thursday. Richford is scheduled to travel to Hazen Union next Monday.
