Hazen Union players (from left): Sadie Skorstad (No. 15), Caitlyn Davison, water girls Kennidee Gouin and Chloe Moodie, Sarah Collier and Alexis Christensen walk off their home court after winning their 14th consecutive game. A forfeit from Twinfield-Cabot brings the Lady Cats record to 15-1.
by Ken Brown
WELLS RIVER – The Hazen Union girls’ basketball team survived its toughest test in almost two months, grinding out a hard-fought road win over Division IV power Blue Mountain, before ending the week with an emphatic victory over visiting BFA-Fairfax to improve to 15-1 on the season.
Junior Caitlyn Davison scored a game-high 18 points, including a pair of three-pointers to lead the Lady Cats to a pivotal Mountain League 47-42 road win over Blue Mountain last Thursday. The Lady Bucks came into the match-up on a twelve-game winning streak of their own, but Hazen quieted the crowd early by jumping out to a 26-18 advantage heading into the break. Davison, Tessa Luther (seven points), and senior Alexis Christensen (seven points) kept the pressure on in the third quarter as their lead swelled to 17, before the home team answered with a 13-0 run of their own. Blue Mountain made it a one-possession game with 60 seconds left behind Jordan Alley’s 15 points and 10 rebounds, but the Lady Cat defense stiffened the rest of the way. Felicity Sulham added 12 points and 11 rebounds for Blue Mountain before fouling out and Kyra Nelson chipped in with 10 in the loss. The Lady Bucks remain one of the top teams in Division IV with a 12-2 record and are looking to build off of their Final Four appearance at the Barre Auditorium a season ago. Hazen Union’s win gives them complete control of the league standings heading into a juicy rematch with the Lady Bucks at home this coming weekend.
“Blue Mountain is definitely a high quality team that will help prepare our squad for the upcoming playoffs. I think that the biggest thing for us to work on as we hit the home stretch of the season, is staying committed and focused to playing solid defense for 32 minutes,” said head coach Randy Lumsden.
Hazen Union sophomore Baylie Christensen (No. 5) looks to pass by Faith Benjamin (right) of Bellows Free Academy during action in the Wildcat Den February 4. Following the play is referee Jason Kennedy. Hazen defeated BFA 73-19.
Davison continued her hot hand over the weekend, pouring in 25 points on a trio of three-pointers to help Hazen cruise to a 73-19 home win over BFA-Fairfax. Freshman Julia des Groseilliers had a strong game inside with 12 points, Craftsbury Academy’s Ella Gillespie added 11, and Christensen drained three triples for 11 of her own. The Lady Cats took a 34-19 advantage into the break and never let the visitors make a run, hitting 11 of their 14 foul shots. Taylor Duquette and Anna Villeneuve scored five points apiece for BFA-Fairfax in the loss. Davison shows no signs of slowing down during a stellar junior campaign as the Lady Cat point guard is averaging just north of 20 points per game. Coach Lumsden has brought an edge to the program in his first year on the sidelines, culminating in 14 straight wins (plus a forfeit from Twinfield-Cabot) since losing their season opener to Enosburg on the road. Hazen is currently ranked second in the Division III standings, percentage points behind 14-2 Windsor.
“We are just going to keep working hard tweaking things here and there. Hopefully when playoffs roll around, we will be playing our best basketball. Right now we are focused on our next game at Northfield and what we are going to have to do to go there and get a win. I keep telling the girls they just have to stay focused on one game at a time,” said Lumsden.
The Lady Cats traveled to Northfield on Tuesday and welcomed Stowe to town on Thursday. Blue Mountain comes to the Cat Den on Saturday afternoon for a pivotal Mountain League clash to wrap up a busy week. Hazen will finish up their regular season next Tuesday against Milton at home on Senior Night.
