Lady Cats Carry Top Seed into State Tournament
HARDWICK – After having the final week of their regular season off, the Hazen Union girls’ basketball team will begin their run in the Division III state tournament later this week as the number-one seed.
The last time you saw the Lady Cats on the court was nearly two weeks ago as they were finishing off BFA-Fairfax on the road to run their winning streak to 16 games. After watching Hazen obliterate their last two opponents 129-27, Winooski wanted no part of the two team’s match-up last Thursday, canceling their regular season finale.
Defending Division III champ Windsor won their final four games of the regular season to push their record to 16-4, but just missed out on the top seed by percentage points. Hazen has a 35-2 regular season record in Randy Lumsden’s first two years on the sidelines, reaching the Final Four last winter for the first time since 2017. The top-seeded Lady Cats received a bye in the first round and will face the winner of the Oxbow-Randolph match-up on Friday night at the Cat Den. The winner will advance to the Final Four at the Barre Auditorium next Thursday.
Vikings Enter Postseason Red Hot
LYNDONVILLE – The Lyndon Institute (LI) boys’ hockey team blanked Northfield and skated to a 4-4 draw with Harwood last week to improve to 15-2-3 and will enter the Division II state tournament as the number-two seed.
Alex Giroux and Tripp Roberge combined for four goals and five assists as the Vikings blitzed Northfield at home last Monday 8-0. Hazen Union senior captain Andrew Menard recorded an assist in the win and Aidan Bashaw recorded 10 saves to earn his first shutout of the season. Menard recorded another assist on Wednesday night to help the Vikings salvage a 4-4 tie on the road against Harwood. Menard is playing his best hockey of the season since returning from injury two weeks ago, dishing out four assists in his last three games. The Highlanders improved to 13-6-1 and will enter the Division II state tournament as the number five seed.
Menard and the Vikings begin their postseason run on Wednesday night when they welcome seventh-seeded Stowe to Fenton Chester Arena. Lyndon edged the Raiders 3-2 at home back in January.
VBCA Senior All-Star Game
WINDSOR – The 2024 Vermont Basketball Coaches Association (VBCA) Senior All-Star Game will be held at Windsor High School on Saturday March 16.
North-South girls and boys all-stars will be announced following the postseason, where the best seniors in the state compete in four games starting with Division 3-4 girls at 11 a.m., Division 3-4 boys at 1 p.m., Division 1-2 girls at 3 p.m. and Division 1-2 boys at 5 p.m. Senior all-stars are selected by vote of all of the VBCA coaches.
The day is a celebration of all that is good about Vermont high school basketball and in addition to the games, Dream Dozen, 1,000-point scorers, Players of the Year, Coaches of the Year, VBCA scholarships, along with many other awards will be announced.
