HARDWICK – For the first time in over three decades the Hazen Union girls basketball program will tip-off a high school basketball season in December as defending Division III state champions.
Head coach Randy Lumsden joined the great Jack Strong this past March as the only Hazen-Hardwick Academy alums to win a state title as both a player and a coach. Lumsden’s young squad had senior leadership where you needed it the most last season as they rolled into the tournament as the No. 1 seed and finished off a 19-game winning streak by dethroning two-time defending champ Windsor. Caitlyn Davison, Tessa Luther, Sadie Skorstad, and Sarah Collier have been lost to graduation, with Davison (1,173 career points) leaving her mark as one of Hazen’s all-time greats. Her name will be forever uttered with the likes of Jennifer des Groseilliers and Penny Libercent after putting a bow on an incredible career with a school record 34 points at the Barre Auditorium against Windsor.
The cupboard is far from bare for Lumsden however, returning a group of dynamic underclassmen that shone in the biggest moments last year as freshman and sophomores. He realizes that after climbing the mountain, his young team will now be the hunted, but with Mountain League Freshman of the Year, Mountain League First Team and Vermont Dream Dozen selection Kelsie Rivard taking the baton from Davison, the Lady Cats have plenty of firepower to defend their title.
“We lost some great seniors off a great team from last season and their leadership will be missed. We’ll have to find a way to replace Tessa’s defense, and Caitlyn was just a generational talent at point guard that is irreplaceable. We have the good fortune of passing the torch to another generational talent in Kelsie and the girls have all come into the first week of practice physically bigger and stronger as sophomores and juniors. This is a self-motivated group, and they know they have a target on their back this coming season,” said Lumsden.
Lumsden will have only one senior on the roster in Baylie Christensen, who returns to the basketball court after battling injuries the last two seasons. He returns tenacious defenders in junior Isabelle Gouin and sophomore Taylor Thompson as well as junior Julia des Groseilliers and sophomore Mya Lumsden who both earned Second Team Mountain League selections last season. Sophomore Autumn Dailey also returns after meaningful minutes last season, along with juniors Ella Renaud and Sadie Gann, and junior Ari Nichols also joins the roster after transferring from Peoples Academy. Freshman Ava Gallison will split time between varsity and JV for Lumsden and Craftsbury Academy freshman Linsey Allen will round out a junior varsity team this season that will include six eighth-graders for head coach Alison Blaney.
“The individual work that Autumn put into her game at camps in the off-season has really shown early on in practices. We’re working on some new wrinkles offensively to keep teams guessing this year and this young group constantly pushes each other with their athleticism in practices. This is a hungry group of girls, and they know teams will be gunning for them this year. It should be fun,” said Lumsden.
The Lady Cats tip-off their season at home against Danville next Tuesday and will hang the program’s first state championship banner since 1991 next Thursday at home against Lyndon Institute. Both games will be streamed live on Hardwick Community Television (hctv.us).
