HARDWICK – The Hazen Union girls basketball team gutted through a defensive battle with Richford before blitzing BFA-Fairfax last week to remain a perfect 6-0 on the season.

photo by Vanessa Fournier
Kelsie Rivard took her game beyond the arc, drilling a trio of threes on her way to a 15-point night to lead the Lady Cats to a hard-fought home win over Richford last Tuesday. The reining Mountain League Freshman of the Year scored 12 first quarter points to help give Hazen a 21-15 lead heading into the break. Fellow sophomore teammate Mya Lumsden scored 10 second half points, including a pair of three-pointers to help push the lead to 32-21 for the home team with eight minutes to play. Julia des Groseilliers added nine points inside for the Lady Cats in the win. Gracie Sylvester led Richford with 12 points and Kyrielle Deuso chipped in with 10 as they fell to 6-4 on the season.
“We need to be more patient offensively,” said head coach Randy Lumsden. “Everything is so up tempo defensively, it’s translating over to our offense and execution.”

photo by Vanessa Fournier
Rivard carried the hot hand over to Fairfax on Thursday night, exploding for 30 points, 15 rebounds, and 10 steals in a 57-23 road thumping of the Lady Bullets. Her triple-double was a reminder of what the talented sophomore is capable of on any given night, harkening memories of her 33-point performance in the Final Four at the Barre Auditorium last March that set a freshman and school record at the Aud. Isabelle Gouin added nine points to fuel a 21-4 second half run to put the game out of reach, Lumsden chipped in with seven, and Peoples Academy transfer Ari Nichols scored three. The Lady Bullets fell to 1-7 on the season.
“Kelsie had an amazing game at Fairfax, and I feel like it’s just the tip of the iceberg of what she’s capable of. I’ve been really impressed with our defense in the early parts of the season and if we get our offense rolling, we are going to have a great year,” said Lumsden.
Lumsden’s defending Division III champion Lady Cats have now won 25 straight games dating back to last December and sit No. 3 in the current divisional standings. Windsor and Oxbow occupy the top two spots with a combined 15-0 record. Bellows Falls (7-1) and White River Valley (7-2) round out the top five in what is shaping up to be a loaded division III tournament in less than two months.
Hazen hosted Winooski on Tuesday and are scheduled to travel to Danville on Thursday before wrapping up a busy week with a home match-up against Blue Mountain on Saturday. All home games can be streamed live on Hardwick Community Television (hctv.us)