BARRE – Windsor’s physicality and experience were too much in the end for the Hazen Union girls basketball team last week in what was a semifinal rematch of last year’s Division III state title game at the Barre Auditorium.
photo by Vanessa Fournier
Seniors Audrey Rupp and Sophia Rockwood combined to score 34 points to power Windsor to an impressive 50-34 win over the Lady Cats in a highly anticipated Final Four match-up last Thursday. Rupp fought through foul trouble to punish Hazen with 15 points in the second half as the Lady Yellowjackets broke open a 19-16 advantage at the break and a six-point advantage after three quarters with a 17-7 run to end the game. Rockwood (16 points) showed her 1,000-point scorer mettle down the stretch, going 4-4 from the free throw line to keep Hazen at bay. Sophomore Kelsie Rivard led the Lady Cat offense with 21 points and fellow sophomore Mya Lumsden added nine in the loss. Head coach Randy Lumsden and his Lady Cats dethroned the two-time defending state champs last March to capture the program’s first state title since 1991. Lumsden knew Windsor’s experience and physicality would be a huge challenge for his sophomores and juniors heading into the rematch.
“We talked as a team about their experience and physicality before and after the game and we just weren’t able to overcome it. We have a lot of young sophomores on this team, and we still have a lot of growing to do. It’s not an excuse though, we were talented enough as a team to get it done this year, it just wasn’t enough on this particular night,” said Lumsden.
Rivard’s 10 first-half points and Lumsden’s five straight in a two-minute span with 10 minutes to go in the game, kept the Lady Cats in striking distance, but Windsor’s help defense and rotations suffocated the Lady Cat offense down the stretch. Lumsden made Hazen’s only free throw of the night early in the fourth to pull the Lady Cats to within seven, but a cut to the basket by Cassie Clark and a steal and a finish by Rockwood ballooned the lead back to double digits, forcing a timeout by Hazen.
photo by Vanessa Fournier
Lumsden has now recorded three straight 20-win seasons since taking over the Lady Cat program three years ago. He will lose lone senior Baylie Christensen to graduation. His top six players will return to the team next season, now with two years of Aud experience under their belt. He’s quick to deflect any accolades that come his way however and reminds of all the hard work put in of former head coach Tim Whitney and his players before he got there.
photo by Vanessa Fournier
“The future for this program at Hazen is so bright. I’m so proud of what this program has become through the countless hours of hard work, dedication and passion of these young players. Tim did such a great job of laying the foundation for this to happen and he left me a lot to start building with. Baylie’s story is so awesome. She lost two years of her playing career due to injury, but her passion to work and get better allowed her to earn a spot on this team. She’s a great kid and teammate. For her to end her career playing at the AUD is so impressive. We return our top six players next season and, with the work that they all put in, they’re only going to get tougher and more physical. We have another class of talented young players coming up as well and we look forward to continuing to build on what we’ve already accomplished,” said Lumsden.
photo by Vanessa Fournier
Rockwood poured in 23 points on Saturday to help Windsor knock off top-seeded Oxbow 48-45 to claim their third state championship in the last four years.
