NORTHEAST KINGDOM – Hazen Union and Twinfield-Cabot officially put a wrap on a successful girls high school basketball season last week by earning several of the top players and coaching Mountain League awards.
Lady Cat head coach Randy Lumsden took home Coach of the Year honors after leading his young team to its third straight 20-win season. The defending Division III champs title defense ended with a third consecutive trip to the Barre Auditorium, where Windsor exacted revenge from a season ago to win their third state title in four years. Lumsden has now started his varsity coaching career with an eye popping 61-5 record since taking over the program three years ago, and he and Jack Strong are the only ones to lay claim to winnning state championships at Hazen or Hardwick Academy as both players and coaches.
Hazen sophomores Kelsie Rivard and Mya Lumsden, along with Twinfield-Cabot senior Jorja Washburn led Mountain League First Team selections after their outstanding seasons. It is the second consecutive selection for Rivard, who won Mtn. League Rookie of the Year honors as a freshman. She led the Lady Cats in scoring at just under 20 points per game, cracking the 30-point barrier twice this past season. Lumsden had big shoes to fill, taking over the reins of Hazen’s offense from Lady Cat great Caitlyn Davison. She responded with a breakout year, averaging double-digits in scoring, including a 21-point effort against four-time Division IV champion West Rutland last month. Washburn ended an outstanding career for Twinfield-Cabot as one of their leading scorers the past three seasons. The sharpshooter poured in a season-high 25 points against Blue Mountain earlier this year, and helped the Lady Trojans secure a home playoff win for a second consecutive season. Richford’s Kyrielle Deuso and Gracie Sylvester, along with Williamstown’s Julia French rounded out the First Team selections.
Kendall Fowler led Second Team selections for Twinfield-Cabot after leading the team in scoring to wrap up an outstanding career in Marshfield. The senior guard combined to score 33 points in the Lady Trojans playoff run to the quarterfinals earlier this month. Joining Fowler as Second Team selections were Danville’s Lauren Joncas, Williamstown’s Natalie Beliveau, and Anna Velleneuve and Adi See of Fairfax. Junior Isabelle Gouin earned Third Team honors for Hazen and teammates Taylor Thompson, Julia des Groseilliers, and Autumn Dailey earned Honorable Mention. Sophomore Chloe North also earned Honorable Mention for Twinfield-Cabot along with Danville’s Lynsey Lavely.
Deuso also was named Mountain League Player of the Year, wrapping up her outstanding career at Richford with 1,204 points. Hazen was named Defensive Team of the Year, allowing only 50 points in a single game twice all season. Rookie of the Year went to Ella Arel of BFA-Fairfax and her team also was honored with the Mountain League Sportsmanship Award.
