HARDWICK – An emphatic win over Enosburg in their season opener last week continued the Hazen Union girls basketball team’s regular season dominance.
Kelsie Rivard poured in a game-high 27 points to power the Lady Cats to a 54-32 home win over Enosburg Friday night. The junior forward drained a pair of threes as Hazen jumped out to a 15-5 lead to start the game.
Mya Lumsden scored 7 points and added a long distance three of her own to help the Lady Cats take a 30-14 lead into the break.
“I liked our defensive pressure on and off the ball. We wanted to make them uncomfortable and I think we did a good job of accomplishing that. Our zone trapping is something new that we’ve worked on building up to the season and we’ll go back to the video to keep working on the things needed to improve it,” said head coach Randy Lumsden.
Senior Isabelle Gouin added six points in the win and freshman Eloise Foster made a strong varsity debut with four points.
“I couldn’t have imagined Eloise fitting in better with this team. This is a talented group and it’s hard to earn minutes, but her hustle and willingness to not force things have been so impressive from practices right up to the first game,” said Lumsden.
Lisey Robtoy led Enosburg with seven points and six steals and Vienna Wilde chipped in with six points and five rebounds. The Lady Hornets made it to the Division II Final four in 2022 with a 20-win season but the program has struggled to keep its head above .500 ever since.
Lumsden’s program has lost a grand total of three regular season games the past three-plus seasons, but will now turn their attention to Division I powerhouse Champlain Valley Union (CVU). Hazen traveled to Hinesburg on Tuesday to take on the Lady Redhawks in an intentional early season test crafted by Lumsden. CVU has a 72-14 record over the past three seasons, including a pair of Division I state championships and four consecutive trips to Patrick Gymnasium.
Tuesday’s heavyweight match-up features two of the best players in the state in Hazen’s Rivard and CVU’s Zoey McNabb. Rivard will be the program’s next 1,000 point scorer, the only question is when. She has been a walking double-double since stepping into the starting lineup as a freshman, garnering consecutive VBCA Outstanding Underclassmen selections along the way.
McNabb has been the orchestrater of the CVU offense throughout their dominant run, winning back to back state titles as a freshman and sophomore. The senior point guard is also within reach of 1,000 career points, making it a marquee matchup Tuesday.
“I think both of our teams have similar size, quickness and styles. We’re excited for the challenge and the chance to compete against a team like that on a bigger stage. This is an opportunity for us to put our program on the map statewide,” said Lumsden.
After their clash with CVU on Tuesday, the Lady Cats will get a few days rest before welcoming Thetford Academy to the Cat Den next Monday. The Lady Panthers defeated Hazen in the Final Four three years ago.
