HARDWICK – The Hazen Union girls basketball program will be in a pair of competitive area summer leagues as well as out-of-state AAU competition throughout a busy off-season.
Head coach Randy Lumsden and the Lady Cats captured their second Division III State Championship in three years this past March. The former standout Wildcat is the only Hazen Union/Hardwick Academy alum to win championships as both a player (1999) and a coach, joining Jack Strong. Lumsden has turned the Hazen girls program into a statewide powerhouse since taking over the reins four years ago. His 81-7 record, 4 consecutive Final Fours, and two state titles are a dynasty in the making.
Lumsden’s squad tipped off in the Lamoille Summer League for a third consecutive year with a game against Mount Mansfield on Monday night. They will also be competing in the Peoples Academy (PA) League this summer for the first time, already with a game under their belt against Lake Region last Wednesday. The Lady Cats will also be attending the Norwich University Team Camp on July 17-19.
Lumsden has also had all four of his prize seniors competing in the Lone Wolf AAU program throughout the summer. Kelsie Rivard, Mya Lumsden, Taylor Thompson and Autumn Dailey entered Lumsden’s program, heading a dynamic freshman class, and have multiple seasons with Lone Wolf AAU under their belt. Lone Wolf is the premier girls’ AAU program in the state of Vermont, created by the late Peoples Academy great Wayne Lafley, who passed away in 2022 after a two-year battle with cancer.
Former Lady Cat champion and all-time great Caitlyn Davison, honed her skills at Lone Wolf, finishing her career with nearly 1,200 points. Davison helped lead Lumsden’s promising freshman to Hazen’s first state title in over three decades with a school-record 34 points at the Barre Auditorium in 2023. Rivard has taken the baton from Davison ever since, reaching 1,000 career points as a junior last winter, capping off a sensational season with a 30-point, 24-rebound performance in the state title game. Rivard was also voted Player of the Year in Hazen’s inaugural season in the Capital League. Lumsden, Thompson, Dailey and Rivard returned from an AAU tournament in Massachusetts last weekend and are scheduled to compete in their final tourney of the summer for Lone Wolf in Spooky Nook, Pa., on July 24-27.
Lumsden’s talented team will compete in the Lamoille League on Monday nights and in the PA League on Wednesday evenings. The Cat Den will be open to skill work for grades 8-12 two nights a week this summer, and Lumsden will also be doing skill work for elementary school players during the day.
