ADDISON COUNTY — In local high school girls’ basketball action late last week, Mount Abraham, Vergennes and Otter Valley all picked up big wins, but Middlebury came up short.
EAGLES
Mount Abe avenged an earlier loss by pulling away on Saturday from visiting South Burlington to win by 55-43. Sam Driscoll (15 points) andMeg Livingston (14 points) paced the Eagles as they improved to 13-4 and took back first place in Division II from Fair Haven. The Slaters, who split two games late last week, are also 13-4, but have one less quality point than the Eagles.
Mount Abe’s Wednesday road game vs. Mount Mansfield was postponed until this Wednesday. The Eagles also host Missisquoi on Tuesday and play at D-II’s third-place team, Milton (12-5), on Friday. The Eagles have already defeated each of those teams by at least 21 points.
COMMODORES
VUHS picked up two road wins to improved to 6-12. On Thursday, K.C. Ambrose sank two foul shots with 18 seconds to cap a Commodore comeback and help VUHS edge host Missisquoi, 38-37. Ambrose finished with eight points, five rebounds and five assists; Sarah Poirier-Thayer contributed eight points, five rebounds and four blocks; and Brianna Gebo added five rebounds and five steals.
On Saturday, the Commodores knocked off host Mount Mansfield, 46-36, after taking a 33-15 halftime lead. The Cougars had defeated VUHS by 20 in Vergennes early in the season, and Coach Billy Waller said the Commodores got “a positive contribution from every player on the roster.”
Leading the way were Ambrose (six points, five rebounds and five assists), Taylor Paquette (nine points and 12 rebounds), Breanna Lapan (eight points), Nikki Salley (eight points and seven rebounds), and Tamara Aunchman (seven points, five rebounds and three blocks).
OTTERS
On Thursday, OV used a big second half to knock off host Mill River, 45-32. The Otters led at the break by 24-21 before outscoring their hosts by 21-11 after intermission. Taylor Aines (17 points) andBrittany Bushey (11) sparked the attack as OV improved to 7-10.
The 7-10 Otters are in ninth place in D-II entering the final week of play, just three points behind eighth-place Randolph. They are set to host Hartford on Tuesday, Leland & Gray on Thursday and Springfield on Friday as they try to move up and earn a first-round home playoff game.
TIGERS
On Saturday, host Milton clipped the Tigers, 50-27. The Tigers dropped to 1-17 despite 10 points from Hannah Hobbs.
On Thursday, D-I contender Colchester defeated the host Tigers, 43-16. MUHS plays at Mount Mansfield on Tuesday, and on Friday will host VUHS; the Tigers will be looking for a season sweep of the Commodores.