ADDISON COUNTY — Mount Abraham and Middlebury rolled to wins to highlight local high school girls’ basketball action, all on Tuesday. In other games, Vergennes and Otter Valley came up short.
Teams will play their final regular-season games at the end of this week, and the Vermont Principals’ Association will release playoff pairings on Monday. MUHS in Division I and VUHS and OV in D-II will play on the road in the playoffs, but the Eagles are in line for two D-II home games.
EAGLES
The Eagles avenged an earlier home upset by rolling past host Colchester, 55-18, in another strong defensive effort. Mount Abe led at the half, 29-5. Emma Carter (24 points) and Emma LaRose (14) paced the attack. The Lakers dropped to 7-11.
At 15-4 the Eagles are tied with U-32 (16-3) for second place in quality points in the D-II standings, one point behind first-place Fair Haven (16-3). All three face winnable road games in their final outings, and the Slaters will probably hold their lead.
If the Eagles and Raiders finish in a tie, as is likely, the Eagles could earn the tiebreaker based on strength of schedule. Other tiebreakers are a wash: The teams split two games this winter, and both defeated their only common opponent, Mill River.
TIGERS
At MUHS the Tigers and visiting Milton (8-11) were tied at the half, but the Tigers broke away with a 22-8 third quarter on the way to a 56-37 victory. Playing in her final home basketball game, four-year MUHS standout Keagan Dunbar sparked the Tigers with 26 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists, and Ashley Sunderland contributed 10 points to the winning cause.
COMMODORES
At VUHS the Commodores gave D-II’s fourth-place team, Enosburg, a battle, before falling by 36-31. The Commodores led at the break, 14-13, and the game was close until Enosburg (14-4) pulled away late in the fourth quarter.
Brianna Vanderway andEmily Gosliga led the 4-15 Commodores with nine points apiece.
OTTERS
Host Rutland eased past the OV girls, 57-28, as the 7-11 Raiders scored 19 points in the first period of their decisive win, their third straight. Alia Edmunds (11) and Julia Eastman (six) paced the Otters, who will host Fair Haven on Thursday at 7 p.m.