Rivalry contests top area girls’ hoop slate

Recent girls’ basketball play featured two local rivalry games, with Vergennes Union High School pulling out a dramatic overtime victory over Middlebury, and Mount Abraham making it a season sweep over the Commodores. 

Around the time he turned two years old, my son began noticing basketball hoops everywhere. Driving through town, we’d be startled by periodic shouts of “Basketball!” from the backseat. 

The host Vergennes Union High School boys’ basketball team erupted in Tuesday’s second quarter to take charge against Middlebury in what can be fairly called a surprisingly one-sided 55-31 win over the Commodores’ regional rival. 

In a limited local high school girls’ basketball schedule between Feb. 1 and 6, only Middlebury prevailed. Division II Mount Abe lost at a D-I foe, D-III Vergennes lost at a D-II opponent, and Otter Valley came up short twice, once at home and once on the … (read more)

In recent high school boys’ basketball play, Vergennes won twice, including a victory over rival Mount Abraham; Middlebury also won twice to stretch a winning streak to five games; Otter Valley won two out of three; and the Eagles split two other games, i … (read more)

In recent local boys’ basketball play, Middlebury and Otter Valley each picked up victories, while Vergennes dropped a pair of road games. 

In local high school girls’ basketball action between Jan. 24 and 30, Mount Abraham picked up three victories, one over Middlebury; the Tigers dropped three games; Vergennes split a pair of outings, winning one in dramatic fashion; and Otter Valley came u … (read more)

Two trends continued, one of them happier than the other, when the Middlebury Union High School boys’ basketball team shut down visiting Mount Abraham in the second half of Thursday’s game on the way to a 48-30 victory. 

Despite being shorthanded due to a key injury on Monday, the Middlebury Union High School girls’ basketball team showed grit while hanging with visiting Missisquoi until the late going, when the T-Birds pulled away for 45-29 victory. 

Middlebury topped Otter Valley in their Route 7 rivalry game, and that proved to be the only victory for a local girls’ basketball team between Jan. 17 and 23. Mount Abraham and Vergennes dropped Lake Division games on the road, and one of the best squads … (read more)

In local high school basketball play between Jan. 17 and 23, Middlebury broke through for its first two wins, Vergennes split a pair of games (not counting its visit to MUHS), Mount Abraham won once in three outings, and Otter Valley lost to a rival on th … (read more)

The Middlebury Union High School boys’ basketball team looked like they had Saturday’s game sewed up, but the Vergennes boys had a different idea.

Mount Abraham defeated Vergennes, and the Commodores knocked off Middlebury as road teams prevailed in rivalry games to highlight recent local girls’ high school basketball action.

In recent local high school boys’ basketball play, Otter Valley won twice, including avenging an earlier loss at Mount Abraham; Vergennes came out on top its only outing; and Middlebury fell short in its only scheduled contest. 

Sometimes statistics can be misleading. But in Tuesday’s night’s home game for the Middlebury College women’s basketball team against St. Lawrence, the underlying numbers pointed to the truth: The Panthers ruled the second half in their 66-41 victory, the … (read more)