Girls’ high school hoop teams start strong

Local girls’ high school basketball teams got off to a perfect start as the season got underway: Vergennes prevailed in its first two games, and Middlebury, Mount Abraham and Otter Valley all won their openers.

Only Otter Valley prevailed as the region’s boys’ high school basketball season got underway in the past week. Vergennes and Middlebury both came up short in their openers, while Mount Abraham was idle.

The Middlebury College women’s basketball team this past Friday and Saturday claimed the championship of the four-team Ed Hockenberry Classic tournament hosted by Norwich University.

The Middlebury College men’s basketball team won once in three outings last week to end its first semester of play with a 6-2 record. 

If you are a basketball fan, you probably know the name “Cooper Flagg.” This past basketball season, he was the best high school player in the country.

In the quarterfinals of the NESCAC women’s basketball tournament on Feb. 17, Middlebury was down by four in the third quarter to the dreaded Amherst Mammoths. 

A number of athletes from the Mount Abraham, Vergennes, Middlebury and Otter Valley union high school basketball teams received postseason recognition. 

Eleven members of the Vergennes, Mount Abraham, Middlebury and Otter Valley union high school boys’ basketball teams received postseason recognition. 

The 7th-seeded Vergennes Union High School girls’ basketball team had little trouble in their first-round Division III playoff game on Feb. 28, defeating visiting No. 10 Winooski, 69-37. But, in a March 1 quarterfinal, the Commodores came up short in what … (read more)

The sixth-seeded Otter Valley boys’ run through the Division II basketball postseason came to an end on Wednesday, Feb. 28, in a semifinal in the Barre Auditorium. There, the No. 2 seed and three-time defending champion Montpelier erased a 15-point halfti … (read more)

The No. 6 Otter Valley boys’ basketball team rode a big fourth quarter past No. 3 Harwood in a Saturday Division II quarterfinal, 70-49.

Tuesday’s first-round Division II opponent for the No. 6 Mount Abraham girls’ basketball team wasn’t just anyone — the 13-7 Eagles and No. 11 Spaulding, who came in 9-11 against a tough schedule, have a lot of recent history. 

The Mount Abraham and Vergennes union high school girls’ basketball teams both earned seeds that granted them home-court advantage in the first round of postseason play, while Middlebury and Otter Valley opened on the road. 

The Vergennes Union High School boys’ basketball team was awarded the No. 5 seed in Division III and won one playoff game at home before coming up short in a defensive battle in a quarterfinal on the road.

There were good reasons to expect a competitive first-round Division II boys’ basketball playoff matchup on Tuesday between host No. 6 Otter Valley and No. 11. Mount Abraham.