Yellow Jackets win 9th in a row, 33-30

By CHRISTOPHER SHABAN
Eagle Times Correspondent
WINDSOR –  Windsor freshman Evelyn Page dropped two three pointers in the final quarter with the last net snapper being the game winner as the Yellow Jackets improved to 12-5 with a win over D2 leading Fair Haven 33-30 on Monday. 

Old fashioned tight defense basketball ruled the night as neither team gave up many open looks and the man to man defense was a treat to watch. Fair Haven had great ball movement with their weave above the arc forced Windsor to switch and fight through pics all night. On the Windsor offensive end, Olivia Rockwood was almost unstoppable in the second quarter as she lit up the scoreboard for 12 points. “She just makes space for her shots and when she is on, it’s really hard to stop her,” Windsor head coach Bruce Mackay said after the game.

Rockwood and Brooke McKeen opened the scoring on the night giving Windsor a 4-0 lead after nearly three minutes of rock solid defense controlled the game. Fair Haven exploded for a 10-0 run as Kaleigh Brown netted eight of those points. Alyssa Slocum’s last second bucket cut the Slaters lead to 10-6 as the 1st quarter ended.

The second quarter was the Rockwood show as the switching and double teams didn’t slow her down as she drove the lane and hit the mid range jump shots to give Windsor a 18-16 halftime lead. Fair Haven tied the game at 18-18 as the defensive intensity was brutal on both ends with very physical play. Windsor’s Angelina Bigwood headed to the locker room to deal with a cut lip and soon returned as Windsor only dressed seven Varsity players. Rockwood picked up right where she left off and scored eight quick points to put Windsor ahead 25-20 and forced Fair Haven to call a timeout. Fair Haven cut the lead to 25-23 after three quarters and powered out to a 27-25 lead as the Slaters freshman Ryleigh Coloutti smothered Windsor’s Rockwood all over the court.

Fair Haven increased their lead to 29-25 before Page hit her first basket of the night to cut the lead to 29-28. A foul shot increased the Fair Haven lead to 30-28 but a Windsor miss on their next possession bounced toward McKeen in the paint and she somehow managed to grab an offensive rebound and kissed it off the glass to tie the game 30-30 with traffic all around her.

A Fair Haven miss and loose ball had players all over the floor scrambling for possession when finally Windsor gained control with less than a minute remaining. The Yellow Jackets ran their play which began beyond the arc and when Page found herself with a small amount of space just in front of the Windsor bench, she made the pressure shot that would end up being the game winner 33-30. “I fed off everyone’s energy tonight, and I just found myself open and took the shot,” said Page after the game. “Ever since the win at Bellows Falls, our team is really playing well but I think we can do better and tonight’s win against a really good Fair Haven team just adds to our confidence,” added Page after the game.

“What a great game,” said Fair Haven head coach Leo Hutchins after the game and he looks forward to a rematch next week on his home court.

Both team entered the game riding big winning streaks as Fair Haven stood at 13-2 and had won their last nine games while Windsor’s winning streak began in Bellows Falls last month and now extends to 9 games.

“I think that was our best defensive effort this year,” said Mackay after the game and added, “We did a lot of good things and our hard work especially on defense tonight was really impressive against FH which is one of the better team in any division in Vermont.”