The Windsor girls basketball team beat Thetford Academy in the DIII championship Saturday night, 51-34. Thetford nipped Windsor 53-52 in last year’s championship game after coming back from a 15-point deficit in the final six minutes. “They beat us last year in the last six seconds. It wasn’t really on our mind because it was a different year, but at halftime, we told them it’s not over yet,” said Windsor head coach Bruce Mackay post-game.
In the first quarter, Thetford Academy played right with the Yellowjackets. Windsor got out to an early lead, and after an Angelina Bigwood layup off a nice dish from Evelyn Page, they were up quickly 11-5. Windsor’s Olivia Rockwood had a big block at the 2:10 mark that brought intensity into the building, but Thetford’s Grace Davis had the answer with a crafty left-handed layup in part of a personal 4-0 run to bring the score to 11-10 Windsor at the end of the quarter.
The Yellowjackets got hot in the second quarter, as they started out on a 10-0 run over the first three and a half minutes that put them up 21-10. Over that stretch, Rockwood started it off with five straight, followed by a strong take by Page, and capped off by Adi Prior burying a three. At the 2:02 mark, Page would hit a corner three off a Rockwood assist to bring the lead to 27-14, and Thetford would call a timeout to stop the momentum, but the Yellowjacket push was just beginning. After the timeout, Rockwood would have another big block, which led to a deep two by Prior. With thirty seconds left, Alyssa Slocum would bank in a three from the left wing for Windsor and electrify the building. And, after a Thetford turnover, the ball would bounce around with just a few seconds left and end up in Rockwood’s hands, who would make a miraculous shot off the glass from the top of the key as time expired in the half, bringing the Yellowjacket lead to 34-16.
On the astounding shot at the end of the quarter, Rockwood said, “I picked the ball up, and I kind of turned and threw it I guess. I thought it was going to go hard off the backboard. But that definitely gave us the momentum.”
As for coach Mackay, he knew his team had been in this exact position before just a year ago. At the half, this is what he told his team: “It’s never over until the final whistle. We know they’re going to come out and punch us in the mouth in the third quarter. They’re going to come at us. We just have to stay strong and do what we have to do.”
Thetford did exactly what coach Mackay warned his team about in the locker room at the half. In the third quarter, they would outscore the Yellowjackets 14-6 to bring the Windsor lead down to 40-30. Thetford Academy would go on a 9-0 run from the 6 minute mark to the 2 minute mark, but Rockwood would have the answer, stopping the Thetford run with a lefty layup and then two free-throws after being fouled driving left again. If Rockwood had not gotten aggressive there, Thetford very well could have snuck back into the game.
Windsor picked up its defensive pressure in the final frame, as they would hold Thetford Academy to only four points. That, along with nine clutch points from Rockwood, including a step-back, dagger three at the 3:35 mark to go up 17, would help the Yellowjackets pull away. Windsor, without a senior on the roster, were able to get their revenge against Thetford and will have the same group again next year.
Junior captain, Brooke McKeen, on the win, said, “It’s amazing… indescribable. Complete euphoria. It feels like we reached our goal of where we wanted to be. [My teammates]… they’re like my second family. I love them so much. To share that feeling with them and the fact that we’ll get to cherish that forever is so meaningful and I wouldn’t want it any other way.”
On what the big win meant to her, Rockwood said, “It’s the best thing ever to me. Basketball means so much to me. It means so much. We’re going to have this team for two more years. Being able to do it with our freshman that I’ve played with since fourth grade… they’re great. We can only get better.”
This Windsor team was remarkable, in the way that they played such disciplined basketball with such a young group. In the final minutes, there were four freshmen out on the floor with Rockwood.
Coach Mackay, on his young group of girls, said “They earned it. We’re really young. We started out 3-5 and the young kids had to grow up real quick, and they did. They never quit. They never stopped believing in themselves.”
Olivia Rockwood led the Yellowjackets with 29 points, while Adi Prior and Evelyn Page each contributed 5 points in the victory. For Thetford Academy, they were led by Grace Davis, who scored 9 points, and Danielle Robinson added 7 off the bench.
Coach Mackay on Rockwood: “Olivia had a great game last year in the finals. It always helps when you have someone that young and you know you can put the ball in their hands and she can create her own shot, and she’s unselfish as heck, she really is. She’d rather distribute the ball, she’s a great kid who makes others better.”
The Yellowjackets end their season with a record of 18-6, and more importantly, a state championship to remember forever. With no players leaving the program and six freshmen currently on the roster, the Yellowjackets will look to only get better for the future.
By Kameron Towle, sports editor
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