WINDSOR, Vt. – In a rematch of last year’s D-III state championship game, Thetford gave the defending-champion Yellow Jacket girls all they could handle before running out of gas in overtime, as Windsor escaped by the score of 47-39 in the season opener for both clubs.
As both teams struggled getting into an offensive flow from the start, Windsor went ice cold in the second quarter and continued into the second half, allowing Thetford to run off 10 straight points to grab a 34-30 lead midway through the third quarter.
“I knew we might struggle as we have been working hard on defense and conditioning during our pre-season practices,” said Windsor head coach Bruce Mackay as he enters his 13th year at the helm for Windsor.
Those struggles were evident. Junior Olivia Rockwood was the main reason Windsor would enter the half leading 22-18, as she had 14 points in the first 16 minutes of play.
Thetford sliced the lead to 26-24 entering the final quarter and would take the lead on a three pointer by Lily Brown. Kiana Johnson then buried a jumper in the paint, giving the visitors a 37-33 lead with 2 minutes remaining.
The Yellow Jackets came back to tie the score as Adi Prior hit a runner down the lane and Angelina Bigwood hit both of her free throws to knot the game 37-37. Evelyn Page’s bucket tied the game again and Windsor’s final shot rattled off the front rim as overtime was needed to decide this opening night thriller.
“Thetford has always played us really hard and tonight was no exception,” said Rockwood after the game. “I think our conditioning really helped us tonight.”
In the overtime period, Windsor began to use their press more and more, as they began to take over the game.
A Reese Perry bunny put Windsor up for good. Rockwood added 4 free throws and then a jump shot to ice the game as Windsor shutout Thetford in overtime to take a 47-39 win.
“We made fewer mistakes in overtime and our shooting will improve over time,” said Mackay after the game.
Rockwood led all scorers with 29 points, giving her a total of 992 points in her career. Page would finish the night with 6 points.
For Thetford, Emi Vaughan finished with 18 points and Johnson chipped in with 12 points.
Windsor shot 12 of 16 from the line while Thetford hit only 4 of 12 free throws.
The Windsor girls will host Green Mountain on Friday night.
In JV action, Windsor, behind Peyton Richardson’s 13 points and Meagan Holling’s 8 points, topped Thetford 43-31.
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