By DAN BARILE
Eagle Times Correspondent
BARRE, Vt. — Entering the season, you would have been hard-pressed to find many people who thought the Windsor Yellow Jackets wouldn’t be returning to Barre Auditorium for their ninth consecutive trip to the semifinals.
The Yellow Jackets possessed plenty of promise while returning most of their core this season after falling just short in last year’s championship game. Despite the potential of Kabray Rockwood’s squad, questions loomed about whether they could ascend to the top of Division 3 following the graduation of standout center Sydney Perry.
Saturday’s championship game answered those questions, as Windsor built a double-digit halftime lead before hanging on for a 48-45 victory against top-seeded Oxbow.
Following a slow start for both teams in the scoring column, freshman Amelia Rockwood pumped in five quick points off the bench to give Windsor an 8-2 lead just past the midway point of the first quarter.
Rockwood’s older sister Sophia stole the show in the second quarter, scoring 15 of her team’s 17 points during the period to help Windsor enter the half with a seemingly comfortable 31-18 lead.
With Windsor appearing to be on the way to their 10th state championship, Oxbow leaned on its size advantage after the break to claw its way back into the game. The Olympians 6-foot-2-inch center Libby Swift grabbed 13 of her game-high 19 rebounds and tossed in seven points during the third quarter to help the top-seed cut the deficit to 36-34 entering the final frame.
In need of something to swing the momentum back in its favor, Windsor found just the spark it needed from sharpshooter Cassie Clark. The junior guard was scoreless entering the fourth quarter but connected on two corner threes in a 96-second span to give the Yellow Jackets an eight-point cushion.
Oxbow battled back to within a single score with just over a minute to play, but Windsor was able to hold off the ladies from Bradford despite connecting on only two out of eight free throws during the final minute.
Sophia Rockwood capped her career with a game-high 23-points to pace Windsor (19-4). Amelia Rockwood (9), Cassie Clark (7), Audrey Rupp (6), and Kemari Wildgoose (3) scored the remaining points for the Yellow Jackets. Braylee Phelps was the top scorer for Oxbow (20-3) with 12 points, Maggi Ellsworth followed with 11, and Libby Swift added nine.
For seniors Brianna Barton, Sophia Rockwood and Audrey Rupp, it was a magical ending to a four-year run that resulted in three trophies returning to the “Birthplace of Vermont.” Barton (Hartwick College) and Rockwood (Westfield State) plan to continue their basketball careers at the collegiate level, and Rupp will continue her storied soccer career at Worcester State.
While the Yellow Jackets will be without their three senior starters next season, they are slated to return a couple of starters in juniors Cassie Clark and Kemari Wildgoose. Sophomore Grace Blanchard, and freshmen Lily Prebish and Amelia Rockwood also played key roles off the bench in the championship game and figure to be integral pieces in Windsor’s pursuit of a 10th straight trip to Barre.
