Women's Basketball wins one, loses one at home

Randolph Center, VT - The Varsity Women's Basketball team had a good weekend at home, winning big on Saturday against Hampshire College, and playing a close, well fought game against conference leader Central Maine on Sunday.

Saturday's game vs Hampshire College got off to a slow start for the Knights, with the teams staying close for the first 5 minutes at 8-7.  From there, the Knights went on a roll, going on a 9-0 run and getting a few key early baskets by freshman Kiana Royer (Barton, VT) who finished with 8 points to put the Knights up 19-9 at the end of the first quarter. 

The Knights never looked back, as they increased their lead throughout the game to notch a 64-38 win.  Vermont Tech had 3 players with double digit scoring, including freshman Olivia Reynolds (Alburgh, VT) who came up with 15 points while making 63% of her shots from the floor and 50% on 3 pointers.  2 other players had standout performances and a double double each. Senior Paige Wells (Orleans, VT) completed the game with 13 points and 16 rebounds total, almost reaching double digits on the offensive side alone with 9 offensive rebounds. Freshman Doireann Chesbrough (Burlington, VT) finished with 22 points and 10 rebounds for the Knights.

Sunday's matchup was a great game vs Central Maine. Going into the game the opponents were 7-0 in the conference and 17-1 overall, and the Knights knew it would be a tough game. Coach Jamie Paterson prepared well, with the Knights able to break the full court press throughout the game, and stay within sight of the lead. Despite a 6-0 run by Central Maine to open the game, and a 26-10 deficit mid-way through the 2nd quatrer, the Knights never gave up, getting points from nearly everyone on the floor to get within 6 points at halftime, down 22-28.

The Knights came out srtong in the second half, meeting the challenge and closing the gap to 4 points by the end of the 3rd quarter.  Central Maine made two key 3 pointers to start the 4th, and the Knights missed a few key baskets but got back on track with points from 4 different players, and a great steal by sophomore Austin LaFrance, leading to a jumpshot by Paige Wells (Orlenas, VT) to bring the Knights within 2 points of the lead with 3:47 to go.  Despite stellar defense and teamwork by the Knights, Central Maine was able to drain three unanswered 3-point shots and take the game with a 55-46 win.

The Knights had a good spread of points across 6 players, with Paige Wells (Orleans, VT) leading the way and getting her second double double of the weekend with 10 points and 13 rebounds. 

The Knights play next at College of St. Joseph's in Rutland on Wednesday, January 25th at 5:30pm