Rutland Herald Winter Sports Guide 2019-2020 11
HIGH SCHOOL GIRLS BASKETBALL PREVIEW
Slaters, Horde hope to repeat
By Tom Haley
Staff Writer
hen the West Rutland girls
basketball team is playing,
the opponent had best be
shooting a very high percentage from
the field. They certainly will not be
getting many second shots.
The Golden Horde boasts a couple
of 6-footers, an uncommon com-
modity for any girls basketball team,
say nothing of one at the Division IV
level.
“You had better shoot really well
against them,” Proctor coach Chris
Hughes said.
Elizabeth Bailey and Isabel Lanfear
are the 6-footers and coach Carl Ser-
rani said he has yet another 6-footer
down on the JV squad.
“It’s pretty good water over here,”
Serrani said.
The Horde will be one of the
favorites as they try to repeat as state
champions.
The most imposing obstacles in the
Golden Horde’s path figure to be the
Blue Mountain team they beat in the
title game, neighboring Proctor, and
Hazen, a team that earned the No.
1 seed in Division III by going 19-1
before dropping to D-IV this year.
Hazen graduated three outstanding
starters but return a solid center in
Alleigh Gabaree.
Another area team looking to
make it back-to-back state titles is
Fair Haven in Division II. The Slaters
defeated Lake Region in the cham-
pionship game for the program’s
second title in four years.
Fair Haven trailed defending
Division III state champion Thetford
at halftime in a scrimmage last week-
end, but reverted to form and won
handily with a dominant second-half
performance.
FAIR HAVEN
W
Castleton University vs. Keene State College womens basketball.
BLACK RIVER
The Presidents don’t have a title
to defend like Fair Haven or West
Rutland. Realistically, they don’t have
a title to chase. Heck, realistically,
they can’t attain a .500 season.
Still, it is a very special season in
Ludlow. The team’s warm-up shirts
will say it all: One Last Ride
This is the final school year for
Black River High School.
“Every year the kids pick out some-
thing for the back of the shirts. One
year we had “Compete” and another
year they had their names on the
back. This year they wanted ‘One Last
Ride.’,” coach Howie Paul said.
There were three main scorers
last year for the Presidents: Emily
Perham, Hope Kelley and Riley Paul.
Perham has graduated, Kelley has
taken her talent to Proctor where she
will likely be the sixth man and Paul
returns as a freshman after playing on
JON OLENDER PHOTO
the varsity as an eighth grader.
Coach Paul is looking for Chloe
Ayers and Jae Greineder to step up
and be scorers.
“They are capable of that,” he said.
Greineder is a senior and four-year
varsity player. The other seniors are
Esha Patel and Christina LeTourneau
who is still coming back from a soccer
injury. The Presidents hope to have her
services before the end of the season.
Hailey Pierce is a forward and the
lone junior.
Sophomores include Jasmine
Beam, Lilly Varga and Elizabeth
Cavato.
Johna Turin, like Ayer, is a
freshman.
The Presidents won only two games
last season but were competitive in
several more.
“It will be about having fun and
staying positive,” coach Paul said.
The opener is Dec. 14 at Mid-Ver-
mont Christian.
The Slaters are well stocked as
they chase a second consecutive D-II
crown. They boast 10 returning play-
ers including junior Ryleigh Coloutti
who amassed more than 700 points in
her first two years.
Senior leadership will come from
Kerigan Disorda, Kylie Grenier and
Theresa Culpo. A new senior Hailey
Taylor transferred from Whitehall.
Other juniors are Courtney
Brewster, Zoey Cole, twins Megan and
Emma Ezzo, Abby Brown and Emma
Briggs.
Disorda, Brewster and Coloutti
were starters on last year’s team.
“They are fun guys to be around.
There is great team chemistry,” Fair
Haven coach Kyle Wilson said. “The
big unknown is the Division I teams
who have dropped down to Division
II like Burr and Burton, North
Country, Spaulding, Lyndon and
Middlebury.”
You can look for the Slaters to
brandish the typical traits of the
Wilson teams.
“We want to play strong defense,
get the first rebound and get out in
transition to get some easy baskets,”
he said.
The Slaters tip off the season on
Saturday at 2:30 p.m. against a Bel-
lows Falls team that has moved from
Division II to Division III.
GREEN MOUNTAIN
There is one word for the Chief-
tains — Green. They are as green as
their name, as green as their uniform.
Maddie Wilson is the lone player
returning with any significant varsity
floor time.
Continued on page 12