14 Rutland Herald Winter Sports Guide 2019-2020
Girls Basketball Preview continued from page 12
be deeper than last year. We are still
putting it all together.
“Elise was very ball dominant and
I am not sure we have to be that this
year. She and Leigha worked well
together.”
This year he believes the Raiders
can get out and run, distributing the
ball to the point where many differ-
ent players get good shots.
Bellomo points to a tough schedule
that begins with Division I runner-up
CVU in the North/South Challenge
at College of St. Joseph on Dec. 14.
The Raiders have four home games
before they take to the road with
CVU, Rice, Essex and St. Johnsbury
coming to the court at CSJ.
PROCTOR
The Phantoms return all five
starters from a team that made it to
the semifinals where they were ousted
by West Rutland.
Those five are Allie Almond, Lynd-
sey Elms, Maddie Flanders, Rachel
Stuhlmueller and Maggie McKearin.
They are all athletic and can score.
Coach Chris Hughes just wishes one
of them were bigger.
“We’re just missing that one big
player,” he said.
Stuhlmueller, though, plays bigger
than she is and is one of the division’s
top rebounders. She uses the same
aggressiveness that was on display as
the goalie of the state championship
soccer team to win her battles on the
boards.
Almond, Elms, McKearin and
Flanders are capable of scoring in
double figures on any given night
and also give the Phantoms solid ball
handlers.
“Our test will be the bench,”
Hughes said. “That is where we are
inexperienced.”
The bench is comprised of Hope
Kelley, Sydney Wood and Taylor
Kennedy, who has moved over from
Mill River, and Laci French. French is
still on the mend from an injury and
the Phantoms hope to have her on
the floor in January.
Kelley has plenty of varsity time
under her belt from Black River.
“She is definitely going to help us.
She is a great athlete and she gives
us some size which we desperately
need,” Hughes said.
RUTLAND
The Raiders had one of their best
seasons in some time last year by
going 13-7 before winning a first-
round Division I playoff game against
Lyndon.
When you look at some of the elite
players who turned their tassel like
Elise Magro and Leigha Charron, you
JON OLENDER PHOTO
Otter Valley High School’s varsity girls
basketball team during practice.
might think they will take a step back
this year.
Coach Nate Bellomo isn’t looking
at it that way. He believes this edition
of Raider basketball can be deeper
than last year’s team and he loves that
so many freshmen and sophomores
got better by practicing with the
varsity last year.
Returning players like Kendra
Sabotka, Riley Burgess and Makieya
Hendrickson were primary players
last season so there is some experi-
ence to lean on.
Kathryn Moore also logged appre-
ciable minutes as a freshman and
could step into a larger role.
There is Megan Smith who Bellomo
said “has worked her way up the
ladder” and Stephanie McCormack
who is healthy after an injury plagued
season.
But Bellomo is equally excited
about what he calls “the new pieces.”
These are the players who had been
working with the team and are ready
to forge their own identity.
“We have a lot of freshmen and
sophomores competing,” he said.
“This year we have the potential to
SPRINGFIELD
Springfield breathed some rarefied
air last season with a trip to the
semifinals at Barre Auditorium but
the Cosmos graduated their most
dynamic offensive player Hannah
Crosby.
But new coach Pete Peck watched
the team play from the stands as a
spectator last season and he is excited
about the group he has inherited.
They are fortified by a rare
6-foot-2 player underneath in Gabby
Wardwell.
“She is poised for a good season.
She has put in a lot of hard work in
the off season,” Peck said.
Hailey Perham is well equipped to
run the show as the point guard and
brings more varsity experience.
“She has got a great basketball IQ,”
Peck said.
Peck calls Julianna Albero-Levings
“our best defender.”
Fans got a look at her defensive
prowess when she slowed down one
of the state’s top offensive players
Ryleigh Coloutti when the Cosmos
met Fair Haven in the semifinals.
Jessica Cerniglia gives them an
accurate perimeter shooter.
“I think we will go at least nine
deep,” Peck said.
That will mean important roles
for the likes of Ashley Chamberlin,
Hayley Streeter, Kaylee Warren, Jenna
Nelson, Kayla Gibbons and Megan
Stagner.
Nelson is 6-foot-1, giving Peck the
luxury of spelling Wardwell with
another 6-footer.
Peck had a stint coaching the
Cosmos on the boys side a number of
years ago and he is excited to be back
in the gym every day.
“I’m a hoop junkie,” he said.
The Cosmos open against Leland &
Gray at home on Dec. 17.
WEST RUTLAND
Start with Bailey and Lanfear, the
twin towers, and you already have the
makings of a formidable team.
But it does not stop there. Most
everyone is back from the title team
including Kiana Grabowski, Kiera
Pipeling and Jenee McGee who have
been among the top players in the
league.
Grabowski and Pipeling give the
Horde a couple of superb ball han-
dlers who can also distribute it and
shoot it. McGee has range with a deft
touch beyond the 3-point line.
There are other familiar names —
Hannah Rivers, Anna Cyr, Deanna
Kenyon, Serena Coombs and Madi-
son Guay who just might have made
the biggest shot of the state champi-
onship game coming in cold off the
bench.
Serrani sees Blue Mountain,
Proctor and Hazen as being in the
mix when it comes to Division IV
but he is also wary of Danville which
now has Tammy Rainville back at the
helm. Rainville is in her third stint
of coaching the Indians and piloted
them to state championships in 2000,
2001 and 2003.
West Rutland launches the season
with a home game against MSJ on
Dec. 13.
TOM.HALEY @RUTLANDHERALD.COM