2021 High School Girls Basketball Playoff Preview
By BEN KAUFMANN
County Courier
Division I
No. 4 BFA-St. Albans (6-3): Hosts quarterfinal vs. winner of No. 12 Mt. Anthony vs. No. 5 Rutland on Friday 3/19 at 6:00 PM
As expected, a surprising loss to Burlington in the regular season finale hurt the Comets a bit, but it’s nothing devastating. A win in that game would have placed BFA in third place instead of fourth – the key difference being that a potential semifinal will now be at CVU instead of at Essex against a Hornet team BFA played very well in February. But those details don’t matter all that much; BFA can’t afford another sloppy game when it hosts a quarterfinal on Friday or it will be an early exit. After that, whether against CVU or Essex or any other semifinalist, the Comets will need to play their absolute best to advance. And it should be clear that BFA’s absolute best is enough to beat CVU and Essex. It’s now or never for this Comet team.
BFA is very senior-heavy, beginning with leading scorers Maren McGinn and Caitlyn Dasaro. An interesting subplot to this strange season: this year’s basketball championship games will be played at The Aud in Barre after more than 20 years at St. Michael’s and UVM. BFA has two championships in program history (1992 and 1993) and both were won at The Aud. Comet coach Paul LaFountain has preached one motto this season: Consistency. 64 consistent minutes from these Comets just might get them back to that sacred ground in Barre.
Division II
No. 3 Enosburg (5-2): Hosts No. 14 Springfield in playdown Tuesday 3/16 at 6:00 PM
It’s tempting to look ahead to the semifinal round and a possible game four against No. 2 North Country, but Enosburg can’t afford to get ahead of itself. A semifinalist a year ago, Enosburg is once again favored to make a postseason run but will need to stay on task to do so. The Hornets play stout defense and an absurdly aggressive offense, but points don’t come so easily that they can afford to overlook Springfield or potential quarterfinal opponents No. 6 Hartford or No. 11 Montpelier. Enosburg topped 50 points just twice this year and winning games with your defense means there are no nights off.
If the Hornets can take care of business in the first two rounds, the idea of a semifinal at North Country is thrilling. The two have already met three times this year, with North Country winning the rubber match to close the season and steal the No. 2 spot (and the right to host the potential semifinal). Gary Geddes’ teams expect to play in Barre every spring and this year that means they must make the championship round. We’re not betting against Emily Adams, Sophie Burns and the rest of yet another talented Hornet team. They and BFA-St. Albans offer the best chance among the local girls’ teams of reaching Barre; it will take a nearly-perfect semifinal performance but we’re confident at least one will make it.
Milton (2-6): Opted out of postseason
If ever there were a year to decline an invite to potentially drive a couple hours for a slim chance at winning, this is it. Besides, Milton has nothing left to prove this season. What a year for the Yellow Jackets! Winless last season, Milton started the delayed season 0-5 but never threw in the towel. A nine-point win at Richford on March 5th was Milton’s first win in 745 days. For good measure, the Yellow Jackets decided to make it two in a row with a stunning overtime win against BFA-Fairfax a few days later. Leading scorer Mallorie Chalmers will be back next year along with much of an impressive supporting cast and you can expect even more wins in 2021-22.
Missisquoi (2-5): Season cancelled
It was an abrupt and disappointing end to the season for Missisquoi in all sports. Word came last Friday that the school was suffering from a COVID-19 outbreak and would be cancelling all remaining winter sports and activities in the best interest in student health. We can be proud that Missisquoi so strongly prioritized the well-being of its community while also being sad that its teams didn’t get to finish the season. Jen Gagne’s girls showed some real flashes of brilliance this season, including wins against Mt. Abraham and Milton.
Division III
No. 11 BFA Fairfax (3-4): Playdown at No. 6 Winooski, Wednesday 3/17 at 6:00 PM
Our biggest question mark as we head into the postseason. The Bullets have the talented senior backcourt duo of Paige Superneau and Jaycee Douglas, a rising star in sophomore Faith Benjamin and a dangerous two-way forward in Hazel Albee. When BFA is clicking, they’re dangerous. The worry is, they haven’t been clicking much this year – at least offensively. There aren’t questions about BFA’s defense – shout any formation at Lee Tourville’s girls and they’ll switch into it and probably force a turnover. At the other end, though, BFA has been able to create shots but they simply aren’t converting them. Hopefully that changes with the postseason, which comes along when the midway point of a normal season would be.
Tourville said after a season-closing win at Richford that some team which had worked hard for a good seed was going to be disappointed to be paired up against his Bullets and we think he’s right. We love this draw for BFA: A short road trip to No. 6 Winooski opens the campaign and while the Spartans (5-3) aren’t to be overlooked, it’s worth noting that three of their wins came against rebuilding Milton/Missisquoi teams and another came against Division IV Northfield. If BFA can escape the first round, a quarterfinal at No. 3 Vergennes (8-1) shouldn’t be overwhelming. Vergennes would be favored to be sure, but BFA hung with the Commodores nicely in last year’s playdown round and will have every belief they can do so again.
Division IV
No. 14 Richford (0-7): Playdown at No. 3 Mid VT Christian, Tuesday 3/16 at 6:00 PM
Short season or full season, this was always going to be a rebuilding campaign for the Rockets. Richford’s roster includes zero seniors and just four juniors. Freshman Sierra Derby and sophomore Aubrey Fadden provided some of Richford’s best offense this season and it stands to reason they’ll do so for the next couple of years. Tim Lagasse’s group already plays wonderful defense, including holding Fairfax to 11 first-half points on Saturday. The girls stood tall and never threw in the towel this season even against the likes of Enosburg and Danville. With no questions about heart, and the varsity experience coming early, Richford should be a major player in Division IV in the coming seasons. To say the Rockets are an underdog at Mid Vermont Christian on Tuesday is an understatement, but you can bet they’ll give it 100% from start to finish. They won’t be a major underdog when next playoffs kick off a year from now.
