HORNETS HOLD OFF TIGERS TO PUNCH BARRE TICKET

By Ben Kaufmann

ENOSBURG – To just about everyone in attendance Saturday afternoon, No. 3 Enosburg taking a 20-3 lead after a quarter on No. 10 Middlebury seemed like more than enough to ensure the Hornets would waltz to the Division II semifinals Wednesday at Barre Auditorium. To those on the Hornet bench, however, there was no doubt that the same Tigers who had given Enosburg two down-to-the-wire contests in the regular season would have something else to say.

“We played an excellent first half, got out of the gates good. I knew they wouldn’t go lying down – we’ve had three good games with them and it’s no different here,” said EFHS coach Gary Geddes. 

“I knew they would come out in the second half and make a run. And I knew, typical of us all year, we go into these lulls. We got some good looks but just couldn’t bury some easy shots.”

Down 18 points at halftime and 16 after the third, Middlebury (9-13) never threw in the towel and got to within four points in the fourth before Enosburg (20-2) put it away with late free throws to escape with a 44-35 win and earn a Wednesday semifinal against No. 6 Mt. Abraham.

“Not really, but at the same time we knew it was an option,” said Enosburg senior Emily Adams when asked if she expected to need last-minute free throws after jumping out to a 20-3 lead. “We knew they’re a good team and when we scored a lot in the first quarter, we knew they could have too. That’s what they progressively did when we got a little cold on offense. In the end, our defense and our free throws really helped us. But, no, we weren’t expecting that as much as it did happen.”

The Hornets will travel to the famed Barre Auditorium for the late game on Wednesday, facing a Mt. Abe team which handed EFHS one of its two losses this year and is fresh off upsetting No. 3 Fair Haven. 

“We’re familiar with them,” Geddes said. “We beat them up here and they beat us pretty good down there. We know what to expect from them.”

Saturday’s quarterfinal got off to an ideal start after neither team scored for the first 90 seconds. Enosburg jumped to attention with 20 points only interrupted by an Ele Sellers three pointer. Adams scored nine of her team-high 10 points in that frame and Kayla Gervais hit a pair of threes to help the hosts to that 17-point advantage after one. 

Things began to cool down in the second, but Allison Bowen’s second assist of the quarter set up an Erica Goodhue and-one play to help the Hornets to a 28-10 halftime lead. Signs of trouble began to appear in the third quarter; an Alexis Kittell inbound to Bowen secured the only Enosburg points of the quarter until the buzzer and Kittell picked up her fourth foul before the midway point of the third, soon followed by Adams collecting her third foul.

“Foul trouble kind of got us into letting them come back because some matchups they took advantage of,” said Geddes. “But the bench came in and did what they had to do and we just made enough free throws to close it out.”

Though it seemed unthinkable when the first quarter closed, Enosburg desperately needed a boost and got one with a long three from Lilly Roboty at the buzzer to push the Hornet lead to 33-17 entering the fourth. Geddes had high praise for Robtoy after the game as her nine points and 11 rebounds came when badly needed with Enosburg’s other point guards in foul trouble.

The joy from Robtoy’s buzzer beater was short lived as Middlebury opened the fourth on a 10-0 run. The penultimate basket in that frame came from Sellers, Middlebury’s leading scorer, on a deep pull-up three with Adams right on her. Kittell snapped the 10–0 run with a layup through a foul, then Robtoy hit a pair of free throws. The Tigers answered with a long jumper and Sellers responded to a Bowen free throw with yet another absurd pull-up three to cut Enosburg’s lead to 38-32 with two minutes left. 

“You cannot go under a screen anywhere on the court when you’re guarding her,” said Adams, who was tasked with guarding Sellers and must have felt frustration as the Middlebury star hit 20-footers with a hand in her face. “She’s really fun to guard, it’s energy-consuming but she’s a really good player.”

“That Sellers girl is tough, she made some good, tough shots against us,” said Geddes. “She scored 34 against us down there. We held her to 16 the last time we played them. She’s just got unlimited range, she’s the toughest matchup we’ve faced all year.”

That second pull-up three was the last of Sellers’ 13 points on the evening, but was followed with another Tiger basket to cut the Enosburg lead to 38-34 with a minute left. Gervais got the Hornets home, responding by hitting three of four free throws in the final minute to keep the Tigers at bay.

Adams finished with 10 points, eight rebounds and five steals for the Hornets and Gervais and Robtoy scored nine apiece. Kittell scored seven despite the foul trouble and Bowen added five points to go with seven rebounds. Goodhue and Ryleigh Simmons rounded out the Hornet scoring with two points apiece.

Enosburg returns to the final-four, having most recently visited Barre in 2020 when it lost in a semifinal to undefeated top-seed Fair Haven (the Slaters never got to play for that title since the game was cancelled due to a new virus called COVID-19). The Hornets last played for, and won, a title in the 2016 Division III tournament. Enosburg has four championships in program history, but none since moving up to Division II in 2018. 

“We want to go all the way, knock on wood,” said Adams, crouching to tap the court in taking her statement quite literally. “I’m a senior so this is my last game here, it’s kind of crazy. I’m so glad we get to go to Barre and I’m so glad I get to go with this team, it’s a great way to end my senior year.”

Tipoff for Enosburg vs. Mt. Abraham is slated for 8:15 on Wednesday at Barre Auditorium. The winner of that will face the winner of No. 1 Lyndon vs. No. 4 Spaulding, which will be played Monday night. 

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