CLAREMONT — There are fast starts and then there are blazing starts, like the one the Stevens High boys basketball team displayed in a season-opening 58-27 win over Fall Mountain at Carr Gymnasium on Tuesday night.
The Cardinals opened the game, and the season, on a 21-3 run — which included three 3-pointers — to soar past the visiting Wildcats. Kayden LaClair led the way for the hosts with 16 points. Trystan Lane added 10 points. Lucas Belisle did the dirty work down low with five points while pulling down 13 rebounds.
The win marks the first season-opening victory for Stevens since the 2016-17 season, giving coach Ray Curren plenty to smile about.
“It was a nearly perfect opener for us,” Curren said. “We were able to dictate play and do a lot of things we wanted to do.”
The path ahead is a bit tougher for the Cardinals, however. Stevens hits the road on Friday night to visit defending NHIAA Division III state champion Gilford.
Mascoma 64, Newport 19NEWPORT — Mascoma (1-1) cruised to victory at Wheeler Gym.
The result was never really in doubt for the Royals. Mascoma led 14-0 by the time Newport (0-2) scored its first points, and the Royals surged to a 24-4 lead at the end of the first quarter. Mascoma head coach Silas Ayres gave his underclassmen playing time in the second half when the game was out of reach, and the Royals scored just three points in the fourth quarter.
Senior guard Zach Thompson led Mascoma with 14 points. Senior forward Ian Moulton added 10 points, and sophomore forward Tyler Stark scored 12. Junior guard Owen Beaulieu finished as Newport’s leading scorer with six points.
Ayres was pleased with the way his team bounced back from its opening-night loss to Kearsarge.
“I really wanted the guys to execute tonight,” Ayres said. “We had a hard time executing against Kearsarge. I just wanted to run our stuff. It’s always good to get a win and get our confidence back up a little bit shooting-wise, just seeing the ball go through the hoop.”
Mascoma is back in action on Friday when it hosts White Mountains. Newport’s next game is at home against Inter-Lakes on Friday.
Girls BasketballMascoma 58, Newport 39WEST CANAAN — Make that win No. 1 as a head coach for Tonya Young and the Royals.
Liberti LaCasse (20 points) and Madisun LaCasse (14) did the bulk of the offensive damage to pace Mascoma (1-1) over the visiting Tigers (0-2). The Royals erupted for 28 points in the fourth quarter to pull away in what had been a tight game.
Young credited the poise and ball control of Emily Seiler (six points) along with the defense and rebounding work of Morgan Towne and Gabby Pierce.
“I’m proud of every single player on our team; our starters, our subs, our bench. We really worked hard and things are starting to come together for us,” Young said.
Both teams hit the road on Friday night when Mascoma visits White Mountains and Newport visits InterLakes.
Thetford 48, White River Valley 23THETFORD — The Panthers were dominant in the second half to pull away from the Wildcats and earn a season-opening win.
Visiting WRV went on a 12-4 run in the second quarter to lead, 17-14, at halftime. The second half belonged to Thetford, as the Panthers went on a 16-0 run in the third quarter and never looked back.
“We had a good halftime making some adjustments, and the girls played a great second half,” Thetford coach Eric Ward said. “It started with great defense led by Mason Fahey and the offense started to flow beginning with Madi Mousley. I saw a lot of positives as the game progressed.”
Mousley led Thetford with 16 points. Macey Smith added 11 points, Charlize Brown had eight. Whitney Lewis had six points and a team-best 11 rebounds.
Thetford (1-0) will host Rivendell on Thursday.
Tanner Drury paced WRV with 10 points. The Wildcats look to get back on track at Mid Vermont Christian on Thursday.
Fall Mountain 47, Stevens 35CLAREMONT — The margin may have been 12 points closer, but the result was still the same.
Nine months after defeating the Cardinals by 24 in the NHIAA Division III quarterfinals, the Wildcats handed Stevens (1-1) its first loss of the season. Junior Alyssa Paquette led the Cardinals with 13 points, but Stevens was plagued by missed layups and free throws throughout the game.
Avery Stewart had a game-high 19 points for Fall Mountain (2-0) and Nora Dunnigan added 14.
“Fall Mountain is a great team that we’re striving to be like,” Stevens coach Steve Condon said. “We just couldn’t find the hoop. We missed a lot of open layups and fell asleep a couple times defensively.”
The Cardinals hit the road for the first time this season next Monday at Winnisquam.
Blue Mountain 44, Rivendell 19ORFORD — The Bucks opened a 21-12 lead at halftime and expanded from there to drop the Raptors to 0-2.
Ryleigh Butler led Rivendell with eight points. Olivia Harris and Colleen Underhill each added four points.
The Raptors visit Thetford on Thursday.
Girls HockeyWoodstock 4, Burlington/Colchester 1BURLINGTON — Sophie Yates had two goals to help the Wasps (2-0-0) earn the win at Leddy Park.
Woodstock answered a first-period goal by the hosts by scoring three in the second to take command of the game. Skylar Haley and Isabel Konijnenberg also scored for Woodstock. Hannah Gubbins and Alix Livingston each tallied assists. Goalie Meridian Bremel made 21 saves.
The Wasps visit Harwood/Northfield on Saturday.