WHITE RIVER JUNCTION — Charlotte Jasmin started practicing with the Hartford High girls basketball program when she was in fourth grade.

The opportunity is open to all young girls in the school district to generate interest in the sport and help feed talent to the high school team, but varsity head coach Heidi Bushway said nobody that young had shown up during her five years in charge of the Hurricanes.

So what makes Jasmin, now Hartford’s leading scorer as a freshman, different?

“That girl plays basketball 365 days a year,” Bushway said.

It’s not much of an exaggeration. Jasmin started playing at age 5 and now competes for two club teams — Lone Wolf Athletics, based in Colchester, Vt., and the more local Comets Basketball Club, headquartered in Windsor.

Bushway, who has been watching Jasmin for five years now, was not surprised by the immediate impact she has made for the Hurricanes. Just five games into her high school career, Jasmin is averaging 17 points per game, easily the highest mark for a 4-1 Hartford squad looking to rebound from a disappointing finish last year.

“Did I expect this? Yes,” Bushway said. “It’s hard taking a freshman on a varsity team, so if you’re going to take them, you’ve got to play them.”

Jasmin is the Hurricanes’ only freshman on a team that is younger than its roster indicates. Hartford does have four seniors, but only Marina Grassi played in half of last season’s games and none saw starters’ minutes. The Canes, who lost eight of their final nine games a year ago and fell in the first round of the VPA Division II playoffs, graduated eight seniors, including leading scorer Beth Dobrich and Jasmin’s older sister, Jenna.

Thus, Hartford has needed every bit of the younger Jasmin’s production, and the freshman has plenty of experience as the youngest player on the court.

“It was awkward, and I was very scared,” Jasmin said, recalling practicing with the high schoolers as a fourth grader. “I was able to hold my own a little bit, and as I got older, I was able to handle that competition. I’ve definitely realized it’s more mental than it is physical at this level. I’m 14 playing against 18-year-olds, which is a big difference.”

One of the Hurricanes’ tallest players at 5-foot-8, Jasmin is listed as a forward on Hartford’s roster. But because her ball-handling skills are more refined than many of her older teammates, she often runs the point as well. Her recruiting profile lists her as a shooting guard.

Jasmin scored three goals and added four assists for the Canes’ field hockey team this fall, helping Hartford reach the state title game, and she plans to play lacrosse in the spring. But basketball has been her primary focus for several years, and her hard work paid off immediately as she led the Hurricanes to an overtime victory over Twinfield with 15 points in her high school debut, despite fouling out late in the game.

She followed that up with 22, more than half the team’s total, in a narrow loss to Oxbow, then put up 15 again in a win over Green Mountain before exploding for 24 two nights later against Bellows Falls. Tuesday night’s 41-40 win over D-I foe Brattleboro gave Jasmin her first real adversity — her open shots weren’t falling, and she went to the bench early in the second quarter after picking up a soft second foul.

“It was a rough game,” Jasmin said. “They definitely knew who I was, so they were up on me a little bit more and face-guarding me the whole game. That’s when I have to dish it to my teammates and rely on someone else to (score) instead of me.”

Jasmin still had her moments — she nailed her only 3-pointer of the night in the closing seconds of the first half to give Hartford a two-point lead, then had a steal and a fast-break layup on the first possession of the second half.

That gave Jasmin nine points, but she would score no more, returning to the bench after being called for her fourth foul in the final quarter and remaining there the rest of the game. Nonetheless, the Hurricanes pulled it out, with junior guard Kamryn Brower’s late free throw making the difference.

“She wasn’t playing as tough defensively as she normally does because she had those four fouls,” Bushway said. “Having her on the bench, it hurts a little bit, but everyone else stepped up and played a great game.”

Hartford’s schedule only gets tougher from here. The Canes are at resurgent local power Thetford on Friday, play defending D-III champion Windsor twice later in the season, have two upcoming matchups with D-II contender Fair Haven and will see two more D-I opponents in St. Johnsbury and Rutland. With its still-improving freshman star leading the way, though, Hartford figures to be in just about every game.

“She did make things happen when she was on the floor (against Brattleboro). She struggled, but she still did really well,” assistant coach Brenda Griggs said. “That’s a struggle for her, but that’s being young. You’re going to make mistakes, and you’re going to learn.”

Benjamin Rosenberg can be reached at brosenberg@vnews.com or 603-727-3302.

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