by As the White River Valley High School Girls reach the halfway point of their season, their record shows another promising hope for another successful season. The Wildcats are 7-3 through their first ten games.
The Wildcats have a strong group of returning starting players from last season, consisting of sophomore guard Ashlyn Rhoades, junior guard Tanner Drury and senior guard Jillian Barry and forward Ella Perreault. The Wildcats also have sophomore forward Hannah Collins from last season and added three freshmen, Cassie Armstrong, Olivia Tuller and Mackenzie Vesper to the mix, which has given all of the players the motivation they needed to push each other towards improvement.
After what has felt like a slow start due to a handful of postponed games, the Wildcats are finally getting into a groove that is giving the team the results necessary to make another playoff run. The team took two early season losses to two of the top Division III seeds. Thetford pulled off a two point victory for the Wildcats season opener. Windsor gave the Wildcats an eye-opening game and pulled off a 25 point win. The Wildcats also faced the Division four powerhouse West Rutland and lost by 17.
Those losses for the Wildcats may have been tough, but all of their wins have been by 25 points or more. The Wildcats have an advantageous balance of inside game and outside game. They also use their speed to their advantage, as they do not have much size to their team. Tanner Drury, Ashlyn Rhoades and Jillian Barry all have the ability to shoot outside, but still dish the ball into the post players for shots in the paint. Ella Perreault owns rebounding, despite being outsized more often than not. Freshman Olivia Tuller has given the team some size inside but created someone else for Ella Perreault and Hannah Collins to battle within the paint at practices. Cassie Armstrong and Mackenzie Vesper, two more bodies that add speed to the guards.
The Wildcats have four more home games and hit the road for the rest of their season. The Wildcats will face Bellows Falls on February 1, Mount Saint Joseph on February 7, Rivendell on February 9, and round out their regular season at home on February 15, against Leland and Gray for Senior Night.
