Like snowflakes, no two teams — even from the same girls basketball program — are the same.
Thetford Academy started a four-year run of visits to the VPA Division III state finals in 2014, beating Williamstown in what turned out to be the highest-scoring championship game in state history. That 90-84 decision closed a tournament run in which the Panthers threw down their three most prolific offensive games of the year.
Three years later, and after two straight title-game losses, the Panthers used a wild fourth-quarter rally, erasing a 15-point deficit to overturn Windsor, 53-52, on March 18 at Barre Auditorium and return to the D-III summit. This TA squad bore minimal resemblance to the last group of Panthers to win state hardware.
Coach Eric Ward’s latest edition didn’t rely on one or two primary scorers as in 2013-14, instead getting the ball to the hottest hand at any given time. Beyond that, Thetford employed what’s become a constant over Ward’s successful tenure — defense — to become champs again.
“We weren’t going to go down without a fight,” Ward said after his Panthers completed their 19-5 season. “I didn’t know if we were going to win when we were down by 15 points, but I had a lot of faith in these kids because I’ve coached them for so many years. They didn’t want to go out on the short end and they realized their season was coming to a close.”
Ward’s last title team won its first 11 games, lost midseason to U-32 and won its last 11 games to reign supreme. This time around, riding an offense that averaged 6 points fewer per game than in 2013-14, the Panthers succeeded with a smaller margin for error.
TA’s five losses came by a combined 23 points; most were two- or three-point affairs, suggesting little tweaks were all the Panthers required. The pieces were in place by mid-February; Thetford closed with eight straight wins, four in the postseason, to complete its run.
“What’s nice is we’re so interchangeable,” Ward said following a 43-34 home defeat of Lyndon on Feb. 10. “We’ve had 11 different starters this year and can just play the matchups we think will work best each game.”
Six different Panthers either topped the scoresheet or shared the honors through the season. Senior guard Regan Covey (team-best 11 points per game) stood out most often, but there was always someone else in blue and white to pick up the slack on the nights when needed.
Junior Kate Vaughan had two strong games early before going down to injury. Senior Izzy Wilmott’s 3-point abilities frequently came in handy, while senior Emily Emerson found her moments, netting a season-high 19 points in a win over Oxbow (and her uncle, O’s coach Barry Emerson) on Jan. 20.
Two more seniors, Dahlia Klarich and Danielle Robinson, took on leadership roles — Klarich as a starter, Robinson off the bench — to get TA to the finals. And Covey saved her best for last, scoring a Thetford season-best 23 points in the finals win over Windsor.
“We’re usually pretty balanced on offense, but tonight we needed someone to step up,” Ward said after the championship victory. “She stepped up on center stage and during the last game of her career.”
Different team. Different formula. Champions again.
Greg Fennell can be reached at gfennell@vnews.com or 603-727-3226.