WINDSOR — In a heavyweight matchup which featured the number two-ranked teams in their respective divisions entering Thursday evening’s contest, the defending VPA Division III state champion Windsor High Yellow Jackets fell to visiting Rutland of Division I, 61-48.
Rutland was propelled to victory in large part due to the shooting of junior Brinley Gandin, who did her best Steph Curry impression, making seven threes on her way to dropping 33 points on the night.
Despite the loss, the Jacks had some solid offensive contributions of their own. Sophomore Amelia Rockwood led the way for the Jacks with 14 points, while junior Grace Blanchard, who scored 10 points, was the only other Windsor player to score in double figures.
“I think we played really hard,” said Windsor Head Coach Kabray Rockwood. “I feel like we were prepared for what they were going to do, but their length and their shooting ability and their physicality got us.”
Rockwood went on to say that there were points in the game when he felt his squad lost itself, which he called the game’s biggest difference.
One of those points was in the second quarter. After a tightly contested first quarter between the two squads, which saw Rutland gain a 17-14 advantage by the end of it, the Jacks’ offense went cold.
Windsor mustered just four points in the contest’s second frame, while Rutland built on its lead behind the scoring of Gandin and sophomores Lola Sparks and Ellie Whalen. After the rough stretch, the Jacks found themselves trailing 31-18 at halftime.
“We definitely lost track of shooters, and we got into a little bit of a rut offensively and kind of wore down a little bit — lost our focus,” Rockwood said of his team’s second quarter struggles.
The Jacks would respond, though, and out of halftime they started chipping away at Rutland’s lead. Five different Jacks, including junior Callie Spaulding, Rockwood, senior Kemari Wildgoose, Blanchard, and freshman Addison Crane, scored in the frame to cut Rutland’s lead to 41-35 at the end of the third quarter.
Windsor’s momentum continued to grow to start the fourth quarter as Spaulding opened the period with a three-pointer to cut the Jacks’ deficit to three points.
But three points were as close as Windsor would get. Rutland steadied itself as the final quarter of regulation continued, going on a 12-0 run after Spaulding’s three-pointer, which ultimately spelled the end of the Jacks’ comeback hopes.
“The girls responded in the third quarter with some tough defense and timely shots, but when you dig yourself a big hole against a really quality team, you can’t dig out all the time,” Rockwood said.
Windsor fell to 13-6 on the season with the loss and has just one regular season game remaining before it attempts to defend its state championship.
With the postseason rapidly approaching, the value of playing Division I opponents like Rutland cannot be overstated.
“It’s tremendous. We try to play a tough schedule for a reason. I think it’s the games that harden you and give you the playoff atmosphere as you play against a little bigger, stronger, faster, physical style of play,” Rockwood said.
“It helps us when we play our division opponents because we’re definitely more prepared because we’re playing upper-echelon teams and we’re hanging with them,” he added.
The Jacks will aim to end the regular season with a victory when they travel to Otter Valley on Saturday.