Orford
Luckily for Thetford, Ward’s inexperienced Panthers came to play in his team’s season opener. Freshman Emi Vaughn hit four free throws late in the fourth quarter and sophomore Grace Davis led the way with 10 points as the Panthers erased an early deficit for a 38-35 win over Rivendell (1-1) on Friday night.
“It was a good team win,” Ward said.
Rivendell’s Mikayla DeBois missed a half-court prayer in the final second that would tied the game and forced overtime. Senior Riley Thomson led the Raptors with 16 points.
Rivendell head coach Hank Tenney called the loss a missed opportunity — an early-season game against an opponent that graduated many of their top scorers from a year ago.
“We missed 14 layups, and we were 7-for-18 from the foul line,” Tenney said. “You don’t win many close ball games like that.”
The game itself was a tale of two halves.
Rivendell looked sharp out of the gate, building a 12-4 lead after the first quarter thanks to two 3-pointers from Thomson. The senior sharpshooter had another 3 in the second quarter, helping the Raptors sustain a 19-12 lead at the half.
“We could have easily just said, ‘It’s not our game,’ ” Ward said. “The kids listened to what they had to do.”
Thetford found its groove in the third quarter, opening the second half with an 8-2 run that put the Panthers within striking distance. Thetford took the lead with 2 minutes, 28 seconds remaining in the third quarter on a layup by Davis, and never looked back.
“We worked a little bit of a different offense (in the third quarter), just to slow the game down,” Ward said. “The girls were really nervous in that first half. It was a lot of new people playing a lot of minutes.
“I’m trying to find combinations. … The kids showed a little more (in the second half). The game slowed down for them.”
Added Tenney: “We just didn’t play good D in the third quarter. We just didn’t cover people. Plus, in the third quarter, we had a lot of chances. We missed six layups in the third quarter. You can’t miss layups.”
Thetford extended its lead to six points in the fourth quarter, 31-25, and slowed the game down to drain the clock. Davis and Vaughn hit crucial free throws in the final minute to stretch the deficit. Rivendell hung tough, with DeBois and Thomson draining 3s to keep the Raptors within one possession. DeBois finished the game with 11 points for the Raptors; Mikayla Stever had seven.
Ward’s squad is still dealing with life after losing last year’s top scorers, a group that included Regan Covey (11.0 points per game) and Emily Emerson (8.3). The transition has changed senior Danielle Robinson’s role this winter, a talented inside presence off the bench last year who has taken on much of the leadership.
Thetford, which has made four straight trips to the D-III final, suddenly has talent to develop in a hurry if it wants to keep its long Barre Auditorium streak alive.
“I had coached them for so long, some of them since seventh grade,” Ward said of last year’s senior class. “There’s a little unknown (this year), but I think we have a lot of potential. I think (when) we get together, we’re going to look pretty good. This is actually a really smart group. We’re going to use their intelligence to our benefit.
“Championships are not won in December. We’ve got a lot of work to do. But I’m pleased with what we were able to do tonight.”
Thetford (1-0) hosts Windsor on Monday, a rematch of last year’s D-III title game. Rivendell travels to Williamstown on Wednesday.
Josh Weinreb can be reached at jweinreb@vnews.com or 603-727-3306.