Winners In My Blog

MVU's freshman point guard Meghan Leadbeater is already a terrific ball handler and will soon be one of the best point guards in the county. Though her team sits at 0-18, it sets the standard for sportsmanship and attitude.

I really didn't want to go to a basketball game tonight. Really. I spent 8 hours today working alone, removing flooring and hauling old carpet, trash and even a couch down two flights of stairs. I didn't get enough sleep last night and by the time I drove home through the start of a nasty blizzard I really wanted to call it a day.

I was hoping MVU's girls basketball game against Vergennes was going to be cancelled. Nothing against the Lady Thunderbirds, but I just wasn't feeling it tonight. And truthfully, the game should have been cancelled. The roads were as bad as I've seen in a long time -- my dad and I saw 3 cars off the road on the 10 mile stretch of highway from MVU to our house. But the game was played, and I showed up to do the play-by-play for public access TV and write up the newspaper article.

Another reason for my lack of desire to cover the game tonight was the pessimism associated with Missisquoi girls hoops lately. MVU went in 0-17 and though Vergennes is near the bottom of Division II, the odds were still against my alma mater. MVU hasn't had many close games this season and its first meeting with the Commodores was a 15-point loss last month.

The ray of hope was the quiet knowledge that tonight was realistically MVU's last chance to win a game this season. It closes with games against Middlebury and South Burlington and just isn't anywhere near the talent level of those two teams. If these girls were going to avoid the dreaded goose egg, tonight was the final opportunity.

Things got off to a good start with the JV game. MVU pulled out a close win and the final few minutes of that game was when I began to really believe the varsity squad was about to win its first. Rather than sit in the locker room stressing about a potential winless season, MVU stood in the gym and enthusiastically cheered on its JV team. Nobody was a bigger fan in that fourth quarter. The varsity girls seemed genuinely pumped up. When I actually saw the Vergennes varsity girls warming up across from the amped Missisquoi squad, I told my dad that MVU was going to win tonight.

The T-Birds' played fairly well by its standards early, but still showed the lack of basketball IQ which has largely caused its poor record. The Commodore's best player was clearly its 6'0" center, Hannah Curler. Despite not having a player taller than 5'5", Missisquoi tried to shoot over Curler and Chelsea Grant (5'9") unsuccessfully. MVU led 10-9 after the first but couldn't stop fouling late in the second and trailed 18-16 at the half after Vergennes sunk eight straight free throws.

The Thunderbirds couldn't quite get on a run in the second half despite playing well, but I couldn't have had more fun calling the game. I played the role of MVU defender and referee critic with bias that would make Tommy Heinsohn blush (the referees were bad, but nobody's sending the best in the business to do 0-18 vs. 4-13).

These Missisquoi girls played with heart that made every T-Bird supporter proud. They aren't very good at basketball, so what? They don't whine about calls. They don't get frustrated or play dirty. They never, ever stop playing hard. They support eachother. They're kind to opponents. They laugh. They have fun. They're winners in my book.

Nobody would have blamed Missisquoi for acting like, well, 17 year olds tonight. Their last shot at a win slipped away painfully (they lost by 10 points). I wish I could do a better job expressing how much I admire this group. It's not easy to learn to lose with class. I played on many losing teams and never got the hang of it. Not being able to deal with frustration has set my life back numerous times but when these girls are done with high school sports, they're going to still be admirable and successful women.

And the basketball dream isn't over for most of these girls. They have some talented underclassmen who could form a decent Division II squad in 2013. I really see potential in next year's possible starting lineup (C-Laura Flint, F-Megan Rowell, F- Kirstin Ward, G-Chelsea Boudreau, G-Meghan Leadbeater). Flint is as tough an athlete as you'll meet. Rowell is an exceptional all-around athlete who will be dangerous given more basketball experience. Ward is capable of taking over the game for periods at both ends of the floor. Boudreau can really shoot, she'll have a 20-point game next year. Leadbeater, just a freshman, is a terrific ball handler and will be a great point guard once she develops a 15-footer. It's a shame Kelli Patterson didn't return for her sophomore season, but nobody can blame her for wanting to focus on soccer.

It will hurt the T-Birds next year to be without Christina Walsh and Serena Reynolds, two girls whose heart and never-say-die attitude have kept this team away from an ugly meltdown. 

When I post my all-county basketball teams next week, there won't be an MVU girl on the list. Just know that if I were making an all-county character team, other schools would be battling for bench time.

And next February I won't be going to cover an 0-17 T-Bird team, I guarantee it.