Leland and Gray Wins Bellows Falls Holiday Tournament (girls) 12/28/12 and 12/29/12

Rebels Win Bellows Falls Holiday Tournament

BELLOWS FALLS - What a wonderful holiday it's been for the Leland and Gray Rebels.  After winning against the Sharon Tigers on Friday, the girls beat the Bellows Falls Terriers 31-24 to win the annual Bellows Falls Holiday Tournament Saturday, December 29.  Although they were caught in a midst of rough play, the Rebels managed to find the light that led them to victory.

Elderd on defense

Friday night was an easy win for the Rebels who beat the Tigers 57-31.  Things certainly looked that way in the beginning; the Tigers didn't make it past the half court line until just three minutes in.  Their first shot, a three, was made halfway through the first quarter by senior Samantha Abrams.  After Abrams' shot, the rest of the Tigers rallied to come back.

With just a minute to go, Rebel freshman Jordan Gouger fouled Tiger freshman Katherine Elderd while shooting a three.  Elderd's shot went in and she made the corresponding foul shot for a total four points.  By the end of the first quarter, the Tigers trailed just 14-12.

Buffum hitting a jumper

After the embarrassing start, the Rebels bounced back to dominate the rest of the game both offensively and defensively.  Senior captain Ashley Goddard had a pair of steals, a nice block, and led the Rebels in scoring with twenty points.  Sophomore Haley Buffum led the team in assists with eight, steals with four and defensive rebounds with seven.

As for the Tigers, their most notable player was Elderd who led her team in scoring with fifteen - almost half of the team's total points.  Her reputable efforts were unanswered as the Rebels defeated the Tigers in a final 57-31. 

Next up was Bellows Falls, a team which the Rebels set a rivalry with back in soccer season.  Also the hosts of the tournament, the Terriers defeated the Stevens Cardinals 42-17 in the first round of the tournament for their first win of the season.

Right from the beginning, there was a sense of tension emanating through the gym.  The Terriers defense, led by senior captain Enny Mustapha, was too much for the Rebels to handle, holding them to just seven points in the first quarter.  However, the Terriers could not make their shots and settled for a mere five.

Nystrom (left) and Wilder (right)

The physicality of the game heated up in the second as both teams fought hard for the ball.  The intensive strategy worked more so in favor of the Terriers who were led by sophomore Chelsea Wilder and junior Emily Dufault to explode on offense.  By the end of the first half, the Terriers had the lead, 16-13. 

Morrow (right) and Dufault (left) scramble for ball

But the Rebels were not done yet.  They came back the second half revitalized and, fighting through the physical tenacity of the Terriers defense, the Rebels regained the lead by the fourth quarter, 24-20.  The last quarter was played in the same vein when the Rebels took hold of the game.  The Terriers last breath of life came when sophomore Stephanie Parsons hit a jumper to cut the deficit to 27-24 with less than two minutes to go. 

Mustapha (right) guarding Goddard (left)

Parsons' shot was left unanswered as Goddard finished the game with a pair of shots that gave the Rebels a final 31-24 win.  The most valuable players of the game were Goddard and senior captain Alex Morrow.  Morrow had nine points on the night with five assists and an impressive charge.  Goddard led the team in scoring with sixteen and went 5-7 at the free throw line.  Together, Morrow and Goddard accumulated about 81% of the team's total points.  For the Terriers, the most valuable player was Dufualt who led her team in scoring with ten.

Goddard revealed that the two main keys in the Rebels recent success has been, "determination and believing in ourselves."  What needs to change in order to keep up with the success according to Goddard is, "layups and more layups. That's what killed us the most.  We could also probably pick up our defense. Even though we had better defense the last few games, we came out really slow in this one."

Coach Morrow added, "We need to pick up the intensity.  The intensity [my team] played with the last five minutes of the game is the intensity they need to play with the entire game.  We need to stop making the second-half comebacks and just play hard the whole way through."

The Rebels are currently in second place for Division III girls basketball, behind Richford who has only submitted one entry to the VPA (a win).