POULTNEY- For years, the Poultney Blue Devils were not a threat to the Twin Valley girls’ basketball team. It seemed the Wildcats always had their way with them at home or away. But last season, Twin Valley coach Buddy Hayford noticed the Blue Devils were on the upswing. On Thursday, they finally turned the tables and beat Twin Valley.

The Blue Devils retained five starters from last season. They were big in the middle and Hayford said they gave the Wildcats a hard time on the boards. It put Hayford’s team at a disadvantage and Poultney won the rebound battle easily. The Wildcats still hadn’t found their shooting momentum after the Leland & Gray loss and it reflected at the end of the first quarter, 12-0, Blue Devils.

Twin Valley’s woes continued in the first half. They committed several turnovers (20 total) and Poultney scored on many of them. Abbi Molner scored the Wildcats’ only point in the first half, going one for two at the free-throw line. The winded Wildcats were down 26-1 at halftime.

The second half went much better for the Wildcats. Sam Bernard scored all six of her points in the third quarter and a three-fer by Kylie-blu Crawford sparked the team’s offense. The Wildcats outscored the Blue Devils by two points in the second half (18-16) but it was too much to overcome. Poultney won the game in a rout, 42-19.

“We came out slow and couldn’t knock down anything,” said Hayford. “The kids realized we have plenty to do but I was encouraged by the second half. They didn’t quit.”

Molner scored three points and had six rebounds and three steals; Savannah Nesbit scored two points and had three rebounds and two assists; Bryer-lyn Crawford scored two points and had five rebounds and two steals; Kylie-blu Crawford and Bit Aekus scored three points each; and Bernard scored six points and had 11 rebounds.

Cats rebound against West Rutland

WEST RUTLAND- On Monday, Twin Valley played their second straight road game. This time it was against the defending division IV champions, West Rutland. The Golden Horde graduated eight seniors from last season including their all-state point guard Katie Lincoln. Not taking West Rutland’s new squad lightly, the Wildcats came prepared and it showed. They got out of the offensive rut that had hindered them for two straight games and played top-to-bottom solid basketball. The Wildcats beat the Golden Horde and earned their first victory of the year, 50-28.

The Wildcats led 13-6 after one and increased their lead by 24 points at halftime, 32-8. The Wildcats controlled the tempo in the second half and they never let West Rutland stage a comeback. Hayford went to his bench late in the game and they nailed down the victory. “The scoring was spread out among multiple players. We shared the ball well and many kids got into the scoring column. This was definitely a shot in the arm for us,” said Hayford.

The Wildcats also out-rebounded the Blue Devils, 37-12.

Kylie-blu Crawford scored 14 points and had four rebounds; Bernard scored 11 points and had 11 rebounds and five steals; Molner scored six points and had 10 rebounds; Nesbit scored nine points and had three assists; Bryer-lyn Crawford scored four points and had two assists and two steals; Lexi Reinerstein scored two points and had four rebounds; and Aekus and Shannon Lozito each scored two points.

The Wildcats are 1-2 on the season. They play at home on Thursday against Bellows Falls. Tip-off is at 6:30 pm. On Tuesday, they play at Green Mountain in the Green Mountain Holiday Tournament. Tip-off is at 7:30 pm.