WINOOSKI- The Twin Valley girls’ varsity basketball team headed to Winooski for a first-round playdown game Tuesday evening. The ninth-seeded Wildcats took on number eight Winooski High School. The Wildcats stayed close to the home team for much of the game, but ultimately fell 52-38.

The game was dead-even through the first quarter. The two teams were tied at 11. Twin Valley was led by Savannah Nesbitt with four points and Bit Aekus with three.

“I was feeling good about the night,” said Twin Valley coach Buddy Hayford. “The first quarter was even-Steven, it was a great first quarter. Both teams played some good basketball. I was pleased with the way things shook out.”

The teams continued to stay close in the second quarter. Twin Valley was down 20-18 at the half.

“I was quite pleased,” said Hayford. “We were right there.”

But the third quarter has proved to be the Wildcats’ undoing in its last two losses, and once again the team came out of halftime flat and didn’t play well in the third quarter. Winooski took off on a 7-0 run and went up 27-18 in the first two minutes of the third quarter.

“It made things difficult for us,” said Hayford of the run. “All of a sudden, we’re not so much in the game.”

But the Wildcats clawed back, and trailed by only seven at the end of the third quarter, 33-26.

But the fourth quarter belonged to the host team. Winooski scored 19 points in the period, many of them coming at the free-throw line. Twin Valley also had to counter Winooski’s stall offense, which made Twin Valley abandon its zone defense.

“We were forced into man-to- man, said Hayford. “We had to come out of our zone, and man isn’t our strong suite.”

Winooski also clamped down on defense, limiting the Wildcat outside shooters and forcing them to get the ball inside.

“They played good defense,” said Hayford. “They got right out on our guards. They switched every screen, but we couldn’t take advantage of any pick and roll chances.”

Winooski won the game at the foul line, going 19 for 27 on the night. Twin Valley only took six shots from the line, making two.

Brianna Robare scored 12 fourth-quarter points for Winooski, many of them coming at the free-throw line. She finished with 16 for the game. Rebecca Spittle and Ashely Antoniak added 15 each.

Nesbitt led Twin Valley with 13 points. She also had six rebounds and six steals.

Abbi Molner had six points and five rebounds. Hannah Swanson had six points and seven boards. Lexi Reinertson had 6 points, four rebounds, and two steals. Senior guards Bit Aekus (3 points) and Shannon Lozito (2 points) played their last game for Twin Valley.

The loss was the third in a row for the Wildcats. Twin Valley closes out the season with an 11-10 record.

In other D-III first round girls’ games, Leland & Gray lost at Rivendell 61-33, Green Mountain was bounced at home by 10th-seeded Northfield 47-44, Arlington was outsted by Canaan in overtime 38-34, and Windsor knocked out Williamstown 61-30. For complete tournament brackets visit vpaonline.org.

Arlington 45, TV 38

WILMINGTON- Twin Valley dropped its final game of the regular season Friday evening, falling to rival Arlington 38-45 in a Marble Valley League game.

The loss was a bitter pill to swallow for the Twin Valley players, coaches, and fans, as it dropped the Wildcats out of first place in the Marble Valley League C Division, and sent the Wildcats on the road to Winooski for a first-round playdown game. A win would have handed the Wildcats the division crown, and given them a home playoff game.

“We played a perfect first quarter,” said Twin Valley coach Buddy Hayford, “and an imperfect middle two quarters. They were our undoing, especially the third.”

Indeed, Twin Valley played its best ball in the first quarter. The Wildcats used their pressure defense to force a number of Arlington turnovers. Shannon Lozito grabbed a number of loose balls and knocked in a couple of baskets. Lozito’s running mate at guard, Savannah Nesbitt, also forced some turnovers and had some easy baskets on layups off the Eagles’ turnovers. Together, the pair accounted for all of the Wildcats’ points, as Twin Valley led 14-4 at the end of the quarter.

“We were knocking down shots and we played good defense,” said Hayford. “That was a really great start.”

However, Arlington was not going to lie down in this game. In the second quarter, the Eagles turned up their own defensive intensity and started making shots. They outscored the Wildcats 14-7 in the quarter.

“They knocked down some threes,” said Hayford of the second quarter. “Our defensive intensity dropped at the start of the quarter.”

Despite the rough period, Twin Valley still held the lead at halftime, 21-18.

But that lead was short-lived. Jennan Lacoste scored down low to pull Arlington within one at the beginning of the third quarter. Twin Valley’s Lexi Reinertson countered with a layup to put the Wildcats back up 23-20. But for the rest of quarter, the Eagles outplayed the Wildcats, going on a 13-2 run to build a 33-25 lead.

Micah Andrews, daughter of former Twin Valley boys’ varsity coach and current Arlington girls’ coach Larry Andrews, led the way with nine points in the quarter on three three-point shots.

“The third quarter was the crucial quarter,” said Hayford. “We told the girls at the break that the first two to three minutes would be pivotal. We wanted to grab control of the game. Unfortunately, it was Arlington who took control. They picked up their defensive intensity and we looked uncomfortable. ”

Twin Valley picked up the pace in the fourth quarter, and tried to reel the Eagles back in. A three-pointer by Lozito narrowed the margin to 33-36 with about four minutes left in the game. But Andrews nailed another three, a bank shot from the right side that proved to be the dagger. The teams traded baskets down the stretch, but Twin Valley couldn’t get any closer, despite outscoring Arlington 13-12 in the quarter.

“It was difficult to guard her,” said Hayford of Andrews’ shooting display. “She was in a zone. I’ve never seen her shoot like that, and I’ve seen her play since she was a young kid.”

Andrews lead the Eagles with 16 points, coming on five three-point shots and a free throw.

Nesbitt led Twin Valley with 17 points. Lozito had 10 points and four steals. Abbi Molner had three points and nine rebounds. Hannah Swanson had two points and four boards. Reinertson had four points, four rebounds, and two steals. Twin Valley had 11 steals as a team.

Before the game, seniors Lozito and Bit Aekus were recognized for their contributions over their high school careers.

The Wildcats finished the regular season 11-9, and in second place in the Marble Valley C Division. Green Mountain won the division.