-For the third year in a row, the Brattleboro Bears girls’ basketball team has won the Leland & Gray Tip-Off Tournament.
The Bears took the season opening showcase in Townshend in convincing fashion, defeating the Mount Anthony Patriots, 65-28, in the opening round game Dec. 12, then defeating the Arlington Eagles, 65-29, in the championship game the following night.
Early season basketball games can be misleading, and most teams take time to get their footing — especially if they have new coaches. Both Brattleboro and Leland & Gray have new faces leading their respective teams — Sarah Landers for the Bears and Hannah Landers for Leland & Gray.
The difference is continuity. Brattleboro has six seniors and two juniors on the 2025-26 varsity roster. Leland & Gray has one senior and one junior and a lot of untested ninth and 10th graders. That helps explain why the Rebels lost to Arlington, 40-9, in the tourney’s first round game and 54-13 to Mount Anthony in the consolation game.
The road is going to be worse for the Rebels. Their lone senior, point guard Annabelle Brookes, fell awkwardly to the floor after she bumped into Arlington guard Anna Ryan in the third quarter of that game. Brookes was taken off the court by Rescue Inc. personnel and, according to Rebels athletic director Tammy Claussen, has a significant bone bruise that will likely keep her out of action for a while.
Rescue Inc. personnel were busy again the following night when Rebels sophomore center Amelia Crockett and Patriots junior guard Nicole Carey collided head-on-head while diving for a loose ball late in the first half. Both were taken to the hospital and their game was stopped for nearly an hour while they were tended to.
Basketball can be a rough game, but three ambulance calls in two nights is more than I can remember seeing at one venue in one tournament. It was not pleasant to watch, and I hope Brookes, Crockett, and Carey will be back on the court soon.
• As for the games themselves, Brattleboro was clearly the best of the four teams in the tournament. After playing the Patriots to a 13-13 tie after the first quarter of their game, the Bears took control with four three-pointers by tournament MVP Reese Croutworst, Myah Waite, Hailey Bristol, and Emerson Frehsee to start the second quarter and build up a 31-18 lead by halftime.
Brattleboro held Mount Anthony to just 10 points in the second half as the Bears used a balanced attack on offense combined with great defense to roll to victory. Croutworst finished with 27 points, Waite scored 12 points, Bristol and Juliana Pals had eight each, and Frehsee added seven.
The Bears had no trouble with Arlington as they opened the game with a 26-2 scoring blitz. The Eagles couldn’t cope with Brattleboro’s full court pressure defense and Pals, Frehsee, Croutworst, and Parker Thibault all scored at will.
Brattleboro finished the rest of the game with the reserves getting lots of playing time against the overmatched Eagles. The Bears had a 35-11 lead at the half, and a 42-16 lead after three quarters.
All 10 Brattleboro players scored in this game, including the first varsity basket for ninth-grader Havilah Altstadt and six points for senior Jasmine Thibault. Croutworst led the Bears with 12 points in very limited action. Parker Thibault, who was named to the all-tournament team, and Bristol both finished with nine points, and White had a pair of three-pointers to finish with seven points.
• The Rebels struggled in both of their games. Against Arlington, they went almost the entire first quarter without scoring, only getting a shot at the buzzer by Crockett to make it 7-2, Eagles.
Leland & Gray could only manage a basket from all-tournament team honoree Cheyenne Berrie, and a free throw from Sophia Hallock in the second quarter as the Eagles took a 15-5 lead into halftime. Arlington outscored the Rebels 15-2 in the third quarter, with a lone basket by Lucy Bertram early in the quarter accounting for the Rebels’ scoring. Berrie got another basket in the fourth quarter, and that was all the offense that the Rebels had as they finished a difficult opener.
Against Mount Anthony, the Rebels were close in the first quarter as Berrie had a basket and a free throw and Bertram scored as the Patriots held a slim 9-5 lead heading into the second quarter.
After Hope Landers sank a free throw to cut the lead to 9-6, the Patriots reeled off 10 unanswered points to take control of the game before the head-on collision of Crockett and Carey stopped the game with the Patriots in front, 19-6. The Rebels never recovered.
The 2-0 Bears will have their home opener Dec. 17 against Northampton, Massachusetts, while the 0-2 Rebels will try to regroup when they travel to West Rutland Dec. 18.
Terrier girls win their opener
• Bellows Falls started the season on the road Dec. 12 with a 38-28 win over the Springfield Cosmos at Dressel Gymnasium. Junior Abby Nystrom led the way for the Terriers with 10 points in the first half, including two three-pointers, as BF took a 14-12 lead at the half.
Sophomore Avery Maxfield had the hot hand for BF in the second half, with three three-pointers. Nystrom and Maxfield finished with 12 points each. Sophomore Addie Snide led the Cosmos with 8 points.
Boys’ basketball
• Bellows Falls opened the season at Holland Gymnasium with a 67-57 win over the Springfield Cosmos on Dec. 13.
This was a close game at the start as Springfield took an early 11-6 lead in the first quarter before BF battled back to tie the game, 11-11, heading into the second quarter.
Sophomore guards Morgan Haskell and Saul James helped the Terriers pull away in the second quarter as they sank a combined five three-pointers for a 32-22 lead at halftime.
Senior guard Coby Levesque keyed a strong third quarter for BF a
s he scored seven points as BF led 45-30 heading into the final quarter. Levesque added eight more points in the fourth, and sophomore forward Jaden Bazin added a pair of three-pointers as BF withstood a late charge by the Cosmos to win the opener.
Levesque led the Terriers with 20 points, including a 10-for-12 afternoon from the free throw line. James and Haskell each added 11 points, and Jacob Kissell and Bazin each had 10 points. Bradley Gallant led Springfield with 21 points and Ollie Kelley added 12.
• Twinfield/Cabot opened with an 11-0 run and led 47-26 at halftime on the way to a 78-57 win over the Twin Valley Wildcats in the opening game of the Bob Abrahamson Tip-Off Classic in Proctor on Dec. 12. Brayden Brown led the Wildcats with 37 points.
• Brattleboro lost its opener at St. Johnsbury, 85-72, on Dec. 12. The two teams will meet again on Dec. 20 at the BUHS gym.
Hayward enters Syracuse University Men’s Hockey Hall of Fame
• Peter-Owen Hayward of Brattleboro was recently inducted into the Syracuse University Men’s Hockey (SUMH) club Hall of Fame. He was inducted unanimously during his first year of eligibility.
During his four-years (2016-20) at Syracuse, Hayward played 123 games at forward, setting multiple program scoring records including career points scored (198), career goals (111), and career assists (87). He tallied 37 power play goals, added 25 assists on power play goals, and had 13 game-winning goals.
During his freshman season, he led the American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA) Division 1 in goals (38) and was third in the country in points (64, an all-time Syracuse record), earning him Northeast Collegiate Hockey League (NECHL) Player of the Year, Rookie of the Year, and a selection to the ACHA All-Rookie Team.
Hayward was a two-time selection to the Eastern States Collegiate Hockey League (ESCHL) Second Team, a two-time team MVP and an Offensive Player of the Year. As a member of both the 2017 and 2019 NECHL league championship teams, he helped the Orange reach their third ACHA National Tournament in 2017. As team captain, Hayward helped them win the ESCHL playoff championship in 2019.
Hayward served as an assistant captain and club officer during his sophomore and junior years and as team captain/club president as a senior. He graduated Magna Cum Laude in 2020 with degrees in finance and advertising, and earned selection to the ACHA All-Academic Team.
His youth hockey career started with the Brattleboro Hawks, Springfield (Mass.) Pics, and the Green Mountain Glades, capturing various state and regional titles. He was selected to represent Vermont in the USA Hockey New England Festival and Player Development Camp from age 11 through 16. He later attended Northfield Mount Hermon, where he earned three varsity letters in hockey. During this time, he also played split-season’ hockey with the Springfield Rifles U-18 team, capturing a Massachusetts State Championship.
After graduating from NMH in 2015, Hayward joined the Boston Junior Bruins in Worcester, Massachusetts, for the 2015-2016 season before attending Syracuse University and joining their men’s team.
Brooks Library has BOC trail passes
• Brooks Memorial Library in Brattleboro offers free passes for the Brattleboro Outing Club’s (BOC) cross-country ski and snowshoe trails at the Brattleboro Country Club.
The pass provides free admission for a family of six (1–2 adults and up to four children) to use the BOC’s trails. This pass does not cover equipment rentals. Reserve the digital pass with your library card at brookslibraryvt.org for the day you wish to visit. The pass will be emailed to you.
Visit the BOC website at brattleborooutingclub.org/cross-country skiing for open hours and trail conditions. Passes are generously donated by the Brattleboro Outing Club.
Senior bowling roundup
• Week 15 of the fall/winter season of the Brattleboro Senior Bowling League at Brattleboro Bowl on Dec. 11 saw Pinocent Bystanders move into a tie for first place with Wayne’s World (both 47-28), followed by Lucky 7 (40-35), 3 Plus One and Slo Movers (both 38-37), Stayin’ Alive (37-38), Ricochet (34-41), SOS and Strike Away (both 33-42), and Strikers (28-47).
Diane Cooke had the women’s high handicap game (236) and Candida Wall had the high handicap series (634), while Jerry Dunham had the men’s high handicap game (240) and series (675). Pinocent Bystanders had the high team handicap game (860) and series (2,499).
Chuck Adams had the men’s high scratch series (580) with games of 212 and 205, while John Walker had a 576 series with games of 215 and 197, and Warren Corriveau Sr. had a 571 series with a 214 game. Robert Rigby had a 562 series with a pair of 190 games, Gary Montgomery had a 558 series with a 190 game, and Peter Deyo had a 545 series with a 211 game. Stan Kolpa had a 521 series, Rick Westcott had a 507 series, and Milt Sherman had a 504 series with a 201 game.
Shirley Aiken had the women’s high scratch series (428) with a 160 game, and Cooke had the high scratch game with a 162.
Randolph T. Holhut, deputy editor of this newspaper, has written this column since 2010 and has covered sports in Windham County since the 1980s. Readers can send him sports information at news@commonsnews.org.
This Sports column by Randolph T. Holhut was written for The Commons.