It was in 1962 that the Windsor High girls basketball team crossed the Connecticut River to play a game against St. Mary’s of Claremont, New Hampshire. Something very special was going to happen on that day.
Windsor’s Julie (Bradley) Barber dropped 70 points on St. Mary’s. No Vermont high school player has scored that many in a game to this day.
Sixteen years later, coach John Barth’s Windsor boys basketball team beat another New Hampshire school and it sent shock waves through New England. The Yellow Jackets toppled a strong Nashua team at the University of New Hampshire’s Lundholm Gymnasium in the New England Tournament.
Basketball is big stuff in Windsor. There have been so many memorable moments from when they played on “The Stage,” a gym oozing so much character that literally was a stage.
Today, two gyms later, they are making more memories in the gorgeous gym with the mezzanine circling the floor.
The most memories this season will be made by the girls basketball team.
Despite being a Division III team, they have climbed to the No. 2 spot in the Rutland Herald/Times Argus power rankings.
The 5-0 Yellow jackets do not just win, they put opponents away by halftime or earlier.
You would have thought that when Windsor great Olivia Rockwood graduated and headed 280 miles away to play Division I basketball for Maine that there might have been a drop off.
There hasn’t been. Every night they take the floor, Peyton Richardson, Reese Perry, Elliot Rupp and company simply overpower the opposition.
Could the Division III Jacks do the same on New Year’s Eve day against 2021 Division II state finalist Fair Haven? Tip-off in Windsor is at 12:30 p.m.
It is another opportunity for the Yellow Jackets to validate their place as one of the best girls basketball teams in the state regardless of division.
It is also a chance for Fair Haven to state their own case and shake up the rankings.
Windsor coach Kabray Rockwood prepared his Jacks for the season by scrimmaging top Division I teams like Rice and Essex.
“We felt good about the way we played in this scrimmages,” Rockwood said.
“It is a very experienced group and we were able to hit the ground running.
“The girls have played together for years in AAU.”
Perry, Rupp and Richardson put up some impressive numbers night in and night out, but Karen Kapuscinski has been tough in the post.
“She is a glue player. She does whatever we need. She runs the floor as well as any big player that I’ve had,” Rockwood said.
Holly Putnam has been a spark on the defensive side.
“She is a pesky defender and a great leader,” Rockwood said.
Here are this week’s Rutland Herald/Times Argus power rankings with last week’s ranking in parentheses.
1. CVU 4-0 (1) The Redhawks have not been pushed except in a 12-point win over Rutland.
2. Windsor 5-0 (4) The Yellow Jackets are coming off a 70-38 drubbing of a very good White River valley team.
3. Mount Mansfield 4-0 (8) The Cougars 58-50 win over Essex has to get your attention.
4. Essex 5-1 (2) The only blemish is to that Mount Mansfield team.
5.. St. Johnsbury 4-0 (3) The Hilltoppers aren’t blowing opponents away but they are winning.
6. Mount Abraham 4-1 (5) The Eagles have reeled off four straight wins after a season-opening loss to Fair Haven. The winning streak included avenging that loss to Fair Haven.
7. Proctor 2-1 (6) The Phantoms need a test after crushing Leland & Gray and Arlington. They will get one on Monday when West Rutland comes to town.
8. Rutland 2-4 (7) The Ravens have been through the gauntlet, taking on top D-I foes like CVU, Mount Mansfield, Essex and St. Johnsbury. They have stood up to all of them and have beaten South Burlington and Burlington.
9. Enosburg Falls 5-0 (UR) A 13-point win over a strong Lyndon team is impressive.
10. Fair Haven 4-1 (9) The litmus test comes during the New Year’s matinee in Windsor.
On the bubble: Rice, Spaulding, West Rutland, Blue Mountain, South Burlington, Lyndon.
TOP FIVESDivision I: 1. CVU 2. Mount Mansfield 3. St. Johnsbury 4. Essex 5. Rutland.
Division II: 1. Mount Abraham 2. Enosburg 3. Fair Haven 4. Lyndon 5. Hartford.
Division III: 1. Windsor 2. Williamstown 3. Peoples Academy 4.Vergennes 5. White River Valley.
Division IV: 1. Proctor 2. West Rutland 3. Blue Mountain 4. Mid-Vermont 5. Mount St. Joseph.
tom.haley
@rutlandherald.com
