By RUSSELL JONES
WEST RUTLAND — The Golden Horde put their 10-4 Division IV record on the line Saturday as the Division III, 10-3, Green Mountain Chieftains came to town.
A hard-fought, physical game down to the wire as the Green Mountain Union High girls narrowly defeated the West Rutland girls 38-36.
The Westside team came out firing on all cylinders, going on a 6-0 run thanks to a couple buckets from senior guard Kasey Serrani and a shot from sophomore forward Elizabeth Bailey, who had a big game, offensively and defensively.
After a timeout by the Chieftains, the Horde kept the pressure on them. After two three’s by junior forward Jenee McGee, and a three-pointer from sophomore point guard Kiana Grabowski to end the quarter, put the West Rutland girls up 17-10.
But the Chieftains came back in the second quarter. Despite a stellar performance from West Rutland’s 6-foot-1 Bailey under the basket, at one point blocking shots on two straight possessions, the Chieftain offense outscored West Rutland in the second quarter 13-7, sending the teams into the half with West Rutland clinging on to a one-point lead, 24-23.
The physicality and intensity of the game picked up throughout the third quarter, with several players from both teams picking up several fouls and with Green Mountain gaining the edge in shots and points. At the start of the fourth quarter, the Green Mountain girls had a four-point, 31-27 lead.
The Horde gained back a few points in the fourth quarter, scoring 9 points to Green Mountain’s five to tie it at 36-36 with just over a minute left in the game. While free throws were key down the stretch, the Chieftains scored a layup on an inbound play to take a 38-36 lead with 0:36 left.
A timeout was called by Westside coach Carl Serrani to try and draw up a scoring play, but time ran out before the team could score.
“We got beat on the boards,” Serrani said afterwards. “They beat us 33 to 21 in rebounds.”
Bailey played a big role on defense and led the scoring for the Horde with 10 points. Grabowski, McGee, and Serrani all contributed 6 each for Westside.
West Rutland will take their 10-4 record on the road as they meet rival Proctor on Thursday.
