By Russell Jones
WEST RUTLAND — Going into the girls’ D-IV quarterfinal game on Saturday, Coach Carl Serrani, fresh off his 300th all-time victory, had his West Rutland girls ready to play. After a tough first half against a tenacious Danville team, the Westside girls took control and cruised to a 58-28 victory.
The offense was fueled by a solid defensive effort that got stingier as the game progressed. The Horde, who were seeded third and had a bye in the first round, held Danville to 20 points in the first half and eight points in the second.
“I was impressed with the way we played,” Serrani said. “It all starts off with our defense. Our defense is the best we’ve played it in a long, long time. Sammy Callahan (a senior) had five, six steals in the first half. Amazing.”
Elizabeth Bailey, a 6’1” post player, anchored that defense under the basket, routinely blocking shots all game long. In the second half, West Rutland continued getting both defensive and offensive rebounds, led by Bailey and junior Kiera Pipeling.
After halftime the offense could hardly miss, scoring 18 points in the third period and holding Danville to just six. Jenee McGee, a junior, led the scoring for the Horde, knocking in five three-pointers for a total of 17 points. Bailey added 14 points and sophomore Kiana Grabowski had 11 points.
“Our back line is finally starting to understand their job,” Serrani said. “They’re talking, communicating, and we finally found our best friend, rebounding.”
Coach Serrani will take his team to Barre to meet up with the Proctor Phantoms on Wednesday, March 6, and the winner will take on Blue Mountain Union High School on Saturday in the state finals.
“We’ll tweak some stuff for Proctor,” Serrani said about his two tall post players. “Bailey is a sophomore and (Isabell) Lanfear (a freshman) is just coming into it. They’ve got nothing but potential.”
