'Had to work for it': CVU girls basketball tops St. Johnsbury to end title drought

Last year's semifinal exit pushed the Champlain Valley Union High School girls basketball team into another offseason without a trophy-lifting, net-trimming celebration at Patrick Gym.

The once-formidable, unbreakable Big Red Machine, which captured five straight titles and set a modern state record for consecutive victories between 2012-2017, were the ones who looked so un-CVU like in the 2022 Final Four defeat to Mount Mansfield.

"There was more of a sense that kids felt like they had a standard of CVU basketball to live up to and I felt that weighed them down a little bit," longtime CVU coach Ute Otley said. "It’s not just putting on a CVU uniform and it just happens for you — you have to work for it, you have to earn it every day."

Instead, players and coaches looked inwards for answers.

"We had a really good and long talk. Everyone was disappointed about the way we performed in our game last year," Otley said. "And they really bought in. They worked hard in the weight room, they played a lot of basketball in the summer. They put in the time and the effort."

And Friday night, Patrick Gym was once again covered in red and white.

Addi Hunter and Elise Berger engineered a complete team performance as top-seeded CVU pulled away from No. 3 St. Johnsbury for a 43-29 victory in the Division I state championship game, giving the Redhawks their first outright title in six years and sixth overall in Otley's 12-year tenure.

"It’s been a while and this season we really had to work for it. It feels well-earned," Otley said.

Hunter posted 16 points and six rebounds and Berger collected 11 points, three assists, three steals and four blocks as the Redhawks (20-1) used a decisive third-quarter run with a trademark defensive look to slow St. Johnsbury to clinch a return to glory.

"Everyone wanted it and everyone was playing their hearts out," Berger said. "We all worked a little bit harder to get there."

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Hunter said this group didn't give much thought to ending the program's championship drought. After title-game losses in 2018 and 2019, the COVID-19 pandemic halted the 2020 tournament before the Final Four and the VPA awarded co-champions to CVU and three other schools. In 2021, CVU was forced to bow out before its first playoff game due to a COVID case. Then came last year's semifinal setback.

"I think it was in the back of our minds, it probably wasn’t the focus. I think we just wanted to do it for each other," Hunter said. "We’ve been looking forward to this for the whole season. To finally accomplish it, it’s just amazing — it’s a great feeling."

Down 11-10 after Hayden Wilkins scored on a reverse layup to open the second quarter, CVU uncorked a 12-2 run to take a 22-13 lead in the final minute of the half. Cassidy Kittredge connected on a corner 3-pointer to bring the Hilltoppers to within 22-16 at the break.

After playing a 1-2-2 zone in the opening 16 minutes, CVU switched to a halfcourt trap that "looks like a 1-3-1 but plays like a spread 2-3," Otley said. The trap is a hallmark of CVU's defense and something Otley employed to start the second half in almost every game this winter.

"It makes it harder for them to know where the gaps are going to be. It’s exhausting to play," Otley said.

The strategy had immediate results. Kate Boget got a baseline runner to fall and Hunter had a steal and breakaway layup. Then Shelby Companion floated a perfect pass into the paint for Hunter to finish at the rim and Berger tallied a basket via a Hunter offensive board and assist.

"We knew we had to push the pace. We were looking to come out with momentum and do what we can in transition and it was working well," Berger said.

By the end of a 12-3 run, CVU had a 34-19 margin with 3:29 to go in the quarter.

"I think it really gassed us after the first shift of the third quarter," Otley said. "But I also thought that’s where we separated. It was a calculated risk."

Hayden Wilkins and Kittredge buried back-to-back 3s to quell CVU's surge. But the damage had been done and SJA trailed 36-25 after three quarters.

More:How CVU, St. Johnsbury emerged on top at the D-I girls basketball Final Four

"We were stuck on 22 points forever. We just couldn’t buy a bucket," St. Johnsbury coach Jade Huntington said. "That hurt, that hurt a lot because we couldn’t get any offensive movement."

The Hilltoppers got to within nine points once, with Kayla Weaver completing a three-point play on a transition bucket and foul halfway through the final frame. CVU responded with a well-worked inbounds play, Berger finding Hunter backdoor for an uncontested look, and the Redhawks methodically drained the clock down the stretch.

Wilkins finished with a team-high 12 points while Kittredge chipped in 10 points for the Hilltoppers, who finished 10 of 45 from the floor.

"I thought in a lot of ways we played well. We missed some shots we normally make, so that hurt us and got us out of our rhythm a little bit," Huntington said. "We are coming into a lot of trees down there, they are a lot bigger than us. The kids played with guts and kept taking it to the rack and still trying to hit their shots from the outside.

"I'm proud of them."

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After a slow start, the Redhawks controlled the glass with a 36-33 rebounding edge and a 32-10 advantage in paint scoring. CVU also had 14 second-chance points, got 16 points from its bench and swatted eight SJA shots. And Berger and Hunter ignited much of it.

"They’ve been like that all season. They have been so good and so consistent and so tough," Otley said of Berger and Hunter. "We got exactly what I expected out of them. I thought they were great tonight and confident."

Said Hunter: "We played scrappier than we’ve played previously."

Otley saw a different team on Friday, and this season, than a year ago. They were ready.

"Last year, my team was so nervous about being in this situation or on this stage," Otley said. "And this year, they just weren’t having it. They weren’t going to allow the nerves to get in the way this year."

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Contact Alex Abrami at aabrami@freepressmedia.com. Follow him on Twitter: @aabrami5.

This article originally appeared on Burlington Free Press: Vermont H.S. girls basketball championship: CVU returns to the top