Photo by Bill Croney, The Northfield News Williamstown's Kristin Brown was named the Most Valuable player of theWoodsville(N.H.) Tournament last Weekend at Woodsville. She and teammate Brittney Martin were also named to the All-Tournament Team. Kristin had 31 points, 10 rebounds and 5 assists in the two games as the Lady Devil's took the tournament championship with a 47-40 win over Mascoma. The Williamstown Girls basketball team gave two impressive performances in the Woodsville (N.H.) Tournament over the weekend. In the opening game just over the Connecticut River, the Lady Devils dropped host Woodsville 39-31 on Saturday. And then on Sunday, The Blue & White Girls downed Mascoma (N.H.) 47-40 in the championship match-up. With the wins The Lady Devil’s evened their season record to 4-4.

Kristin Brown was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player and both Kristin and Brittney Martin were named to the All-Tournament team.

Things didn’t start out well for the Lady Devils in the opening game of the Tournament. “We started in a zone “D” but fell into a 9-2 hole six minutes into the game. So we switched to a pressure man to man the rest of the game and it worked for us. It made them force shots and make bad decisions,” said “Devils coach Sid Sweet. After the switch Williamstown went on a 5-0 run and climbed back in the game. The Lady Devils closed the gap to 9-7 after one and in the second quarter they out-scored Woodsville 9-4 to take a 16-13 lead into the locker room. “ At halftime I told them to keep up the pressure and I told Brittney Martin I didn’t want their high scorer to get the ball. That really worked. Brittney played great defense,” said coach Sweet.

In the second half most of Williamstown’s points came from transition baskets or foul shots. In the fourth quarter alone the Lady Devils were 9 of 14 from the foul line . “They were chasing us. We really didn’t have to run a set offense in the second half,” said the coach.

Kristin Brown led the Lady Devil attack with 16 points, 5 rebounds and

5 assists while Brittney Martin pulled in 11 rebounds and had 5 steals as she put the emphasis on her defense in the 39-31 win over Woodsville.

The Lady Devils goal when they went to Woodsville was to win the tournament. They were halfway there.

After a tough ride home over Orange Heights on Saturday night the Lady Devils went back down the snow covered road on Sunday to face a tough opponent.

Mascoma a New Hampshire Class M team (equivalent to Vt.’s Div III) was

4-1 going into the championship game and had rolled over their opponent

by25 in the opening game of the tournament. They also saw Williamstown beat Woodsville a team they had defeated easily earlier in the year.

“They looked very confident,” said coach Sweet. “But we made them uncomfortable. It was the best game we played all year defensively.

They could shoot the light out from outside but we shut them down”

Williamstown jumped out to a 12-9 lead after one quarter and aretched that lead to 23-19 by halftime. In the second half the man to man half court kept up the pressure and shut down the passing lanes as they held High scoring Mascoma to 21 second half points.

“They were frustrated, Their bench picked up a technical with :30 left.

That showed hoe frustrated they were,” said coach Sweet.

Williamstown got balanced scoring from just four players but that would be enough for the Lady Devil’s victory. “A lot contributed but only four scored,” the coach said. Kristin Brown led the way for Williamstown with 15 points and 5 assists. Emma Lamson had 13 points and 12 rebounds in a strong game underneath while Beth Carrier poured in10 points and “Lulu” Perry added nine points to round out the Lady Devil’s scoring.

“The girls did a great job of rising to the challenge. The intensity was unbelievable, it was at the same level as the boy’s game against Hazen,” coach Sweet said.

Williamstown fans were out in force for the tournament and were acknowledged by the tournament committee. “ I would like to thank our fans that made the trip down to Woodsville. At the end of the tournament the committee recognized the Williamstown fans for their support, enthusiasm, and sportsmanship. They didn’t do that for any of the other fans.” Coach Sweet Said.