Posted by Sudbury Northern Life
The University of Vermont women's basketball team is adding six newcomers to the program next season, including Sudbury's Kristine Lalonde.
"We are very excited about the student-athletes in our class of 2013. This class brings with it a lot of speed, athleticism, size and skill. Not only is this group expected to contribute significantly on the court, but we feel that they will be great representatives of the program off the court as well. These individuals will be great additions to our UVM family," said Vermont's head coach Sharon Dawley, in a release.
Lalonde spent three years playing at Lasalle Secondary School in Sudbury, but as a senior she was invited to play for Canada Basketball's National Elite Development Academy (NEDA) and attended St. Mary's High School in Hamilton, Ontario.
A 5-10 guard, Lalonde made the varsity basketball team at Lasalle as a Grade 9 student.
She helped Lasalle win three city championships, three regional championships and advance to the provincial championships three times. As a member of the Ontario Provincial team she guided the team to four gold medals at the National Championship Tournament.
In 2006, Lalonde was named to the First Team All-Canadian squad and was the leading scorer in the OFSAA Championships, averaging 22 points over five games.
As a junior, she led the league in scoring, three-point shooting and free throw percentage. She averaged 16 points, 10 assists and three steals per game in 2007-08.
As a senior, she was one of 12 high school players in Canada selected to participate in the NEDA program.
The NEDA teams compete against a variety of opponents: Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) and Canadian College (CCAA) teams; select NCAA teams; American Junior College teams; prep schools; AAU teams; elite women's club teams; and local high school boys teams.
Vermont won the 2009 America East Women's Basketball Championship, it's first in nine years, with upset wins over No. 2 Hartford and No. 1 Boston University.
The Catamounts earned the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament where they drew Connecticut, the overall No. 1 seed in the 64-team field, as their first round opponent. Vermont finished the year with its second straight 20-win season and a record of 21-12 overall.
