Hunter leads Trenton to victory in first round
TRENTON >> Ishuana Hunter wanted to go out with a bang in what could be the last game she and her Trenton High varsity girls basketball teammates play at Rivera Middle School.
The six-foot junior forward did that Monday when the fifth-seeded Tornadoes played 12th-seeded North Brunswick in the first round of the NJSIAA Central Jersey Group IV Tournament.
However, it was a little more of a bang than she was hoping for.
Hunter was having one of the best games of the season, having scored 20 points in the first three quarters, but went down hard after she leaped through the air to try to steal a pass in front of the Raiders’ bench as the third quarter ended.
Hunter was down for about four minutes. At first, it appeared she had hit her head, but she said later that she had landed hard on her hip, then had to be helped from the floor by trainer David “Poppy” Sanderson.
Hunter was unable to return to the game, although she did get back to the bench with just under four minutes left in the fourth quarter.
When Hunter departed, Trenton had a 20-point lead. Without her, North Brunswick mounted a comeback before the Tornadoes held on for a 64-55 win.
With the victory, head coach Marlene Neal’s 16-9 squad advances to play at fourth-seeded Princeton at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday in the second round. The 17-7 Tigers defeated 13th-seeded Long Branch, 49-34, Monday.
“I had a bad game my last game, so I was determined to come back strong to help my team,” said Hunter, who was still in pain after Monday’s game.
In Trenton’s last game, a 69-43 loss at Stuart Country Day School in the quarterfinals of the Mercer County Tournament Feb. 16, Hunter was held scoreless in limited minutes.
So this young woman who had been averaging more than 18 points per game earlier this season wanted to prove the kind of player she is on the Rivera court her team has called home since the old Trenton Central High School closed and was torn down. The hope is the city’s high school students will be moving into the new Trenton High on Chambers Street for the 2019-20 school year.
“I don’t want my season to end yet,” said Hunter, who is hoping that by icing the injury and staying off her feet as much as possible she will be able to play Wednesday against a team the Tornadoes defeated, 5335, Jan. 29.
Her presence Monday had a big effect on the outcome.
Hunter hit five baskets of every variety in the first quarter to help Trenton open a 17-8 advantage.
With five minutes left in the second quarter, she came up with a steal and hit a pull-up jump shot in the lane. Then 30 seconds later, she grabbed a defensive rebound and went coast-tocoast for a layup to give the home team a 24-12 advantage.
Hunter hit three more buckets in the third quarter, the last being a spinning jump shot with three Raiders around her to give the Tornadoes a 49-33 lead with 1:30 left in the third quarter.
The edge grew to 54-34 before Hunter’s injury.
“They’ve got to stay in a defensive mindset,” Neal said after seeing her team struggle in the fourth quarter without Hunter.
Led by 12 points apiece from Renee Hales and Keyara Hill, plus 11 more from Zaniyah Boykins, North Brunswick (14-12) cut into the lead by getting Trenton senior guards N’Dia Stepps and Maliajah Robinson in deep foul trouble. Both scored 16 points and had four fouls with just under four minutes left.
Stepps fouled out with 1:48 to go, then Kathryn Cottrell came off the bench to score five points in the last minute to pull the Raiders within seven points.
Shaneka Poole hit a pair of free throws with four seconds left to offset North Brunswick’s 21-8 surge in Hunter’s absence.
NORTH BRUNSWICK (55)
Scher 2-2-7, Jennings 0-1-1, KHill 4-3-12, ZBoykins 4-3-11, Hales 6-0-12, Farrell 2-3-7, DeGaetano 0-0-0, Strachan 0-0-0, Zielinski 0-0-0, Cottrell 2-0-5. Totals — 20-12-55.
TRENTON (64)
Stepps 6-4-16, MRobinson 6-2-16, Poole 0-2-2, Hunter 10-0-20, Pickett 1-0-2, Campbell 0-0-0, Bright 4-0-8, RBrown 0-0-0, Stocking 0-0-0.
Totals — 27-8-64. N.Brnswk(14-12) 8 13 13 21 — 55 Trenton (16-9) 17 13 24 10 — 64 3-point goals — Scher, KHill, Cottrell (NB), MRobinson 2 (T).