Hopewell uses tough defense to win Molinelli Classic
LAWRENCE >> The person who invented the “defense wins championships” creed would have felt like the proud parent of a cliché after seeing how the 17th Annual John Molinelli Girls Basketball Holiday Tournament turned out.
The Hopewell Valley Central High School used a stifling man-to-man D to shut down Pennington, 39-23, Saturday at Lawrence High in the Molinelli championship game.
The Bulldogs (3-1) shot just 18-for-55, but that was enough thanks to how they played at the other end. Pennington shot just 7-for45 with 21 turnovers, had two baskets in the second half and none in the fourth quarter as HoVal’s defense just kept getting better.
“They wanted this, they worked their butts off to get it,” coach Coleen Ross said. “At halftime we made some adjustments defensively, obviously it worked. We wanted to play our game, and our game is man to man defense. You push to get the steal and the turnover and quick transition points.”
“Basically we wanted to put pressure on,” All-Tournament team performer Charlotte Hare said. “We knew if we put on pressure we could cause turnovers and cause transition, which is good for us.”
Hare was in the middle of it all as she collected 10 points, 15 rebounds, five steals, three blocked shots and three assists. She and Maddie Schrader (9 rebounds) helped neutralize Pennington’s Reagan Amberson, an all-tourney team pick who had a huge game on the boards in Saturday’s semifinals.
“That was one of the key things we talked about, was to box out,” Hare said. “We knew she had so many (rebounds) yesterday that we had to box her out specifically.”
Ross hopes Hare’s effort is a sign of things to come.
“I’ve been saying to her for the past two years she has the ability to be a true superstar in the CVC,” Ross said. “I think she’s finally starting to step into that role and be confident in herself to come out and play that hard. I think today proved it.”
Hare helped set the tone early along with the rest of Hopewell’s Big Three. Tournament MVP Franki Gomez had 12 points and four assists, while Ally Oldfield had eight points and two assists.
The Bulldogs led from start to finish and opened leads of 9-0 and 11-2, but two-time defending champion Pennington (2-5) was not giving up its crown that easily. The Red Raiders drew within 11-9 and 15-14 and were within a workable 23-17 at halftime.
“Pennington is a great team,” Hare said. “They came out with so much effort and so much hustle. It was really good competition. That’s what made it a better game.
But Hopewell scored six straight to start the third quarter and would assume complete control. Pennington responded four straight, but a bucket by all-tourney team pick Sophia Kavulich (11 points) with 3:16 remaining would be Pennington’s last field goal of the game. The Red Raiders garnered just two free throws over the final 11:16 as Hopewell won its first Molinelli title in six years.
“It feels really good,” Gomez said of winning MVP, “but I’m just really happy we could pull out the win and the team was able to come together and bring the title back to Hopewell.”
“It’s such an honor since we haven’t won it since 2013,” Hare added. “It means a lot just to come out really strong and have such a good team behind us.”
Ross could not emphasize enough what winning the championship meant.
“It’s such an important tournament to us,” she said. “I know a lot of people are out there saying we’re not playing strong teams; it’s a tiny tournament; we should be looking somewhere else. But it’s all about being close to home and what this tournament is all about for our school.”
As Ross got tears in her eyes when Joy Molinelli spoke over the PA system about the tournament named after her late husband, the coach’s emotions showed exactly what the tournament is all about for HVCHS.
PENNINGTON (23)
Rodriguez 2-1-6, Kramli 1-2-4, S. Kavulich 3-4-11, A. Kavulich 0-0-0, Amberson 1-0-2, Brast 0-0-0, J. King 0-0-0, C. King 0-0-0. Totals: 7-7-23.
HOPEWELL (39)
Oldfield 3-0-8, Gomez 6-0-12, Hare 5-0-10, Danieluk 1-0-2, Schrader 1-0-2, Kurtz 1-1-3, Martin 1-0-2, Capucci -0-0, Laitusis 0-0-0, Morici 0-0-0, Mormile 0-0-0. Totals: 20-4-46 Pennington (2-5) 9 8 4 2 — 23
Hopewell (3-1) 1112124—39
3-point goals: S Kavulich, Rodriguez, Oldfield 2.
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