Top-seeded Rams survive scare from Pirates
HIGHTSTOWN » The 16thseeded West WindsorPlainsboro High South varsity girls’ basketball team put a scare into top-seeded Hightstown Monday in the opening round of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletics Association Central Jersey Group IV Tournament.
Head coach Bryan Fisher’s Pirates had lost by 57 points to head coach Jenna Marcus’ Rams during their Colonial Valley Conference Colonial Division matchup in January.
This time, however, with a lot of its players back healthy, WW-P South took control in the second quarter and held the lead until less than six minutes remained in the game.
It took a ridiculous closing run by Hightstown to maintain its top seed with a come-frombehind, 51-34 win.
Wednesday, most likely at either 6 or 6:30 p.m., the Rams (21-6) will host the winner of yesterday’s
game between ninthseeded Montgomery and eighth-seeded North Brunswick.
“They wanted to win,” Hightstown’s 6-foot-4 sophomore center Abby Misier said of the Pirates. “At halftime, we
talked about how much we wanted to do the same Once the game got into the fourth quarter, we really picked things up. It was nice having everyone get into it.”
From the fans to the home-side players, the
Rams had the gym rocking with a 23-1 burst over the last 9:39, following a pair of free throws by WW-P South freshman Shaili Holden (13 points), which gave the visitors a 33-28 advantage.
“Our team has been on the up trend toward the end of the season,” Pirates senior guard Lily Akman said. “I’m so proud of the way everyone stepped up. We lost the first game with Hightstown this season, 69-12, then we lost this game in the fourth quarter. The way we’ve improved in two seasons is incredible (after playing four inhouse games last season because of COVID-19).”
With Akman adding eight points, 5-10 junior Kate Hsiao scoring seven and 5-11 junior Talia Black scoring six, while blocking eight shots and grabbing 10 rebounds, WW-P South took a 2621 lead into the locker room, a lead which grew to seven points twice in the third quarter. But even with senior forward Karly McKenna picking up her fourth foul at the end of the third quarter and leading scorer Kyla Glasser-Hyman held to five second-half points after having scored 13 in the first quarter (when her club maintained a 1514 lead), the Rams found plenty of other help in the fourth stanza.
Misier thrived off the matchup inside with Hsiao and Black to score 13 points, grab 15 rebounds and block six shots of her own. Seven of those points and six of her rebounds came in the fourth quarter. Misier connected on 5-of-6 foul shots down the stretch.
Izzy Benitez, a 5-6 senior guard/forward, proved just as crucial for Hightstown.
After not scoring the first three quarters, Benitez hit a free throw with 5:53 left to knot the score at 33. Over the final five minutes, she found her touch and scored nine more points to help the Rams outscore the Pirates, 21-1, in the final stanza.
WW-P SOUTH (34)
LAkman 3-0-8, Rubenstein 0-0-0, Gunderia 0-0-0, Kona 0-0-0, Latif-Estafan 0-0-0, O’Shea 0-0-0, TBlack 3-0-6, Hsiao 1-5-7, Yanagi 0-0-0, Patil 0-0-0, Pande 0-0-0, Sorensen 0-0-0, Holden 5-2-13, Joseph 0-0-0, EBlack 0-0-0. Totals — 12-7-34. HIGHTSTOWN (51)
McKenna 2-0-4, IBenitez 4-2-10, Poulter 0-0-0, Glasser-Hyman 7-3-18, McDonough 1-0-2, Caylo 0-0-0, Gappa 0-0-0, Misier 4-5-13, ABenitez 0-0-0, Nagle 0-2-2, Ragland 1-0-2. Totals — 19-12-51. WW-P South (7-16) 14 12 7 1 — 34 Hightstown (21-6) 15 6 9 21 — 51 3-point goals — LAkman 2, Holden (WWS), Glasser-Hyman (H).