Hopewell upsets NBC in first round
COLUMBUS » Katee Kemether had a good feeling about her Hopewell Valley girls basketball team’s chances from the time they took the court at Northern Burlington High Monday.
To advance in the NJSIAA Central Jersey Group III Tournament, the 12thseeded Bulldogs needed Kemether’s confidence and shooting touch to get past the fifth-seeded Greyhounds, 57-38, and advance to Wednesday’s second round.
Coach Jeff Losch’s 1313 squad will move on to fourth-seeded Pemberton (9-18), which knocked off 13th-seeded Burlington Township, 52-29.
“I was feeling it in warmups,” said Kemether, who led all scorers with 20 points. “We had good movement in our offense, which led to good looks.”
Kemether and Meggy Wiley, both 5-foot-9 junior forwards, came out connecting and helped the visitors forge a 12-10 lead even though Kemether was saddled with two fouls.
“I think this was one of our best games coming out with the chemistry we had. We always talk about coming out strong every quarter,” Kemether said. “I knew I had two fouls, so I did not pick up another.”
Kemether and her teammates found their rhythm from the middle of the second quarter on. With Northern Burlington leading, 18-17, Wiley (16 points) hit a 3-point field goal, then scored off a steal to give the Bulldogs a 22-18 edge. The run kept going as Kemether converted a three-point play, Addy Danieluk scored off an inbound play, then Ally Oldfield and Franki Gomez hit treys.
By the time the Greyhounds’ Brianna Sorrento (11 points) hit a 3-pointer with 41 seconds left in the half, Hopewell Valley had run off 13 consecutive points.
“We knew they were going to be a challenge for us,” Northern head coach Colin Hewko said. “When they jumped into their 1-3-1 defense in the second half, things got rough for us.”
Even though 6-foot-1 sophomore Alexa Blue added 10 points, the Greyhounds had trouble getting much started after intermission as Hopewell held the home team to single digits in both the third and fourth quarters.
Meanwhile, Kemether just kept finding her range. She scored 10 points in the third quarter alone, with six of those coming in the final seven seconds.
After hitting a trey from the corner, Kemether got the ball again, just inside midcourt when the Bulldogs came up with a turnover. She released a shot from 47 feet away, which banked off the backboard and in, to give the visitors a 45-31 lead heading into the last eight minutes.
“I had never had one of those half-court shots at the buzzer,” Kemether said. “It was pretty amazing!”
That blow seemed to take more wind out of the sails of Northern Burlington, which was outscored, 12-4, until Sorrento beat the final buzzer with her third trey.
Wiley 7-0-16, Apai 1-0-3, Kemether 7-320, Hare 1-0-2, Oldfield 1-0-3, Danieluk 2-0-4, MSchrader 0-1-1, Gomez 2-4-8.
21-8-57.
Totals —
AlaRodriguez 2-0-5, Serrano 0-0-0, AliRodriguez 0-0-0, Sorrento 4-0-11, Hall 0-0-0, Archer 0-4-4, Hart 0-0-0, Quigley 3-0-8, Blue 4-2-10, Mayernik 0-0-0.
13-6-38.
Totals — Hopewell (13-13) 12 20 13 12 — 57 No.Burl. (13-14) 3-point goals — 10 13 8 7 — 38
Wiley 2, Apai, Kemether 3, Oldfield (HV), AlaRodriguez, Sorrento 3, Quigley 2 (NB).