Dorner scores 17 to lift Steinert to win No. 20

HAMILTON » There is no ceiling for the 3rd-seeded Steinert girls basketball team this year.

Last year, once they won a first-round game the Spartans were happy. They accomplished that same feat Monday night with a 6234 victory over 14th-seeded Brick Township.

Next up is a visit from 6thseeded Neptune, which got everything Nottingham had to offer before pulling out a 45-40 win. The Fliers won in last year’s second round, 67-47, which did not bother Steinert all that much.

This time, it’s a different story.

“We’re just trying to be sharp at the right time and keep moving ourselves along in the state tournament,” said coach Kristin Jacobs, who has guided Steinert to its first 20-win season since 2009-10. “Last year we were in a different position where this game really was the endall be-all. We just wanted to get past this first round. We have different goals this year. Just looking round the gym and understanding that 20win seasons don’t come along very often, now we have that. But we want to keep playing after the second round this year.”

Brick Township (7-18) actually took a 6-3 lead on two consecutive 3-pointers by Angelina Jones before the Spartans (20-6) responded with a 20-0 run that lasted into the start of the second quarter.

“Coach made it known about (Jones),” said Leila Collazo, who had seven points in the Spartans balanced attack. “We laid off a little but she got us right back in the game. We had to recognize that she was their shooter.”

Jones actually finished with 11 first-half points but, unfortunately for Brick she had all its points as the Spartans held a 35-11 lead. Steinert began to get in gear when Tatiana Dorner entered.

The senior guard was not in the starting lineup due to coach’s decision, but once she came off the bench the whole tone of the game changed.

“Always,” Collazo said. “She’s a little dynamite.”

Her fuse was lit with four points late in the first quarter, and she exploded with nine of Steinert’s 16 secondquarter points en route to a 17-point outing. Dorner also had five steals and five rebounds. And a good sign for the Spartans is that she shot 7-for-8 and finished lay-ups, which has been a problem.

“I joked with her and said ‘Look at all those lay-ups going in,” Jacobs said. “Maybe it was less pressure on her. She obviously goes in and is a game changer every time. We’re definitely not the same team without her, or anyone else on this 12-man roster.”

Natalie Mehl added 12 points, five steals and four rebounds, Jayda Bing had eight points, four rebounds and three steals and Erika Golik added seven points, five rebounds, three assists and three steals.

“These girls don’t care if they play for another week or two, or whatever it is because a lot of them play all year round,” Jacobs said. “They’re not rushing off to get anywhere else right now, they’re focused in here. That’s where we want to be, ready to take on her next opponent.”

And that opponent is Neptune.

“We saw them last year, and coach keeps telling us they’re not the same team,” Collazo said. “But the seeding means nothing. We’ll come out and play hard.”

Garkowski 0-1-1, Cameron 1-0-2, Jones 5-419, Andersen 2-3-7, Dutka 1-0-2, Fogarty 1-1-3, Rossini 0-0-0.

10-9-34.

Totals —

Bing 2-3-8, Collazo 2-1-7, Dorner 7-3-17, Golik 1-5-7, Jones 1-0-2, Mehl 4-1-12, Comfort 0-0-0, Diszler 1-0-2, Pappas 2-1-5, Wood 0-2-2, Haley 0-0-0, Huth 0-0-0.

20-16-62.

Totals — Brick Twp.(9-16) Steinert(20-6) 3-point goals —

2, Mehl 3 (S).

6 19 5 16 6 12 17 — 15 —

Jones 5 (BT). Bing Collazo

Follow Rich Fisher on twitter @Fish4scores

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