Cold-shooting Tornadoes eliminated by Montgomery

MONTGOMERY » When the Trenton High girls basketball team is not connecting on layups, it makes everything else the Tornadoes try to do more difficult.

Not known for having a wealth of outside shooters, Trenton then has to work harder and harder, which leads to more fouls.

When the opposing team does not have the same problems, the Tornadoes struggle. Such was the case when 10th-seeded Trenton visited second-seeded Montgomery Thursday in the second round of the NJSIAA Central Jersey Group IV Tournament.

The Tornadoes figured to have a chance since the Cougars did not have any seniors in their lineup because of a class trip, but Trenton quickly found out how good Montgomery’s underclassmen are, falling, 66-47, to drop from the state tournament.

Coach Khaliq Lewis-El’s team missed 16 layups in the game. That number is more baskets than the Tornadoes actually made (14) and double the number of buckets hit by Trenton’s starters over the first three-anda-half quarters.

“It seems like it’s always either layups or free throws,” Lewis-El said after his first season at the Tornadoes’ helm ended with a 13-14 record. “I knew (the Cougars) were young, so I told our girls, ‘You are going to see these players again. What are you going to do?’ Over the off-season, we’ve got to do a lot of work.”

With only one senior, Jada White, graduating, there is hope that Trenton will experience the kind of turnaround that Montgomery had this season.

“We’re 19-7 this season, but we were 4-20 last year,” said Cougars head coach Megan Pisani, a former West Windsor-Plainsboro High North and Rider University standout. “Without our seniors, I had to call up some junior varsity players, and they’ve stepped up.”

Most notable was 6-foot-1 sophomore Carolyn Prevost, who provided the home team with 23 points and 20 rebounds. She and classmate Bria Johnson, a 5-8 guard, continually converted give-and-go layups to further frustrate the Tornadoes. Johnson and 5-9 freshman guard Andrea Katramados added 12 points apiece.

After staying close in the first quarter, Trenton fell behind, 3421 at intermission, as Prevost got hot, scoring 11 of her points in the second quarter.

In the third quarter, the Tornadoes saw new hope when three Montgomery players picked up their fourth fouls. Only one Trenton player had four fouls at that point. Yet, with the continued frustation of missed layups after playing decent defense, three Tornadoes fouled out in the first 5:19 of the fourth before one Cougar fouled out (with 1:55 to go).

“When we’re not making layups, we try to do better on defense to get the ball back,” said Trenton junior guard Maliajah Robinson, who had 11 points. “Then we try to find other ways to put the ball in the basket.”

She and classmate N’Dia Stepps, who led the Tornadoes with 14 points, each had three field goals in the game to account for nearly half of the visitors’ baskets.

Montgomery stretched its lead to 63-33 before Robinson hit a short jumper with 3:46 left. Down the stretch, Trenton’s underclassmen hit five more field goals to give the Tornadoes a little hope for the future.

JWhite 2-0-4, Stepps 3-8-14, Poole 1-0-2, MRobinson 3-4-11, Ellis 2-0-4, Hunter 1-5-7, Pickett 0-0-0, Velazquez 0-1-1, Stocking 2-0-4, Page 0-0-0.

14-18-47.

Totals —

Prevost 9-5-23, BJohnson 4-3-12, Katramados 4-3-12, March 2-1-5, Lucht 3-1-8, Heidt 2-0-4, Hennesy 0-1-1, Stockburger 0-0-0, Thomas 0-1-1, Quinlan 0-0-0, Khan 0-0-0, Parise 0-0-0.

24-15-66.

Totals — Trenton (13-14) 9 Montgmry(19-7) 12 3-point goals — 12 22 10 16 16 — 16 — 47 66

MRobinson (T), BJohnson, Katramados, Lucht (M).