MVP Delfosse powers Ewing to 2nd straight MCT title
TRENTON — Needing to play on back-to-back days did not seem to bother the Ewing High girls’ basketball team Thursday in the 2023 Mercer County Tournament Championship Bracket Final at the CURE Insurance Arena.
With the semifinals pushed back a day because of the unexpected closing of Ewing’s schools Tuesday, the four semifinalists went into action a day later knowing they might have to play consecutive games.
To do so, you had to win, and winning is what every team wants to do this time of year.
With everything on the line, the Blue Devils and Rams went at each other with what they hoped would be fresh legs yesterday. But Ewing was clearly less bothered by anything other than winning another MCT crown.
Head coach Dan Montferrat’s squad rolled to a 53-26 victory by holding head coach Jenna Marcus’ club to four first-quarter points against the Blue Devils’ smothering full-court press.
That followed a semifinal game in which Ewing held Notre Dame to one point in the first eight minutes.
The Blue Devils never took their foot off the gas in winning their second consecutive and fifth overall county trophy.
“As a team, we just conquer,” said Ewing junior guard/forward Te’Yala Delfosse, who was named as the tournament’s Most Valuable Player.
Delfosse took over the game in the second quarter when she scored 10 of her game-high 27 points, plus hauled in seven of her 10 rebounds.
“I’m just doing me,” said Delfosse, who surpassed 900 career points in the game and figures to be the Blue Devils’ third player (all juniors) to eclipse the 1,000-point milestone later this winter.
“My coaches always tell me play my game, and the game is going to come to you,” said Delfosse, who drained five 3-point field goals in the game. “I really like using my teammates; getting everyone involved.”
As always with 24-3 Ewing, points were spread with junior guard Rhian Stokes, another MVP candidate, supplying 11 points.
“They always have a lot of athleticism,” Hightstown senior Sydney Ragland said about their opponents after taking home the Sportsmanship Trophy. “Their pressure is tough. They are all amazing players. It was fun playing against them.”
Ragland earned a start Thursday in the 21-6 Rams’ first trip to the MCT Final in 35 years. She was in there for defense and to help with ball control.
But the Blue Devils clogged the passing lanes to open a 17-4 lead in the first quarter.
Though the visitors started scoring better in the second quarter, so did Ewing, taking a 34-10 advantage into the locker room ahead of a much more even second half.
Hightstown senior guard Kyla Glasser-Hyman led her team with 11 points. Ragland was the next best scorer with six points.