By: Karen Scheetz
The Lambertville Basketball Association played its first round of playoffs Saturday with eight very close games.
The season will end Saturday with the playoffs finishing up at South Hunterdon High School. There will be four games played, one in each division.
Here is a look at the games played through Saturday.
Third- and fourth-grade girls
Sneakers Plus 10
Cifelli’s 8
Sneakers Plus came out with a hard-fought victory over Cifelli’s and will advance to the championship game against United National.
Stephanie Davis was the leading scorer for Sneakers Plus with six points. Alexis Walker added three points, and Brittney Shurts finished with one point. Jamie Tillet and Dilynn Huthansel played great defense, while Taylor Peccarelli and Catherine Seeley did an awesome job rebounding.
Cifelli’s played a tough defensive game and worked the ball well. Katelyn Cifelli was the leading scorer for Cifelli’s with all eight points.
United National 15
R&R 2
United National moved on to the championship game against Sneakers Plus with a win over R&R.
Christina DiBartolemeo led the way for United National with eight points. Angelique Platas added five points, and Olivia DiLauro chipped in two points. Sarah Mohn, Olivia Hagerty, Kristin Pauley and Kaylin Campbell played great defense for United National.
Marina Cordes had two points for R&R. Cory Muscatell, Corrine Hart, Ally Coleman, Julie Burd, Amy Gray and Keri Piel all played their heart out for R&R.
Third- and fourth-grade boys
New Orleans Cafe 32
Rocket Launchers 23
New Orleans Cafe came out victorious over the Rocket Launchers Saturday in a fast-moving game.
The game was played with great sportsmanship from both teams. Matthew Kritz Grady led the scoring for New Orleans Cafe with 12 points. Kyle Stintsman added 10 points, Daniel Marley chipped in with six points, Kyle Schenck added two points, and Bryan Culbertson scored his first basket, adding two points.
Leading the way for the Rocket Launchers were E.J. Lewis with 10 points. Willie Foran added four points, Tyler Harrison had three points, and David Muscatell, Andrew Weinstein and Blake Vernon all had two points for the Rocket Launchers.
It was a special game for Matthew Kritz Grady who played the game in honor of his grandfather who past away this week. His grandfather was William Grady Jr.
Cafe Europa 42
Custom Cooling 22
Cafe Europa won the playoff game over Custom Cooling Saturday.
Leading the way for Custom Cooling was Cory O’Neill with 15 points. Nick Maltese added 10 points, Brian Snell scored nine points, Alex Baron chipped in with four points, and Erik Romeo and Robbie LoRicco each scored two points. Good defense was played by Zachary Marriott, Gabriel Stephens and Joshua Serlenga.
Adam Hoagland led the way for Custom Cooling with 16 points. P.J. Steffanelli, Conner Williams and Chet Errico each scored two points. There was good all-around play by the whole team.
Fifth- and sixth-grade girls
T-Recs 17
Lambertville Pharmacy 15
T-Recs came out victorious in a tough playing game against the Lambertville Pharmacy Wednesday, March 7.
The leading scorer for T-Recs was Kelsey Cappelle with 15 points. Katie Pauley added two more points for the win. All the girls played awesome defense. Ploy Tangtrakul and Shannon McGough played great man-to-man defense. Kirielle Smith and Christina Guzman were tough under the net with many rebounds. Becky Seeley worked the ball all around the court.
The Pharmacy’s points were led by Nicole Sturick with seven points. Devon Shire had six points, and Joanne DiSalvi added another two points. The Pharmacy’s defense was tough. Anna Franzini, Lara Coleman, Margensa DeGeorgia, Gloria Slovak and Rachel Parsons all had many steals and rebounds.
T-Recs 18
Lambertville Pharmacy 10
T-Recs won its playoff game Saturday over the Lambertville Pharmacy.
The win advanced the team to the championship game against Garefino.
Kelsey Cappelle led the way for T-Recs with 14 points. Courtney Stintsman and Katie Pauley each added two points. Tough defense was played by Christina Guzman, Becky Seeley, Kirielle Smith, Shannon McGough and Ploy Tangtrakul.
The leading scorer for the Pharmacy was Nicole Sturick with six points. Gloria Slovak and Marjensa DeGeorgio each added two points. Good defense was played by Anna Franzini, Joanne DiSalvi, Lara Coleman, Devon Shire and Rachel Parsons.
Garefino 24
Lieggi 14
Garefino moved into the playoffs with a win over Lieggi Saturday.
Both teams played a great game. Chelsea Fulper led the way for Garefino with eight points. Brittany Muscatell added six points, Elise Garefino finished with four points, and Brittany Muscatell and Nicole Melnick each finished with two points. Adina Platas and Christina Aiello played great defense for Garefino.
For Lieggi, Samantha Allshouse led the way with six points. Brittany Tillet added four points, and Ashley Lieggi and Tory Marley each finished with two points. Nicole Case and Colleen Ericson played great defense for Lieggi.
Fifth- and sixth-grade boys
Lelie 49
Amwell Auto 24
Lelie moved into the championship game with a win over Amwell Auto.
Zachary Davis led the way for Lelie with 21 points. Carl Snell added 12 points, Jeff Carmen chipped in with six points, Andrew McCurdy finished with four points, and Alexander Harrison, Scott Bennett and Matt Naples each added with two points.
Amwell Auto was led by Robbie Williamson with 11 points. Kellen Medway scored seven points, and Bobbie Irven added six points for Amwell Auto. Both teams played very well.
Wooden 50
Kiwanis 34
Wooden moved on to the championship game against Lelie with a win over Kiwanis.
Woodens was led by Ryan Marriott with 27 points. Alex Sargent finished with 17 points, Mike Harding scored seven points, Dan Mussleman and Kyle Hart each scored six points, and Anthony Danese scored four points. The defense was led by Andrew Dunaj and Zach Berger.
Kiwanis was led by Chris Vaccaro with 15 points. Kyle Ericson added 11 points, and Dennis Liana and Joe Battiato each scored two points. The defense was led by Chris Romeo, Bob Piel, Garrett Williamson, John Hawkins, Kyle Simonye and Brian Weisneck.
Here is the schedule of games for the playoff:
9 a.m. Third- and fourth-grade girls: United National vs. Sneakers Plus.
10:30 a.m. Third- and fourth-grade boys: New Orleans Cafe vs. Cafe Europa.
Noon Fifth- and sixth-grade boys: Lelie vs. Wooden.
1:30 p.m. Fifth- and sixth-grade girls: Garefino vs. T-Recs.
