Mustangs back in flow as they reach sectional final
Township girls pull
off another upset
FARRAH MAFFAI Marlboro’s Jenna Gatto looks to pass around East Brunswick’s Erin Kenny during the Mustangs’ 72-44 win in Marlboro on Friday.
Marlboro found that the perfect cure for its hangover from the loss to St. John Vianney in the Shore Conference Tournament championship game that cost the Mustangs the top ranking in the state. It was as simple as getting back on the basketball court and playing games again.
Three solid wins last week, including an impressive 71-44 rout of No. 20 East Brunswick Friday night, erased the memories of the bitter 39-36 loss in SCT and put the defending champions back into the Central Jersey Group IV title game for the second straight year. The No. 1 seeded Mustangs were to play No. 3 Trenton last night in Sayreville for the sectional title.
Marlboro was like its old self last week running the floor and moving the ball around like pinball wizards and dissecting teams with their passing.
Coach Craig Uplinger said it was a matter of the club getting back to what it does best.
"Because of the defense of St. John Vianney, we had to go to more isolation, post-ups and one-on-one," he pointed out. "We decided that we had to get back to team offense where we’re setting screens, passing the ball and playing unselfishly We wanted to push the ball up the floor more and get everyone into the flow."
East Brunswick was no match for the revamped Mustangs who were passing the ball crisply and attacking the Bear defense aggressively at every opportunity. The unselfish play was evident by the 17 assists accumulated by Sharnee Zoll (six), Brina Pollack (six) and Chakhia Cole (five). Everyone was touching the ball and getting involved, and when the Mustangs are doing that, there are not many teams that can stay with them.
The Mustangs’ Big Three also accounted for 45 points, with each scoring 15. Cole established herself early in the paint, dominating the glass while a more offensive-minded Zoll was taking the ball to the basket and finishing off her drives. That helped Marlboro take an 8-1 lead early and extend it to 21-9 after one quarter. Erin Kenny kept the Bears close for as long as she could in the second quarter, but Marlboro was able to open up a 40-18 lead at the half with its defense triggering its highly efficient transition game.
Jenna Gatto (eight), Christie Kastner (seven) and Sara Tannen (six) continued to score as well, as Marlboro’s offense returned to its balance last week.
The 20th-ranked Bears (22-4), fresh off their Greater Middlesex Conference title, ran into a more athletic version of themselves, as coach Reggie Carney noted.
"Everything that we are strong at, running the floor, crashing the boards, trapping and scoring in transition — they are far superior to us," he said.
The state sectional semi-final loss did not dampen the season for Carney.
"It’s been a dream season," he explained. "We were all about playing with heart this year, and the girls gave me everything they had. We got beat by a more athletic team tonight, but that doesn’t take away from what was a successful season."
For Marlboro (24-3), the win took them a step closer toward its goal of making it to the Tournament of Champions.
The Mustangs began the week with a 73-53 win over Old Bridge in the first round. Four Mustangs were in double figures, led by Cole (17) and Pollack (16). Zoll had 11, and Kastner added 10.
In the quarterfinals, the Mustangs beat A North rival Middletown North for the third time, 77-61. Marlboro again had four players in double figures, paced by Cole’s 21. Pollack had 18, Kastner 11, and Zoll 10.
Marlboro’s Central Jersey Group IV championship game opponent, Trenton, is 23-1 and ranked sixth in the state. The Tornadoes 6-1, 6-2, 6-2 front-line was Marlboro’s main concern as they looked to make it back-to-back Central Jersey championships.
Freehold Township upsets No. 2 Hillsborough
While Marlboro was doing the expected last week, John Sciarappa’s Freehold Township Patriots were pulling off the section’s biggest upset. The seventh-seeded Patriots upended Hillsborough, the 17th-ranked team in the state and the No. 2 seed in the second, 48-47.
Township was led by a trio of seniors, Missy Elsbree, Kelly Higgins and Amanda Frost, who were not anxious to have their seasons or careers end.
Freehold Township started the playoffs off at home against Hunterdon Central, and the seniors came out strong in their final home game. Higgins netted a game-high 21, while Elsbree had 18 and Frost, 14. The result was a 68-60 that sent the team to Hillsborough for the quarterfinal.
Before the state seedings were released, Sciarappa was hoping his team would be No. 7 and Hillsborough second (21-3) because his club had a history with Hillsborough. Two years ago, the Patriots came from behind to upset a higher-seeded Raider team.
Sciarappa and the Patriots got what they wanted and made the most of it, taking the Raiders out, 48-47. After a miraculous shot by Hillsborough’s Allison Kutch had tied the game at 47-47, Higgins won it for Township by hitting one of two free throws with nine seconds left, to put the Pats up 48-47.
Frost had 11 to lead the way while Higgins and Lisa Lapinski, the Pats’ fourth senior, added 10 points each, as the Pats survived and advanced.
The Hillsborough win was the Pats’ 19th for the season, and it earned them a trip to Trenton Friday night in the sectional semi-finals. The hopes for a 20th win and a berth in the state sectional championship game were blown away by the Tornadoes (25-1), 50-27. Frost led the Patriots, who finished 19-8, with 10 points. It was not the way Elsbree, Higgins, Frost and Lapinski wanted their careers to end, but they did achieve their goal of making noise in the state playoffs.
Colts Neck, which won the Central Jersey Group I championship last year and moved up to Group II this winter, had a winning debut in its new section. Colts Neck bounced Montgomery, 41-34, in the first round. Kim Wild led the usually well-balanced Cougars with nine points, and Laura Fiegus chipped in with eight.
The Cougars’ reward was a date with the defending section champion, Rumson-Fair Haven, the seventh-ranked team in the state, led by the Shore’s premier player, Chrissy Fisher.
Fisher scored a game-high 15, as Rumson (23-3) scored a 50-31 win in the quarterfinal. Meighan Kelly led the Cougars 16-10, with eight points.