HHS drops first divisional game to B-R
By: Rudy Brandl
Inexperience finally caught up with the Hillsborough High girls’ basketball team in last Friday night’s home game against rival Bridgewater-Raritan.
The Lady Raiders entered the game unbeaten in Delaware Division play, thanks mainly to their ability to take large leads early in games. Although the HHS girls didn’t begin with their typical surge, they led for most of the evening before falling apart in the final four minutes of the contest.
Bridgewater closed the game with a 13-2 surge and stole one from the Lady Raiders on their home court. The visitors claimed the early edge in the division standings with a 53-46 triumph.
"We’ve been jumping out and grabbing leads and letting people back in the games," HHS head coach Jim Reese said afterward. "It’s just the mental part of the game. We were able to hang on the other night (in a 50-44 victory over North Hunterdon) and in the Christmas Tournament, but we couldn’t hang on tonight."
Hillsborough, with only one senior on the roster, showed its youth during crunch time. While previous opponents weren’t able to claw their way back, the Panthers found a way.
"It was just immaturity,"said HHS junior guard Allison Kutch, who led her team with 15 points. "We weren’t able to step up. We had the lead and we let it go. This is a good learning experience for us."
Hillsborough (5-2) allowed Bridgewater to get back in the game on three different occasions. Every time the home team took a seemingly comfortable lead, that margin would evaporate within a few minutes.
Bridgewater fought back from 15-7 and 20-13 deficits in the second quarter and trailed by two points at the half. Kutch scored six points in a span of less than two minutes to open the second half to ignite a 34-27 bulge, but the visitors closed the third quarter with an 8-2 burst to enter the final eight minutes down by one point.
"Three different times in the game, we were up by seven or eight and we let them back in," Reese said. "We let them hang around and they took the game at the end."
Despite nearly blowing three leads of at least seven points, the Lady Raiders still led for more than half of the fourth quarter. Both teams staged early 6-0 runs, with Hillsborough answering Bridgewater’s surge to take a 44-40 lead with 3:51 to play.
Kutch drained a pair of free throws to tie the game at 40-40 with 5:10 to play. Sophomore Erin Poulter knocked down a short jumper from the left side of the lane for the lead on the team’s next possession and Christine Rash converted a weak side rebound into a layup to complete the flurry.
But the Lady Raiders couldn’t sustain the momentum. Bridgewater applied more defensive pressure and regained the lead. Poulter’s layup with two minutes remaining tied the game once more at 46-46, but the Panthers scored the game’s final seven points.
"We didn’t run our offense and we didn’t get back on defense," Kutch said. "We run in practice so we can get back on defense, but we didn’t do it."
"I was very disappointed with our transition defense," Reese added. "We didn’t handle the ball well and we didn’t make good decisions. They did what they had to do down the stretch."
Melanie Gibbons, who led all scorers with 17 points and 15 rebounds, broke the tie on a free throw with 1:46 remaining after Poulter picked up her third personal foul. Two free throws each by Kim Imbesi and Heather Ramsey helped seal the victory.
Hillsborough wasn’t able to buy a basket at the other end. Kutch had an open look from the top of the key but her 3-pointer caromed off the rim with 25 seconds to play.
Gibbons, Ramsey (11), Cubas (9) and Marilena Tsangaroulis (8) all provided offense in spurts for the winners. Kutch was the only Hillsborough player in double figures with 15. Rash came off the bench to score nine.
Junior swing player Jess Rainey was held to five points but was plagued by foul trouble. Rainey did contribute her usual share of rebounds and steals and also made two thundering blocks to get the home crowd roaring.
The game was hotly contested and it certainly wasn’t lack of effort that spoiled the evening for the Lady Raiders. This group might just need a little more time before it learns to win these close ones.
"We work hard and play hard, but we just made too many mistakes," Reese said. "We just have to keep working at it and pounding away."
"We have to all pull together and realize we can’t slack off at any time," Kutch added. "We have to be mentally tough. We have to learn from this real quickly."

