Cards snap 3-game skid

Girls basketball

By: Jim Green
   It took the Lawrence High School girls basketball team two days to recover from its most crushing defeat of the season.
   The Cardinals, who were eliminated from state tournament eligibility with a home loss Saturday to West Windsor-Plainsboro South, snapped their three-game skid Monday by topping Hun 55-49 at LHS.
   "In the locker room before the game (against Hun), I just tried to relay the message that they (the Cardinals) are a good team," Lawrence coach Gregg Zenerovitz said. "Obviously, we’re disappointed we didn’t make the state tournament. We need to prove we should’ve been there."
   Lawrence was 7-6 after beating Princeton on Jan. 30, needing just one win in its next three games to be at .500 by last Saturday’s cutoff. But the Cardinals lost hard-fought contests with Montgomery, Hamilton and the Pirates last week, dropping to 7-9.
   Instead of dwelling on the disappointment of missing the state tournament, the Cardinals came back with a spirited effort to thwart Hun (14-7). Point guard Tashema Whittaker led the way with 20 points, as Lawrence moved to 8-9 overall.
   "They (the Cardinals) could have easily packed it in," Zenerovitz said. "They (the Raiders) are a good team. We found a way to win."
   Lawrence, which lost a nine-point second-half lead to Montgomery a week earlier, nearly suffered the same fate against Hun. The Cardinals opened a 32-27 advantage early in the third before the Raiders went on a 9-1 run to take control of the game.
   But Whittaker would not let her team surrender another lead without a fight. The senior opened the fourth quarter by netting 3-pointers on back-to-back trips down the floor – the first coming after a nifty crossover dribble at the left arc – to put Lawrence up 43-42.
   "I don’t say anything to her (Whittaker), but good players won’t be afraid to shoot the ball," Zenerovitz said. "She knows I want her to have the ball when it comes down to it. She did lead us there in the fourth quarter."
   Junior forward Theresa Gregory, who scored eight of her 14 points during a 14-7 second-quarter run by the Cardinals, followed Whittaker’s second triple with a baseline drive that put Lawrence up three.
   After the two teams exchanged baskets, Lawrence received an offensive spark from an unlikely source – Christine Rivera. The senior guard, normally a defensive specialist, helped the Cardinals go on a 6-1 spurt to put the game away.
   First, Rivera drove to the hoop and dished off to Gregory, who easily converted a short jumper. Rivera was fouled on the Cardinals’ next trip down and connected on both ends of a pressure-filled one-and-one situation at the foul line, putting Lawrence ahead 51-47 with one minute left.
   "I said to her (Rivera) at halftime, ‘Don’t be afraid to shoot the ball,’" Zenerovitz said. "I was pleased she came through there (in the fourth quarter)."
   A layup by Gregory with 42 seconds left expanded the lead to six points, and the Cardinals defense held on.
   "They (the Cardinals) played tough and beat a good team," Zenerovitz said.
   Whittaker raised her team-leading scoring average to 15.3 points per game. It was her second straight game of at least 20 points and her fifth overall.
   Senior forward Tiffany Lewis chipped in with 14 points, pushing her scoring average into double-figures (10.1 points per game). She has scored at least 11 points in each of the last four games and is averaging 14.5 points a game over that stretch.
   "I give them (the seniors) a lot of credit," Zenerovitz said. "They set an example for the underclassmen. This was a big game after those tough games last week."
   The Cardinals next play host to Steinert at 1 p.m. Saturday. Lawrence fell to the Spartans 42-39 in the first meeting of the year between the two clubs.
   "Our goal is to get back to .500," Zenerovitz said. "They (the Cardinals) are positive in the locker room."