Viking girls basketball team nearly springs another upset

By: Carolyn M. Hartko
   Since moving up into the Greater Middlesex Conference’s Red Division, one pre-season goal for the South Brunswick High School girls’ varsity basketball team has been to score one major upset each year. Last week’s 53-41 victory over Bishop Ahr counts for 2002-2003, but the Lady Vikings came close to a second this past Tuesday night.
   Visiting East Brunswick, always a contender for division and county titles, escaped with a 50-42 win.
   "We just wanted to play hard, and work as hard as we could," sophomore forward Jessica Harbison said of the Viking game plan for Tuesday night. "I just wanted to work my hardest, to try to prove to everybody who South Brunswick is. I worked for the team."
   Harbison and freshman Jessica Mastronardi led the offense with 11 points apiece. Pam Weiss and Larissa Rogan added six each.
   With the score tied 10-10 early in the second quarter, EB went on an 8-0 run that could have spelled the end of the ball game.
   Down 18-10, South rallied for 10 straight. Harbison got things going with two free throws, then converted a shot off a pass from Rogan. Mastronardi hit a 3-pointer and Harbison scored again with a nice move from the post position. Domotor’s foul shot capped the run to make it 20-18 at intermission.
   East Brunswick hit the floor fired up for the second half. Forward Sylvia Majdanski, who led all players with 22 points, netted eight in the third quarter. The 19-13 rally put the Bears out in front again, but at 37-33 at the end of the third quarter, the game was not out of reach for the Vikings.
   With six minutes remaining, South pulled within 40-39 off a short jumper by Karin Jensen. East answered with six straight that finally gave it control in the closing minutes. Forced to foul to stop the ball, the Vikings gave East Brunswick the opportunity to collect their final four points at the free throw line.
   "I think we’re coming along," Viking head coach Jaymee Boehmer said. "But it’s like we have flashes where we’re really playing well, and then other times we just don’t. I think we ran out of gas in the end, and I think we didn’t score when we definitely had to put up some points. We got the ball enough – I just don’t think we made the baskets in the clutch. But we out-rebounded them, so I think we did a good job on the boards."
   According to South Brunswick’s tally, the Vikings grabbed 40 rebounds to East Brunswick’s 34. Domotor came away with 10, while Harbison registered nine. Rogan and Mastronardi each added seven each.The Vikings (6-13) carry some momentum into the GMC tournament. They had a three-game winning streak last week, including the Bishop Ahr game. That’s the first time South Brunswick has beaten Ahr since moving up into the Red. The Vikings stumbled a bit against Woodbridge on Saturday, losing 57-41, but bounced back with a strong effort against EB.
   "We’re playing well," Boehmer said. "I think if we have three kids in double figures, we’re probably going to win games. Last game against Woodbridge, we only had two. But we had three nice wins in a row, and tonight they played well."