Healthier junior, Cougars rally over Pirate girls’ basketball
By: Justin Feil
Tori Sensi’s early portion to the Montgomery High girls’ basketball season was every bit as painful as the Cougars’ first-half performance against West Windsor-Plainsboro High South on Saturday afternoon.
Sensi joylessly went through practices and fought through games as she battled the effects of tendinitis in her hip. In her first eight games, she averaged 5.8 points per game.
Two weeks ago, the MHS junior started going to acupuncture twice per week. The ancient Chinese therapy is believed to free or balance the body’s energy.
"It hurts," Sensi said of the needle therapy. In Sensi’s case, with the pain comes the gain.
The hip that had slowed her down started feeling better, her confidence rose with her improved movement, and with it her scoring prowess returned just as did the Cougars in the second half against the Pirates Saturday.
"In one practice, you could see it started to get way better," said MHS head coach Paul Popadiuk after his team’s 38-28 win over WW-P South. "She had a smile on her face rather than a grimace. She stepped up for us then and had a big game at South Hunterdon where she always plays well. Then, she had 23 against DelVal and had 16 (Friday) night against Hackettstown."
Sensi scored 12 in the second half Saturday, and a game-high 15 overall, to lead the Cougars by the Pirates. She had five points in MHS’ 10-0 run that spanned the third and fourth quarters and turned a three-point deficit into a seven-point edge that they maintained. She had nine points in the fourth quarter alone to help MHS improve to 11-2 this season.
"We came out and weren’t as strong as usual," said the Cougars three-year guard. "The second half, we knew we had to pick it up. The second half, we came out with more aggressiveness and we were able to step it up."
If there was a letdown in the beginning, it was understandable. Two days of intense midterm exams that surrounded a 7 a.m. practice, plus a late-night game at Hackettstown on Friday followed by the Scholastic Aptitude Test on Saturday morning left the Cougars unable to find any energy in the first half against visiting Pirates.
By halftime, the Cougars trailed visiting WW-P South, 13-9, and had already committed 12 turnovers. After holding a 9-7 first-quarter lead, MHS did not score in the second quarter.
"The first quarter wasn’t great," Popadiuk said. "But the second quarter was abominable. This is the most irate I’ve been at halftime this year."
Enter the acupuncturist’s prickly touch, in this case, several needles and jabs by Popadiuk at halftime that seemed to restore the Cougars’ energy. MHS scored 16 to pull even, 25-25, on a three-pointer by Ali Tartacoff with 30 seconds left in the third quarter. It was the final of seven ties in the game.
Megan Fox, who had 11 points despite being double-teamed frequently by the Pirates, put back an offensive rebound for a 27-25 Montgomery lead and Sensi hit a long jumper and followed it with a three-pointer for a 32-25 edge.
"A lot of it is just confidence," said Sensi, who is averaging 16.7 points per game over the last four games. "It’s the whole team setting each other up for better shots. Being able to spread it out and get more opportunities for everyone helps."
Sensi’s three-pointer, her second of the game and third of the second half for the Cougars, made it too hard for South to come back as the Cougars were patient on offense in the final four minutes.
"It was 13-9 at halftime, so points are not coming real easy," said Pirate head coach Beth Fitzpatrick, whose team slipped to 5-5 going into tonight’s game at home against Steinert. "When we got down five, I was a little worried. They’re so fundamentally sound. They run the best half-court offense I’ve seen since Immaculata. They’re so patient.
"We tried to trap and we got a turnover, but then we couldn’t score. The girls played so hard though. I thought this was one of our best games played and to still lose, that doesn’t feel good. Our man defense was so good though. I was real concerned with their press too because it had been causing so many problems for teams. We only had 13 turnovers tonight so that was also a plus."
Montgomery also can build from this win. The Cougars, who were far from their best in the first half, showed enough poise to come back in the second half. It’s the best start in Sensi’s three seasons.
"I think a lot of it is our chemistry," she said. "We all get along really well. That comes out on the court. We’re able to support each other and it helps our confidence."
Winning also helps the Cougars confidence, just as scoring and shooting better have raised Sensi’s confidence level. Her recent success is much closer to what she expected of herself this year.
"This year, I was hoping to be up there," she said of her scoring. "I also wanted to make sure I was still able to get the ball to Fox inside and get the ball to Ali, our best shooter. This is pretty much what I was hoping for."
Even when she wasn’t scoring as much, Popadiuk recognized her importance to the team. Now, as Sensi does it with her scoring, passing and leadership, it’s all coming together.
"She’s a three-year player," he noted. "She started the second half of her freshman year when we went on a run to make the state tournament. We ran off four in a row with her in the lineup. She’s important because she can spark us. She can create for herself or for us. She penetrates the zone well and cuts hard against man. And she delivers the best passes into the post."
Her play helped the Cougars to their 11th win of the season, a season that holds more and more promise with every game, even ones that start as painfully as Saturday’s first half. WW-P South as well is hoping to build on the bright parts it saw Saturday as it prepares for Steinert.
"I’m really happy with the way they are responding," Fitzpatrick said. "They feel they played hard but they’re not satisfied because they lost. The bus ride home was quiet. They’re so ready for (tonight). The goal is to get better every game and I think we got better. If we play the way we did (Saturday), we’re going to win."