Injury hasn’t "Cramp-ed" Hopewell’s play

Hopewell Valley girls basketball

By: John E. Powers
   Hopewell Valley Central High School girls basketball coach John McGinley didn’t know how his team would react to the loss of their point guard and leading scorer, Kristy Cramp, who suffered a broken hand in an AAU game last October.
   Cramp may be on the brink of returning, and when she does, she will find a team that McGinley has been pleased with. The Lady Bulldogs will enter Friday night’s game at Notre Dame with a 3-3 record.
   The Lady Bulldogs, who lost to Willingboro 59-25 in the John Molinelli Holiday Classic last Thursday, rebounded Tuesday night with a 47-26 win over West Windsor-Plainsboro South. Sophomore forward Suzy Noyes poured in 20 points to lead the way, while guard Katy Kolombatovich had 10.
   "We got up on them 17-7 in the first half, and we played great defensively," McGinley said. "We struggled offensively, but in the second half, we picked it up."
   The Lady Bulldogs haven’t used Cramp’s absence for some of their offensive inconsistency, but it’s been obvious. They can use their 1,000-point scorer, who averaged 18 points a game last year. Cramp was scheduled to see her doctor Wednesday and could be back within a week or 10 days, the coach said. She has been running through plays with the team.
   "We have taken the attitude from the beginning of the season that we knew we would struggle a little bit," McGinley said. "But it allowed the others to gain experience and get better. Our record probably wouldn’t have been much different with Kristy. Willingboro is a state ranked team, and Trenton and Montgomery (who provided Hopewell’s other two losses) are tough."
   "You can tell there are times we’re looking for Kristy, but the one thing I’m very happy about is that our defense has picked up," McGinley said. "We’re starting to look inside. We’re starting to recognize other people who can help us."
   Willingboro, which eliminated Hopewell Valley last year from the New Jersey State Interscholastic Central Jersey Group III playoffs, pounded the Lady Bulldogs once again last week. But Hopewell didn’t help its cause, shooting a miserable 2-for-19 from the floor. The Lady Bulldogs trailed 23-5 at the half.
   "We had a ton of good shots; we just couldn’t make them," McGinley said. "We gave up 23 points at the half, and if we had just scored 15 or 20 — we just got down too far. We gambled some and they wore on us. It wasn’t like we were harassed into pour shots. We missed a lot of layups and open jumpers."
   Senior forward/center Emily Newport led the Lady Bulldogs with 12 points and Noyes had nine. The Lady Bulldogs advance to the final with a 47-40 win over Roxbury. Newport had 14, Noyes had 12, and Jhonna Tirpak had 11. Roxbury, which trailed by nine, took a one-point lead early in the third quarter at 23-22. But Tirpak hit a three, and the Lady Bulldogs never trailed again, building the lead to 41-31.
   "Jhonna hit some big shots for us," McGinley said.