Lawrence girls basketball
By: Jim Green
The Lawrence High School girls team played some of its best basketball of the season during the first quarter Tuesday night against West Windsor-Plainsboro North.
Unfortunately, it was all downhill from there for the Cardinals, as the Knights went on a 22-2 run that led to a 48-24 win at LHS. Lawrence was playing without senior forward and second-leading scorer Jerilyn Krawczyk, who is out with a broken arm, and dropped to 0-6 on the season.
"We need to be able to react to what’s happening on the court," Lawrence coach Gregg Zenerovitz said. "The first quarter was a good quarter, but we can’t get down ourselves. We have to keep playing hard."
Senior guard Daniela Bottoni paced the Cardinals with seven points, while junior guard Krista Regan added five points and four rebounds. Senior forward Caitlin Grabowski had six points, and senior forward Erin O’Connor was tops with five rebounds.
In the first quarter, senior guard Brittany Hendricks had four points and Regan added three as Lawrence aggressively attacked the Knights’ zone press defense and took a 9-7 lead into the second quarter. In that second quarter, however, North switched to a man-to-man press, and the Cardinals could not respond, as turnovers and poor defensive rebounding allowed the Knights to hold a 17-2 advantage in the period. North scored the first 11 points of the quarter before an O’Connor layup provided the only Lawrence points of the period. The Cardinals were called for 11 fouls in the quarter, giving the Knights 16 foul shots, 11 of which they converted.
Things didn’t get any better for the Cardinals in the third quarter, as North outscored Lawrence 11-4 to open a 35-15 lead heading into the final period. Although Bottoni netted all seven of her points in the fourth, it was far too little, far too late to make a difference on the scoreboard.
"The challenge for us now is that we have to find a way to get that first ‘W,’" Zenerovitz said.
Zenerovitz felt Regan’s effort stood out on a night when he hoped for a stronger performance from his team.
"Krista competes out there," he said. "She plays hard. She’s a junior, and she’s increasing her leadership role. She’s very positive. She loves basketball and wants to get better."
Zenerovitz will be looking for similar efforts from his entire roster as the Cardinals prepare for their Friday showdown at Allentown.
"We’re working hard in practice," he said. "We have to get better. When we’re able to put everything together, that’s when we’ll get our first ‘W.’"
NOTES: The Cardinals lost both their games in Hopewell’s John Molinelli Holiday Classic on Dec. 29 and 30.
In the opening round, they fell to state power Willingboro 73-25.
Regan led the team with 12 points.
In the consolation round, Lawrence dropped a 34-28 decision to Roxbury.
Krawczyk had nine points, while junior guard Nicole McMullen added eight.