By: Carolyn M. Hartko
Both the North Brunswick and Monroe Township High School varsity girls’ basketball teams were very kind to the scorekeepers keeping track of the action (or lack thereof) at last Tuesday night’s contest. Although the game ended up as a 38-18 victory for the hosts, the Lady Raiders, the first two periods were anything but scintillating.
"It was a sparkling 8-4 half-time score," Lady Falcon head coach Keith Hudak said. "We scored nothing in the first quarter, and they scored one in the second. So, we were really lighting it up. In the second half, (North Brunswick) played a little better. They scored 30 on us in the second half."
It was Tishona Higgins and Tylere Simpson who led the revival for North Brunswick with 14 and 12 points, respectively. Higgins also did a lot to shut down the Monroe offense, grabbing 15 rebounds. Ali Baumlin came up big for the Falcons with another double/double: 14 points and 10 rebounds. In addition, the senior captain recorded a career high 14 blocked shots.
"Ali probably felt the best she’s felt in a while, after that sprained ankle. We had a couple of days off during the break. I thought it was absolutely amazing that she had 14 blocked shots in the game. That has to be a Monroe record. Maybe it’s a record (in the conference) too."
There may still be a few optimists left who feel that the Lady Falcons couldn’t have any more bad luck coming their way. They would be wrong. Freshman point guard Lindsey Curran is currently sidelined with a knee problem, and awaiting the results of an MRI. She has probably been lost for the season, not a happy thought for a team that is having trouble handling the ball this year. That may be one of the reasons that turnovers were more of a problem again in the North Brunswick situation.
"Today wasn’t good again," Hudak said. "The girls did cut the turnovers down there for a couple of games. We did a little bit better with them. But (Tuesday) wasn’t one of the days that we were good at it."
That leaves junior Amy Krainski as the starting point guard, with no back-up. And Curran isn’t the only Falcon who’s injured. Junior guard Allie Gran has a bad ankle, and senior forward Emma Bossard has been trying to fight her way back from a muscle pull. Bossard missed the holiday tournament, and saw limited action against North Brunswick.
"We’ve just got to get some points from other people," Hudak said. "We’ve got to handle the ball better. We do not pass the ball well as a team."
The Greater Middlesex Conference White Division schedule continued with Thursday night’s game at Perth Amboy (provided the weather did not intervene). The Falcons host Edison in an out-of-division match at 1:00 PM this coming Saturday, and they will be at South Plainfield next Tuesday evening.
