MHS girls storm back to roll over Central
By: John E. Powers
Newark Central High School’s girls’ basketball team came to Manville last Friday night with a 0-5 record. But after one quarter, the Lady Mustangs found themselves behind.
"We played sloppy in the first half," Manville second-year head coach Kyle Rehrig said. "We didn’t come out and play the way we’re capable of and at the quarter I challenged all of them. They knew they didn’t play their best, but they stepped up from there."
The words must have had an impact because Manville (2-3) outscored Central 18-1 in the quarter and went on to post a 47-27 victory.
"Our heads weren’t in the game in the first quarter," Rehrig said. "It wasn’t a problem of turnovers. I just told them that there was no reason we should be losing to this team. The game shouldn’t even be close. If we expect anything out of this season we have to expect to beat this team."
The pivotal player in the Lady Mustangs’ turnaround was junior forward Robyn Barb, who had a breakout game. She had 14 points and eight rebounds. At one point in the second quarter, Barb hit three straight jump shots from the same spot all on assists from senior guard Sarah Ortman.
"They were playing a zone and it was very spacious," Rehrig said. "We just made a pass from post to the wing. We did the same play. They weren’t covering it. The kids were looking at me like ‘what’s going on?" I just asked Robyn where she had been in the first four games. She wasn’t looking to be a threat, but hopefully it’ll boost her confidence."
Barb didn’t score in the first three games of the season and had six points against Middlesex in the holiday tournament final in Dunellen.
Ortman also had a very strong game Friday night. She had a season-high 12 points, including 10 in the first half.
"She made a couple of open jumpers, she had a couple of nice drives Sarah needed a good game like that to get her confidence going," Rehrig said.
Senior guard Dana Delesky had just two points, but she dished out seven assists.
"Dana was feeling a little under the weather and it slowed her down, but she made excellent decisions and passing," Rehrig sad. "She knows she can drive, kick it out and become even more of a better player. She looked to penetrate, get the defense to collapse and kick it out."
Ten different players scored for Manville. The Lady Mustangs shot just 21-for-70 from the floor and made just 5-of-14 foul shots, but Rehrig was happy with shot selection.
"We took very good shots," he said. "We took maybe three bad shots. We were extremely patient against the zone and we realized we could get a good shot at any time."
The Manville girls played most of the game without senior forward Katy Walinchus, who got into foul trouble early and sat out most of the game. Her sister, Amy, had 10 rebounds.
"We sat all of our starters in the fourth quarter," Rehrig said.
The Lady Mustangs have a busy week. They were scheduled to play at Sussex Tech Tuesday, then in Kenilworth against Mountain Valley Sky Division rival David Brearley Thursday before returning home Friday night for a game with another divisional opponent, Roselle Park. MHS beat Sussex Tech last year 51-31, but lost two tight games to Brearley, 29-25 and 58-55. The Lady Mustangs also fell to Roselle Park 43-35.
"We should have beaten Brearley and we lost the Roselle Park game in the third and fourth quarters, so just from that standpoint we’re looking to show our improvement," Rehrig said.
Mount St. Mary, which beat Manville 32-29 in the season-opener, is now 5-1 overall and 4-0 in divisional play. The Lady Mustangs need to take advantage of this week’s schedule.
"Brearley lost to Mount St. Mary and New Providence, two teams we’ve played," Rehrig said. "There’s a lot of parity in the league. We can be 5-3 at the end of the week, something we’re planning on."