DeLuca ignites fired-up team past Montgomery
By: Rudy Brandl
The Hillsborough High girls put everything together on the basketball court in last Friday night’s game against Montgomery. The end result was a huge 52-45 victory that kept the Lady Raiders unbeaten and tied for first place in the Delaware East Division.
Hillsborough opened the season with some good offensive performances but head coach Jim Reese became increasingly frustrated with the team’s sloppy defense. Reese began to focus more on defense in the New Year and while the HHS girls showed improvement in that area, the offense began to slump.
Friday night, for the first time this winter, the Lady Raiders combined good offensive execution, solid defense and aggressive rebounding to win their biggest game to date. Tomorrow night’s showdown at Immaculata, which also entered the week with a 3-0 mark in the East, will decide the divisional leader at the halfway mark of the season.
Hillsborough, which scored at least 60 points twice in December, began its defensive resurgence in divisional victories over Watchung Hills and Franklin. The team needed to play well at both ends against a Montgomery team that entered the game with a 9-1 record and an eight-game winning streak.
"We needed to combine the defensive intensity we showed in the last few games with the offensive execution we had early in the year," Reese said. "We got off to a good start and took it from there."
Junior point guard Ali DeLuca scored the first seven points of the game and the Lady Raiders never trailed. Montgomery made several runs and tied the game once in the second quarter, but DeLuca nailed a 3-pointer from the top of the key to put the home team back in the lead.
Hillsborough was coming off a subpar offensive effort against Franklin, a game the team barely survived by a 36-33 score. The HHS girls knew they had to step up their game several notches against Montgomery. The Lady Raiders opened a 32-22 lead at the break, nearly duplicating their entire Franklin game output in one half against Montgomery.
"Montgomery is our biggest rival," DeLuca said. "They beat Franklin by 20 or 30 and I’m sure when they saw our score, they thought we were overrated."
Reese certainly wasn’t concerned about motivation in this game. These two clubs always go after each other. This year, with a division title on the line, the stakes were even higher.
"It’s a rivalry and I knew they’d be up for this game," he said. "We knew neither team was going to come out flat."
The Lady Raiders rose to the occasion against Montgomery center Megan Fox, possibly the best post player in the division. Fox still managed to score a game-high 22 points, but the HHS girls had their best team rebounding game of the season.
It wasn’t just one player going to the boards for the Lady Raiders. Senior power forwards Christine Rash, Erin Poulter and Ashley Coheleach were more aggressive at both ends. DeLuca and sophomore swing player Kelsey Kutch led the way with seven rebounds apiece.
"We realized this game was going to come down to our defense and rebounding," said Kutch, who also dropped in 11 points. "When I rebound more, it gets me more in the game."
Fox scored 10 points in the third quarter and began to assert herself inside later in the game. Kutch wasn’t about to let Fox or anyone else spoil Hillsborough’s big night.
"After she got three straight offensive rebounds, I wasn’t going to let her get another ball," Kutch said. "We had to shut her down."
Fox only managed two field goals in the final quarter and didn’t score a point in the final 3:43. In fact, the Lady Raiders held the visitors scoreless after Fox’s driving layup cut their lead to 49-45.
HHS sophomore Ebony Jones hit a clutch jumper from the middle of the lane to halt an 8-0 run by the Cougars. A combination of good defense and a stalling motion offense iced the victory. It was a fitting conclusion to a game in which the Lady Raiders combined a lot of positives to produce a victory.
"Our defense was in shambles at the beginning. Then we focused on defense and we didn’t get our offense going," DeLuca said. "Tonight, we put together all the components. In this game, everything came together."
The Lady Raiders (7-3) were scheduled to complete their first trip through the Delaware East with road games at Bridgewater-Raritan and Immaculata this week. Immaculata faced Montgomery Tuesday, so the Lady Raiders could take command of the division with two more wins this week. The non-conference losses to North Hunterdon, New Brunswick and Hunterdon Central don’t affect any of the team’s primary goals.
"None of our losses so far means anything because they didn’t come in the division or in a county or a state game," Reese said. "We still have a chance to have a really good year. This is the time to start."

