By: Ron Parent
It had been quite a while since the Monroe Township High School girls basketball team had a little taste of winning.
But not only did the Falcons snap an 18-game losing streak that dated back to last season with Monday’s 58-55 victory over Princeton, but they came back the very next day and battled a solid, senior-heavy Sayreville team to the bitter end before finally falling 55-51.In contrast, last season’s road trip to Sayreville ended with a 61-21 setback in a game that was essentially over before it began. Falcons head coach Leigh Vogtman said the bus ride home had a bit of a different feel this time around.
"Tonight, the girls felt what it was like to lose a close game," Vogtman said Tuesday evening. "(Almost) every time we lost last year, it was by 20 points or better, and I told them, ‘This is what it comes down to: you’re going to have close games this season, you’re going to win some, you’re going to lose some.’ They were just so used to that one end of (lopsided) losses."
The Falcons (1-2) were buoyed by Carly Keane’s 23 points against Princeton, a game in which they never trailed and actually dominated for much of the first three quarters. Only a late Little Tigers surge made the score close, as Marissa Allamby chipped in with 13 points to keep Monroe on top.
Keane added 12 more the next day against Sayreville as teammate Alexis Ranzinger had a team-high 18 in a back-and-forth affair which the Falcons led at various points throughout the evening.
After a 78-40 setback to South Plainfield on opening night an opponent expected to contend for Greater Middlesex Conference and NJSIAA Group III championships Monroe has made great strides in very little time.
"Everything just kind of clicked these last two games. They were confident in themselves, they were confident in each other, and whether we were up, we were tied, or we were down, they never let up," Vogtman said of her players. "They’re really playing tough defense and coming back on offense (to score in transition)."
On offense is where the Falcons appear to have made the biggest year-to-year improvement. Keane’s 23 points against Princeton were more than any player scored against any opponent last season, and the team has already topped the 50-point mark twice in three games after only doing so twice in 21 games last season.
But as Vogtman is clearly aware of, such improvement would have done little to improve morale without something positive happening in the standings.
"The win on Monday put a whole different perspective on the (season)," Vogtman said. "The kids have confidence they can actually win now."
The Falcons will host GMC White Division power New Brunswick on Friday and participate in the Allentown Tournament over the winter break, playing a pair of games on Wednesday and Friday, Dec. 29, before returning to their division schedule with a road date at Carteret on Jan. 4.

