By: John E. Powers
The South Hunterdon Regional High School girl’s basketball team appeared destined to suffer its third straight loss last Friday night.
The Eagles, who opened the season with losses to Mount St. Mary Academy and Bernards, trailed Bound Brook 29-18 through three quarters, but the good news was there was another period to play.
The Eagles woke up to outscore the visiting Crusaders 33-6 and take a wild 51-35 victory, their first of the season.
South Hunterdon was scheduled to play in the Northern Burlington Holiday Tournament Wednesday and Thursday. The Eagles were scheduled to play Florence Thursday morning at 11 a.m. Pinelands was scheduled to play in the other game.
South Hunterdon will come into the tournament after a big-time comeback.
Senior guard Nicole Sturick scored 11 of her game-high 16 points in the fourth quarter, and senior forward Chelsea Fulper and sophomore guard Allie Coleman scored seven points each in the pivotal quarter as South rallied past Bound Brook.
"I’m still shocked, and it’s a few days later," South Hunterdon coach Lori Daniel said Sunday afternoon. "I am amazed. It was like night and day."
Bound Brook’s trouble started when junior Kasey Ludwig fouled out. South Hunterdon then began pressing and made free throws.
"I just said, ‘Hey, let’s go. It’s now or never, and you’ve got to show me you are capable of playing basketball,’" Daniel said.
The Eagles made 18 free throws for the game, and Coleman made all five she took in the fourth quarter.
"It was really a combination of things, and we ran our offense, something we didn’t do for the first three quarters," Daniel said of the comeback. ‘We had our usual turnover number of about 20, but we got Ludwig to foul out, and their other guards weren’t very strong. We got some steals, we got a bunch of lay-ups and free throws, and our kids played with their hearts. It was a great comeback. I was proud of them."
The girls were beaten by Bernards 54-29 earlier in the week. Freshman guard Kaylin Campbell led South with 10 points and 14 rebounds. South Hunterdon was hurt by Bernard’s star senior Catherine Carr, who had 27 points.
"She can dictate what she wants to do," Daniel said.
The South Hunterdon boys got their first win during the week as they beat Warren Tech 58-41. Anthony Danese and Jammin Jesse scored 17 points apiece as South raised its record to 1-2.
The Eagles lost to Bound Brook 65-38 Friday night as Danese had 14. The boys were scheduled to play in the "Over the River" tournament against host New Hope-Solebury Thursday at 7:30 p.m.

