Girls hoops in states with win
By: Justin Feil
Marcia Voigt’s freshman season of basketball ended with a loss to the top team in the state tournament.
In a 77-53 win over Gill St. Bernard’s on Saturday, the sophomore guard helped guarantee the Montgomery High School girls’ basketball team another couple of challenging games by season’s end. The win not only allowed seventh-seeded MHS to advance to the quarterfinals of the Somerset County Tournament against No. 2 Watchung Hills on Saturday, but it also gave the Cougars a 9-9 record on the final day of the cutoff to be .500 for the state tournament.
"I think it was helpful for us because it made us think, if we win this, we’re still in both," said Voigt, who contributed 16 points, 8 rebounds, 6 assists and a pair of steals. "We’re going on in states and still in counties. We want to get another shot at Watchung next Saturday. We just wanted to win it. It did put a little more nerves on us and a little pressure. When we started playing, there were no nerves. Everyone was having a great time out there and helping each other out."
MHS broke out of the gates quickly to take a 32-21 lead. In that span, the Cougars showed early that they had the ability to score from all positions. MHS finished with four players in double figures in scoring. Lexee Liaskos had 17 to lead MHS, Voigt and Laura Coletti added 16 points and Ellen Killian chipped in with 12 points.
"It couldn’t have worked out any better, the way the kids were sharing the ball, looking for each other," said MHS head coach Kevin Kretschy, whose team won four straight games to reach the cutoff. "Whoever had the open shot was taking it and usually making it. It extended our season by at least two games one more county and at least one state game."
The county game was expected, if only because MHS was the higher seed. But the Cougars had to top a Gill team that was 14-1 with 11 straight wins. The Cougars’ Skyland Conference and difficult out-of-conference schedule paid dividends against the pressing Gill squad.
"We started out the season playing some of the best teams in the area," Voigt said. "I think playing the tougher teams helped us see where we needed to improve vs. playing in easy games, and then having a hard game. It’s a lot harder to do that than playing a bunch of hard games and then getting into some easier games."
It’s never easy, however, when you’re four games under .500 with just four games to play before the cutoff. But that was the situation MHS found itself in with games against Ewing, Franklin, Bridgewater-Raritan all three on the road and then Gill on Saturday.
"During the beginning of the season, when we started out 1-5, we knew we had a hole to dig ourselves out of," Voigt said. "We knew we had to pick up the pace. When we got to 5-9 last week, there wasn’t doubt. It was more like, ‘this is what we have to do. We have to get over the hump.’ Between the team, it was all positive attitude. There was no doubt in our minds."
It was the one thing that got the Cougars through the difficult week. They played a Ewing team that was just as desperate for a win. They played a Franklin team looking to revenge an earlier loss. They played a Bridgewater team that had already posted a win against them.
"Just everyone’s positive attitude and willingness to do anything it took to get over it and win the games," Voigt said. "Everyone was working hard during practices and doing everything we could to get fired up for the games."
Added Kretschy: "Everybody knew what was at stake. Each game was tough. We had three straight road games. The girls were so focused this week. I couldn’t be happier. We’ve had inconsistent focus all year up to this week. It was all or nothing. We know we’re not finished. We know we can still win some more games."
The Cougars have adjusted to the first-year coach and his demands. MHS gained some confidence with its resolve and run to make the state tournament.
"We’re still growing," Kretschy said. "We still have room for improvement but we’ve come a long way. The young kids are still maturing. Our team philosophy of looking for each other and helping each other out has been at its best this week."
In her second season of varsity play, Voigt has been more comfortable for the Cougars. She is part of a young core that has helped MHS return to states.
"She’s the quiet type," Kretschy said. "She’s not vocally going to get in someone’s face. She leads by example. She leaves it on the floor every game. Even if she’s not scoring, she’s rebounding, she’s looking up the floor to get fast-break points for someone.
"She’s my off guard, but she ends up with the ball in her hands a lot. She’s more of a scorer than a pure point. We’re doing a good job of getting her the ball where she can score points."
With an upcoming schedule that includes the likes of Red Bank Catholic, one of the toughest teams in the state, Voigt and the Cougars now set their sights on working to prepare for their upset bids both in the county tournament Saturday and in the state tournament to follow.
"It kind of tells us we can start down but we can always pick ourselves up and get higher," Voigt said. "We’re not gone until we’re really, really gone. We can still come back and beat a team even if they beat us before or have a high seedings."

