GIRLS BASKETBALL
By: Mike Molaro
After a couple of emotional games, Hopewell Valley Central High School girls basketball coach Jeff Losch was concerned his Lady Bulldogs wouldn’t be in top form when they visited Lawrence Tuesday.
HoVal quickly extinguished any fears as it opened a 28-10 halftime lead en route to a dominating 49-25 triumph over the Cardinals, earning their second consecutive Colonial Valley Conference Patriot Division title.
Senior guard and co-captain Suzie Noyes, who has 1,052 career points, and junior forward and co-captain Ali Newman each scored 12 points as the Lady Bulldogs (13-6 overall, 10-3 in the CVC) won their fifth consecutive game and ninth of their last 10. The victory also gave HoVal a sweep of the Patriot and Valley Divisions.
"I was worried we would come out flat," Losch said after downing Lawrence in HoVal’s final CVC game of the season. "Every time out the girls surprise me more and more. We came out on all cylinders. Our press was fantastic and we ran the ball well."
The Lady Bulldogs, who have won the Patriot Division in three of the four years it has been in existence, avenged a 10-point loss earlier this season by defeating visiting cross-town rival Pennington, 41-39, last Saturday.
Noyes hit for a game-high 17 points while Newman and senior guard Katie Kolombatovich each added eight as HoVal ended the Red Raiders’ 13-game winning streak.
A pair of free throws by Noyes tied the score at 39-39 late in the game before Kolombatovich provided the winning points on a steal and lay up with 30 seconds left in regulation.
"We had a nice lead early on," added Losch. "Their best player (senior forward Keri Washington) was in foul trouble and Pennington’s reserves played very well. I watched the tape of the loss in the John Molinelli Memorial Holiday Tournament and we weren’t the team we are now. I told the girls after that loss that Pennington was the better team and we should be proud of how we played. We went into this game looking for a win. We are a much better team now and we expected to win."
Junior guard Chantel Lavender led the Red Raiders, who last lost on Dec. 5, with 13 points and Washington added 10, but the Lady Bulldogs weren’t to be denied.
"We used the same formula in this game that we’ve been using over the past couple of weeks," Losch said. "We use our defense to get easy points on offense. We want to get a lot of hands on the ball. Deflections don’t always show up on the stat sheet, but they are very important in disrupting an opponent’s offensive flow.
"The first time we played, Pennington was the better team. We are a much better team now and we really came into this game expecting to win."
HoVal, which hasn’t lost since Jan. 23, downed Allentown, 54-36, at the Dawg Pound last Friday as Noyes became just the fifth player in Lady Bulldog history to score 1,000 points with a left-handed lay up with 6:39 remaining in the first quarter.
Noyes scorched the Redbirds with a game-high 25 points while Newman had 11 points and grabbed eight rebounds.
"There was a lot of emption in this game," added Losch. "The girls really care about Suzie and they wanted her to get the 1,000 points. There is no resentment on the team. Everyone on the team supported her to reach that milestone."
Allentown, which defeated HoVal twice last year, was held to single digits in the first, second, and fourth quarters while the Lady Bulldogs opened a 30-13 halftime advantage.
"Ali had 10 of her 11 points in the first half and really dominated for us," Losch said. "Suzie had 13 points in the first half and she and Ali really set the tone for us and for the game. We came into this game knowing we could lose. We had the emotion of Suzie’s 1,000 points and that gave us a little boost. We really dominated this game and that was nice to see."
The Lady Bulldogs, who at one point earlier this season lost three of four games, have rebounded to become a dangerous team. They’re peaking at the right time, playing with a great deal of confidence, and displaying a suffocating defense.
With the county and state tournaments coming up, HoVal is a draw opponents can’t be thrilled about.
NOTES: HoVal earned the sixth-seeded in the Mercer County Tournament and hosts 11th-seeded Hightstown at 5:30 p.m. Monday in the first round. Every team is guaranteed three MCT games and the Lady Bulldogs are scheduled to play next Wednesday and next Friday.

