Hopewell ends .500 year for North girls’ hoops

Young Knights optimistic about future

By: Bob Nuse
   HOPEWELL — In the end, the West Windsor-Plainsboro North girls’ basketball team finished the season right where Bob Boyce thought they would.
   "I thought we would be around a .500 team because of our youth and we wound up 13-13," said the Knights’ coach, whose team saw its season end with a 52-36 loss to Hopewell Valley in the quarterfinals of the Central Jersey Group III tournament last Thursday night.
   "I was pleased with the way we played this year and with the overall results. I wish we could have ended the season better. We were 9-3 at one point, but then we ended up not doing as well the second half. Part of that was because we played the better teams at the end of the season. We played Trenton twice, plus Rancocas Valley and a very good Montgomery team. And we played Steinert twice. So we just started to play the better teams."
   The Knights played Hopewell Valley twice this season, dropping a 42-37 decision in the season-opening game in December. This time, they dug an early 16-4 hole, but battled back to get within 29-21 at halftime.
   "Both times we played them we had a real problem with their size," Boyce said. "The first time we played them, (Megan) Pisani had a real good shooting night and that opened some things up inside and we were able to stay in the game.
   "We didn’t shoot the ball as well this time. Megan hasn’t been right the last month of the season since she hurt her back. She keeps working hard and gives it her best effort all the time, but she’s been playing hurt."
   Kathy Ruiz led the WW-P North offense with 17 points, including all six of the team’s points in the first quarter. Senior Liz Tang added 11 points in the loss.
   "Kathy did a decent job inside for us and got us some scoring," Boyce said. "But they did a nice job against our press. It did not bother them much at all this time because they handled it so well. We just didn’t bring it in the second half."
   In the second half, a Danielle Parisi free throw cut the lead to 29-22, but the Bulldogs then went on a 10-4 run to close out the quarter with a 39-26 lead. It was 50-29 before the Knights scored seven of the game’s final nine points.
   On the positive side, most of the North roster returns with an added year of experience and a full year under their new head coach.
   "We lose Liz, but after that we have a bunch of juniors and sophomores, plus some freshmen that I brought up at the end of the season," Boyce said. "So we have a lot of people back."
   They won’t, however, have Tang, who left a solid mark on the Knights’ program.
   "We’ll miss Liz," Boyce said. "She’s a very good point guard and she’s been a great player for the program. What I talked to the team the most about after the game was Liz and how she’s a player they can all emulate. She’s an honor student. She’s AP everything. And she leads by example.
   "She’s the most gentle person I know, but on the court she always plays hard. She’s the kind of kid that will knock someone down, but then pick them right up. If they’re going to emulate someone, she’s the one to emulate."