Senior steps up with key teammates on bench
By Guy Kipp, Sports Writer
After spending the entire winter of 2007 without her starting point guard, South Brunswick girls’ basketball coach Beth Barrio was none too anxious to endure any significant portion of this season without senior Janay Barnett.
But, on opening night last week in Woodbridge, there were the Vikings, forced to play much of the first half with both Barnett — who missed last season with a knee injury — and senior forward Susie Miller on the bench saddled with foul trouble.
But, what Barrio found out that night was that South Brunswick does have the depth to weather the temporary absence of two of its three top players for stretches of a game — although the Vikings certainly wouldn’t want to make a habit of it.
Senior guard Ashley Wandishin connected on 10 of 19 field-goal attempts en route to 26 points, holding things together until Barnett and Miller each returned to their normal roles and their customary levels of performance in the second half as South Brunswick opened with a 60-48 victory over the Barrons.
”Barnett and Miller both picked up two fouls in the first quarter,” Barrio said, “and they sat the rest of the first half. It changed the flow of the game, it opened things up a lot for Woodbridge, but Ashley really took control of the game for us with our freshmen and sophomores in there.”
Wandishin contributed seven rebounds and five steals, and the 5-10 wing guard even stepped in and ran the offense at point guard for a stretch. So, while Woodbridge did get the better of things in the second quarter, South Brunswick trailed by just a point, 30-29, when the second half began and the Vikings could resume playing at full strength.
”Janay ended up with eight assists in just two-and-a-half quarters,” Barrio said. “And Susie had eight rebounds in the same amount of time.”
South Brunswick outscored Woodbridge, 31-18, in the second half.
”Janay was able to do a lot of penetrating against their 1-1-3 zone,” Barrio said, “and Susie took control of the boards.”
Another most encouraging aspect of the opening triumph was the superb effort put forth by 5-10 sophomore forward Katie Janssen, who collected 14 points and 10 rebounds.
”Katie got a lot of transition layups,” Barrio said. “She ran the floor well, and she had a few putbacks.”
That victory sent South Brunswick into a thorny, pre-holiday week portion of its schedule against Perth Amboy on the road Tuesday night, where the Vikings dropped a 48-44 decision to the Panthers, and at home tonight (Thursday) against defending Greater Middlesex Conference Tournament champion Piscataway.
Barnett finished with 14 points, seven rebounds, five assists and five steals against Perth Amboy, which led by as many as 12 points before the Vikings closed to within two down the stretch. Freshman Nicole Isaacs chipped in with nine points off the bench in the loss.
Next week, the Vikings will compete Thursday and Friday in the West Windsor-Plainsboro North Classic in Mercer County.

