Team suffers earliest exit in over a decade
by Rudy Brandl, Sports Editor
The streak is over.
For the first time in 13 years, the Hillsborough High girls’ basketball team will not reach the Somerset County Tournament semifinals. It’s been quite a run for veteran head coach Jim Reese and his program, which has appeared in nine SCT finals and won three county championships, including back-to-back titles in 2005 and 2006.
Saturday’s 61-46 loss at Gill St. Bernards ended Hillsborough’s hopes to returning to the SCT semifinals for the 13th consecutive season. Despite a No. 12 seed, the Lady Raiders were hopeful to advance after building a three-game win streak that included a second straight win over Immaculata, a county preliminary triumph over Ridge and stirring upset against Watchung Hills.
Gill (12-3) proved worthy of the tournament’s fifth seed with a solid performance against the perennial tournament titans, who have played in six of the last eight SCT finals. Gill played its typical full-court pressure defense and up-tempo game.
”I went to a gunfight carrying a switchblade,” Reese said afterward. “We hung in there, but it was an uphill struggle all day.”
The 1-2 punch of sophomore standouts Daisha Simmons and Niiya Ruth was too much for the Lady Raiders to handle. Simmons went wild with 24 points, 10 rebounds, six steals, six blocks and four assists. Ruth scored a game-high 25 points and pulled down nine boards.
”They’re only sophomores, but they’re the real deal,” Reese said. “We couldn’t stop those two kids. They crushed us on the boards.”
Gill took an 11-5 lead after one quarter and enjoyed a 28-19 cushion at the half. The Lady Raiders were hanging around but could never stop Gill’s stars long enough to sustain a comeback.
Although they gave up a season high in points, the Lady Raiders didn’t play horrible defense. Hillsborough’s 1-3-1 zone was effective at times, but Simmons and Ruth kept going to the glass for second and third chances. It was more a case of not getting defensive rebounds.
”We couldn’t make stops,” Reese said. “Our defense wasn’t bad, but they just kept getting rebounds.”
The Lady Raiders made some adjustments to the press and started to score more points after a five-point first quarter. Senior guard Sara DiClemente led Hillsborough with 15 points. Senior Kaitlin Capriccio and junior Janice Jeschke each added 10.
”Our guards had a little bit of trouble with their pressure,” Reese said. “They only play one way full-court man and in your face. We were a little shaky at the beginning but we calmed down.”
Reese knew his girls were facing a tough task and stressed the importance of three factors transition, turnovers and rebounds. Unfortunately, Gill did a better job in these areas, especially rebounding. Franklin also killed HHS on the boards in Thursday night’s 50-32 road loss.
”Especially after the other night at Franklin, we emphasized rebounding,” Reese said. “If we can’t rebound better than we did the other night, I told them we would not win.”
The loss leaves the Lady Raiders in an unfamiliar February position playing out the string to get ready for next year. HHS had four games remaining at the start of the week, but Reese was hoping to add a few more since his team won’t be playing in the state tournament this year.
”We have to focus on the next game,” he said. “They’ve done a good job doing that all year. We’d like to add a few more. Now, we’re flexible with the schedule. We can commit to Fridays and Saturdays. We’re going to try to get better and see what we can accomplish.”