Huttner gives Pirates boost off bench
By Justin Feil, Assistant Sports Editor
Opponents know better than to relax when Liz Huttner enters the game.
The West Windsor-Plainsboro South junior is good enough to start on most any Colonial Valley Conference team, but the Pirates bring her off the bench.
”The sixth man position is so important, and she’s really grasped onto it,” said Pirates head coach Lisa Guarneri. “She’s the perfect sixth man. She’s exactly what you need. It’s good for us.”
While there might be a drop-off with some teams, Huttner provides a steady spark when she gets on the court.
”I like coming off the bench because you see what’s going on,” said Huttner, who starts in goal for the Pirate girls’ soccer team and at shortstop for their softball team. “And when I come in, I try to do exactly what I can do to get things flowing more in our direction. I like doing it.”
Huttner started for the first time this season due to an injury to Amanda Terebey, but it didn’t throw her off. She scored 10 points in the Pirates’ 60-29 win at Princeton High School on Tuesday, just off her 10.4 points per game average that ranks second among Pirates behind Becky Peters’ 17.0 scoring average. Peters led all scorers with 15 Tuesday. The win was WW-P South’s 14th straight to improve to 16-2.
”We want to keep going,” Huttner said. “Ever since that loss in the holiday tournament, we’ve stepped it up.”
WW-P South will have to step it up further with a challenging coming schedule. After the Pirates take on Willingboro 10 a.m. Saturday at Hamilton in the Burlington-Mercer County Challenge, they will host Ewing on Tuesday as the No. 2 seed in the Mercer County Tournament.
”I want to play some of the CVC teams again, some rivalries that might come up again in MCTs,” Huttner said, adding, “North and Steinert hopefully. I’m ready for it, and hopefully Trenton at the end. I’m definitely looking forward to it.”
Huttner is part of a Pirates team that returns plenty of experience from last year’s team.
”We’ve got the No. 2 seed, but then again that record means nothing,” Guarneri said. “We’re back to 0-0. Last year, second round, we got kicked out by Hopewell Valley. Then states, second round, we got kicked out by Howell. We’re the No. 2 seed, but at this point that means nothing. We’re going in there thinking every game we have to get it done. It would be awesome to get to a sectional final. It would be awesome to get to a county final. But first we have to win each game as it comes. We can’t take any team for granted. We’ve learned that.”
Last year’s less-than-satisfying tournament results are motivating the numerous returning players for the Pirates.
”We’re trying to move on,” Huttner said, “but we definitely shouldn’t have lost in the first round of MCTs and we definitely shouldn’t have lost the first (game) of states. I think we’re more confident this year and ready to go.”
Added her coach: “You don’t know what’s going to happen, but you see these kids how they matured. In games where we used to play down to our opponent, we don’t now. We just take it to them and take care of the game and get the other kids in. In the past, we’d play to the other team’s level and it would be a game. We’ve matured. My starting five are the same starting five as last year. That’s experience.”
Huttner is capable of contributing more to the Pirates this year. She has been an asset at both ends of the court.
”I think she’s always had the offensive ability,” Guarneri said. “The problem in the past has been her defense. We’ve really challenged her this year to work on her defense and she’s done that. Last year, she lost some confidence because she wasn’t getting it done defensively. This year, she’s getting it done offensively and defensively, which is nice. You feel confident when you go out there, and your coach isn’t riding you the whole time. She feels more ready to go.
”She can shoot the ball with the best of them,” she added. “When she’s at the three-point line, when she gets out there, I think she’s going to make it. I feel very confident with her. And she’s a great passer. She sees the open person. That’s what’s so good about her.”
In Tuesday’s game, Huttner had a three-pointer the conventional way, a three-point play the hard-fashioned way, and a soft pull-up jumper that got the shooter’s roll in her double-digit performance.
”I feel like I’m definitely more confident with the ball,” Huttner said. “She wants me to shoot more. I’m definitely a lot less nervous.”
The Pirates are counting on her play at both ends as they get into the biggest part of the season. Having Liz Huttner gives the WW-P South girls’ basketball team an advantage coming off the bench.
”She’s my first sub in,” Guarneri said. “She either goes in for a post or a guard which is so nice about having a sixth man who can do that. She’s so smart. She sits there the first four minutes and watches and knows what she has to do when she goes in.”