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MANVILLE: Girls roll to first victory

Mortensen leads rout in rematch with Tech

by Rudy Brandl, Sports Editor
   The Manville High girls certainly didn’t look like a winless basketball team in Monday afternoon’s home game against Sussex Tech.
   They were running the floor and scoring in transition, hitting jump shots, rebounding and playing good defense. They played with confidence and got everyone involved. Seven different MHS girls scored and everybody saw action to help the team break a 13-game losing streak and post an impressive 49-29 victory.
   ”I’m happy we won, but I know we can do this more often,” MHS head coach Larisa Donis-Jeppson said afterward. “I’m excited that the girls have a win. I hope they can do it again.”
   Manville squandered a five-point halftime lead at Sussex Tech 11 days before in a 42-37 loss that didn’t sit well with the team. MHS had swept Tech for its only two victories of the 2007-2008 season and was hoping to break into the win column in Sparta. The Lady Mustangs were blown out a few times since that tough loss to Tech but came back determined to get revenge on their home floor in Monday’s rematch.
   ”It’s finally worth it,” said junior point guard Dana Mortensen, who led Manville with 15 points. “We played them away and we didn’t show up to play. We were counting on a big win but we had too many turnovers and missed opportunities.”
   ”We knew we should have had our first win up there,” added junior forward Amy Evanylo, who scored eight points and led Manville with 12 rebounds and three blocked shots. “We really wanted this one twice as bad.”
   Mortensen had a fabulous all-around game and put up some big numbers in just three quarters of play. In addition to her 15 points, which came on an array of outside jumpers and drives to the basket, Mortensen also recorded team-highs with eight assists and six steals.
   ”We were hitting our shots and we worked well today,” Mortensen said. “We saw opportunities and we finished on them. We shut down the big girls and got a bunch of rebounds. We cleaned up our game and played well overall.”
   The Manville girls did a much better job controlling Sussex Tech’s inside players. Sarah Miebach, who dominated the first meeting with 21 points, scored 17 this time but 11 came in the fourth quarter when the game was out of reach. Miebach scored the team’s only points the first quarter when Manville opened with a 15-4 spurt.
   Four different Lady Mustangs hit baskets in the 8-0 run that started the game. Sophomore Kate Pornovets hit a jumper from the middle of the lane, sophomore Christine Pohl converted a fast-break layup, Mortensen drilled one from the left wing and Evanylo connected from the left side.
   After Miebach scored on two bank shots in the next minute, the Manville girls ended the first quarter with a 7-0 spurt that started a 12-point run. Mortensen swished a jumper from the right wing, Pornovets hit a free throw, Pohl connected from the right corner and Mortensen knocked down a shot from the top of the key to finish Manville’s best opening quarter of the season.
   ”We definitely looked like we had more confidence,” Evanylo said. “Once you start winning, you just want to keep playing.”
   The Lady Mustangs kept it going in the second quarter. They extended the run with a Mortensen free throw, Evanylo layup and Mortensen drive. Sussex Tech continued to struggle on offense and didn’t break into double figures as a team until under two minutes remained in the first half. By then, Manville had built an 18-point lead.
   ”It feels great when you’re out there making your shots,” Evanylo said. “It’s even fun when you’re watching the other girls from the bench. It’s a big change for us.”
   Manville has played well in spurts but never put together four good quarters of basketball in the same game. The team faded a bit in the fourth quarter but had such a huge lead that it didn’t matter. Consecutive baskets by Pohl, who scored eight points in the victory, gave Manville a 47-16 lead with 6:46 to play.
   Pornovets, who also collected seven rebounds, was the only player on either team to score in every quarter, finishing with nine points. The MHS bench also contributed nine points – Kim Jones (4), Rebecca Burke (3) and Cara Alpaugh (2).
   ”Our attitude was different today,” Donis-Jeppson said. “We knew we lost to them last time and it was close, so we felt we should have beaten them. I want to see them do this to other teams.”
   Maybe Monday’s win will catapult the Lady Mustangs to a fabulous February finish.
   ”This should really help us with the rest of our games,” Mortensen said. “We definitely deserve this.”