By: centraljersey.com
Kayla Foster normally keeps her focus on rebounding, but she showed Friday that she has the potential to be quite an all-around player.
The sophomore forward scored a career-high 14 points to go with 14 rebounds as the West Windsor-Plainsboro North girls basketball team stopped Robbinsville, 51-36.
"It was actually like a whole team effort," Foster said. "And with the energy the whole team showed, that made me want to do better. Lately my games have been a little off. I wanted to show I could contribute and show them we can get a win that we should have."
Foster doubled her season average of 7 points per game to complement Jacquie Klotz, who scored 18 points and had 14 rebounds as the Knights improved to 7-4. Foster’s previous high of nine points came against Lawrence more than a month before Friday’s game.
Said Foster: "We want to show we don’t want to have to rely on her every game and we can help get the win."
WW-P North head coach Bob Boyce thinks that his team would be even tougher to stop if it did get more Foster-like contributions.
"If I could get somebody scoring 12-14 points per game to go with Klotz, I don’t think we’d lose to anybody in our area," Boyce said. "The problem is getting people to do that.
"There are some good candidates – Kerry McNeilly, Marilyn Allen, Kayla. If they can do that, we’ll more viable to do some damage."
Foster felt especially motivated after the Knights lost for the second time this season to Trenton, and they didn’t make it much of a game. But the game was a learning experience and could help in the long run if it can inspire other Knights the way it did Foster.
"I haven’t been rebounding and taking a lot of shots," she said. "That Trenton game made me want to go out and play my hardest and be proud of how I played and know I contributed to the win. I was really excited about what the team did and my personal accomplishments.
"We are a really young team," she added. "Everyone has to help each other. I think we’re at a place where we’re finally starting to connect more and play off each other. We’re not going to dwell on games in the past. We’re going to work toward the future."
Foster’s future is looking bright. She swung between freshman and junior varsity last year before coming up for a taste of the state tournament at the close of her freshman year. This year, she’s come in to be a significant piece of the puzzle.
"Everyone on our team has a different skill and strength," Foster said. "I do expect us to excel this season. We can work off each other and complement each other. I expected a lot of us. We have so much strength.
"Defense is my main strong point just because I like to know I’m preventing points and I can get rebounds so we can get the ball back to our offense. I try to bring defense to my team."
She has shown the Knights that she can do more than defense. She can boost their play at the other end as well.
"She should rebound more, she should score more," Boyce said. "I’ve been trying to work on her trying to score more.
"She’s a good athlete. She’ll be a good player. It takes a little bravado to look to score. She did that more than she’s done."
Defense is something that the Knights have been able to rely on all year. They are frustrating to score on, and it takes patience and poise to counter WW-P North’s pressure and switching defenses.
"We play good defense," Boyce said. "I’ve got some good athletic young kids that play some defense. Our defense keeps us in it so our offense can pick it up hopefully. They’re a good man pressing team and they play a good matchup zone."
Being able to count on the defense is big with a team of younger players. The first part of the season for Foster was spent in the transition from sub-varsity to varsity. It took more than just her athleticism to make the jump.
"It’s just the pace of the game is different," said Foster, who also played field hockey in the fall and used to be a soccer player. "You have to be able to run the sets. You have to be confident with the ball. It’s the pace of the game I had to get used to. JV is a lot slower. Varsity, you have to be down the court and have to be on defense."
The Knights hope to move toward double-digit wins when they play Hightstown today and Steinert on Friday.
"I think they’re right where I thought they could be," Boyce said. "It could have gone either way. We could just as easily be 3-8. Klotz is good. That helps. She’s consistent. She’ll score 18 points on an average night. The others are starting to pick it up and fill their roles. It’s coming along."
The Knights are settling into their roles and finding what they can do at the varsity level. Friday’s outpouring shows Foster can be an even bigger contributor as she grows more comfortable at this level.
"Now that I know I can do all of that in one game, I expect more from myself," Foster said. "The games that are going to come, I’m going to work harder to get more points, get more rebounds, get more assists, work on the areas that I’m not doing that well in and help my team get a win and a nice season."

