ALLENTOWN: Redbird girls open with win

By Justin Feil, The Packet Group
   For the first time in their high school careers, the seniors on the Allentown High School girls basketball team have a state tournament win.
   Leah Ogrodnik continued her hot streak with 19 points, including five 3-pointers, to boost the fifth-seeded Redbirds to a 47-44 win over No. 12 Jackson Liberty in the Central Jersey Group III opener Monday. It’s the Redbirds’ first state tournament win since 2008, when they topped Spotswood in Central Jersey Group II.
   ”The kids were so ecstatic,” said Allentown head coach Linda Weise after her team improved to 14-11. “They felt so good afterwards. We talked in the locker room about that feeling, and how much better it was than crying after a loss. It was so much nicer being so happy. They were pretty thrilled.”
   The win earned the Redbirds a date at No. 4 Woodbridge, an 82-43 winner over Hightstown, in a game scheduled for Wednesday. The winner could potentially meet top-seeded Manasquan on Friday.
   ”It’s nice to be moving on,” Weise said. “It’s nice for the girls.”
   The Redbirds were not the only Messenger Press area team to move on to play in the second round of the state tournament. The New Egypt girls had a first round bye in CJ I as the No. 3 seed and were scheduled to take on No. 6 Asbury Park on Wednesday. The Robbinsville girls are the No. 12 seed in CJ II and were scheduled to play at Rumson-Fair Haven on Tuesday.
   In the boys CJ I tournament, eight-seeded New Egypt opened with a 47-43 win over Point Pleasant Beach on Monday. Tyler Barnes had 25 points to lead the Warriors, who were scheduled to play at top-seeded South Hunterdon on Wednesday.
   In the Allentown girls game, Jackson Liberty got out to a 13-10 lead in the first quarter, and they still held a three-point lead at halftime. The Redbirds came out stronger in the third quarter and tied it going into the fourth quarter. Down the stretch, they made the plays to sustain at least a two-point lead in the final minutes.
   ”I told the girls at halftime, they were beating us to loose balls, and they were having second and third shots because we were giving up rebounds,” Weise said. “And we turned the ball over too much. In second half, we battled back and beat them to loose balls and limited their second shots. It was one and done, and we took care of the basketball. We weren’t great with our foul shots, but we made shots when we needed to. Dana Sensi made three of them at the end of the game.”
   The senior trio of Ogrodnik, Sensi and Karlee Corvasce scored all but 10 of the Redbirds’ points. Corvasce finished with 12 points and Sensi had six, but it was Ogrodnik who had the hot shooting touch.
   ”They’re all capable of stepping up and doing that,” Weise said. “Whether it be her shooting 3s, or Dana’s gotten hot, or Karlee inside. She was hot and we rode her hand tonight. She was hot and knocked the shots down.”
   Kirsten Romano had six points, and Mandy Hornyak added four points. Ogrodnik had made five 3s in a game only one other time this year, in a tight win over Ewing. She’s looked the part of the senior who doesn’t want her season to end.
   It’s the sixth time in seven games that she has scored in double digits. In that stretch, she’s scored at least 14 points five times, and she responded to the state tournament with one of her best games.
   ”The kids were very confident,” Weise said. “They were excited at the opportunity. We had a nice little walkthrough after school. They were pretty focused and ready to play. It was nice to have the student body there to cheer. It’s what it’s all about in the state tournament.”
   The Redbirds stuck to their game plan throughout the game, and it worked as they controlled Jackson’s inside game.
   ”We knew what their strengths were,” Weise said. “We wanted them to beat us from the outside, it was good strategy. They had a good girl inside, April Szmcyak, she had a solid game.
   ”Leah, in the high post tried to stay in front of her and we had weakside help with Karlee or Mandy. We used a 1-3-1 trap that was pretty effective against them.”
   The outcome was still in question going into the fourth quarter. The teams were tied when the Redbirds relied on their veterans to keep the season alive.
   ”I told them, it was like the score was tied, 0-0,” Weise said. “It’s all about who wants it a little more. The student body was there. The boys players were there. It was exciting. It was nerve-wracking at the same time. Karlee had six points in the fourth quarter. She made some nice moves in the fourth quarter. Dana made a couple free throws. Everybody did what they had to do.”
   It all added up to the first state tournament win in five years for the Redbird girls, and a chance to keep their run and their season going.