PLUMSTED: New Egypt falls in final

Warriors return despite graduation losses

By Bob Nuse, The Packet Group
   METUCHEN — The expectation wasn’t to win another Central Jersey Group I title.
   But once the New Egypt girls got back to the championship game, they wanted to win. So, while there was great pride in putting together a strong late-season run to reach the championship game, the Warriors were also disappointed to come away on the short end of a 40-22 score on Tuesday night at top-seeded Metuchen.
   ”We graduate three seniors last year, including a 1,000 point scorer, a 6-foot-1 center, and a very good, smart, power forward,” New Egypt coach Matt Brogan said. “So we lost 95 percent of our offense from last year. And we brought back one starter. I think once I get over this loss, the girls can be proud of getting this far this year.
   ”We didn’t expect to be competing for a sectional championship again. But I saw a lot of good things throughout the season and it started to click defensively for us the last month and half of the year.”
   The Warriors won the CJ I title last year but came back with a younger cast this year. Against Metuchen, the defense kept them in the game through the first half as they trailed, 16-10, at halftime. But an 8-0 run by the Bulldogs to open the third quarter increased the lead to 24-10 and it was 27-13 after the third quarter.
   New Egypt got within 27-19 with a 6-0 run to open the fourth before Metuchen put the game away with 13 straight points.
   ”It was a tough game coming on the road with an incredibly inexperienced team for the most part,” said Brogan, whose team finished 13-12. “We did have two seniors, but only one returning starter. To get her was a great achievement for the team. They really banded together at the end of the year.”
   Julie Ciak led the Warriors with nine points, while Alexa Magnotta added seven. Bridgette Buckalew, Kassandra Stillwell and Shelby Goff each added two points in the loss.
   And even though the Warriors fell just short if of a repeat, they had a nice run to get back to a third straight sectional final.
   ”I try to teach the girls the post-season is a whole different season,” Brogan said. “Anything can happen in the playoffs and they believed that and that is what got us here.”