By Bob Nuse, Sports Editor
Some tough games to open the season set the stage for a terrific month of January for the West Windsor-Plainsboro High North girls basketball team.
“We played Notre Dame right out of the gate and lost by 10,” WW-P North coach Bob Boyce said. “We came back and beat Trenton and then we played East Brunswick and South Brunswick right after our break. That was four tough games to start the season. But then we started playing teams we should beat and we did. We had the one hiccup against Ewing. That was a tough, hard-fought game.”
After opening the season 1-3, the Knights have been on a roll since the calendar turned to 2016. WW-P has won 11 of its last 12 games and took a 12-4 record into Thursday’s scheduled game with WW-P South.
“I knew we had great potential,” said junior Jasmin Watson, who had a team-high 16 points in a 53-18 win over Princeton last Friday. “We had a couple new players come in to the team. I was surprised how well we meshed and how quickly it all happened. We knew we could have a good team this season if we all came together.”
The Knights have certainly come together well this season. Watson missed the second half of the season with an injury last year and it hurt the Knights down the stretch. She’s healthy this year and averaging 14.9 points a game to lead the team.
“She missed half the season,” Boyce said. “She had a knee injury and kept playing and then got to the point where she couldn’t play anymore. She is a really good player. We were 10-5 when she got hurt and we finished 11-15. She made that much of a difference.
“Chrissy DiCindio and Jasmin have started since they were freshmen. Natalie Everett has a lot a of experience. Ciahni Hunt is playing now after sitting out when she transferred from Trenton Catholic. We’re pretty much all juniors. Jordan Brown is a freshman and we have some sophomores. We have a pretty good nucleus returning.”
While the future looks bright for the Knights, the present looks pretty good as well. There is plenty of young talent as well as the return of Watson.
“It’s great feeling,” Watson said of being back on the court. “It felt like a blur last year. I mostly remember freshman year. We have good players and they have all improved. It helps a lot that Natalie, Chrissy and I have played together since seventh grade and Chrissy and I play AAU together (on the Central Jersey Lady Hawks). Ciahni, I have known for a while and played with her. And Jordan Brown is great and helps with our athleticism. We like to push the ball and do a lot of running.”
The upcoming schedule for the Knights is a tough one. They play Brick Memorial on Saturday at Robbinsville in the Raven’s Slam Dunk Cancer Tournament. And there are some tough league games still on the schedule.
“We have had a good set of games coming up,” Boyce said. “We won every game other than Ewing in January. We have a tough end to the schedule. Our end is like the beginning. After Brick we have ND and Trenton and we also still have Hopewell Valley and Alletown.
“I think the Mercer County Tournament will be interesting. Notre Dame is the best team, but Allentown beat them so you never know. Hopefully we can make a run in the county and in states. It would be nice to get a state home game.”
