The Sayreville War Memorial High School girls’ basketball team has solved one issue, but there is another key element the Bombers must focus on as the season progresses.
Sayreville delivered a productive third quarter in its 45-41 victory over North Brunswick Township High School on Jan. 16, which was a quarter the Bombers have struggled with this season. However, not connecting on foul shots in crucial spots in the game almost prevented the Bombers from defeating the visiting Raiders.
The Bombers built a 41-31 lead at the end of the third quarter, but they had to hold off North Brunswick to pick up their seventh victory of the season.
Sayreville coach Janet Cook was happy with the team’s performance in the third quarter, but she was upset with the fact that the Bombers didn’t close the game out.
“North Brunswick is definitely a tough opponent,” Cook said. “They’ve been playing better. We’ve been rebounding better and playing better defense. We’ve been struggling in the third quarter, but we came out and really increased our lead. That’s something we’ve been talking about a lot. We had the ‘third quarter letdown’ against Woodbridge High School (53-44 loss on Jan. 11) and other teams this year. The one thing that we definitely need to do is sure up our free throws. We had a 10-point lead late in the fourth quarter and instead of increasing our lead, we kept missing free throws and let them almost come back on us.”
Junior Lyssandra Delacosta and sophomore Jackie Ventricelli led Sayreville with 11 points each. Ventricelli also had four steals.
Freshman Stephanie Van Note and sophomores Jaci Jurkiewicz and Janeva Holland each contributed five points, and juniors Serina Townes and Kristen Signorile each scored four points for the Bombers.
Junior Renee Hales led the Raiders with 12 points, while senior Khayla Flemmings pitched in with 10 points and junior Kayla Scher ended with nine points. Juniors Tara Jennings and Keyara Hill had five and three points, respectively.
Cook is looking for more efficiency from the Bombers, particularly in their offensive shot selection.
“We’re taking a lot of shots, but they’re not always the best shots,” she said. “And we definitely want to improve our 3-point defense. We’ve been giving up a lot of threes to girls we know that can shoot, so that’s something we need to sure up.”
Cook is pleased with the depth Sayreville can provide each game.
“Lyssandra Delacosta played really well for us,” the coach said. “Jackie Ventricelli also played really well last night. But we have other girls that contribute as well. Van Note and Jurkiewicz can do a lot of things for us. We kind of have a seven-person rotation. The girls know that everyone can contribute every night, so that’s been a really good thing for us.”
The Bombers followed with a 58-23 victory over John F. Kennedy Memorial High School in Iselin on Jan. 18 before falling to Bishop George Ahr High School, 64-43, in Edison on Jan. 20. Sayreville holds an 8-5 record so far this season.
The Raiders are 5-6 this season.They suffered a second straight defeat in losing to Bishop Ahr, 60-35, in Edison on Jan. 18; however, they rebounded with a 44-35 victory against Old Bridge High School on Jan. 20 in North Brunswick.