Girls basketball
By: Carolyn M. Hartko
Starting out with a roster that is more than 50 percent underclassmen is not fun for any high school varsity team. But when that team is a girls’ basketball squad that plays in the Greater Middlesex Conference’s Red Division, prospects can be pretty dim.
That’s the position South Brunswick finds itself in this year. SB graduated eight seniors (three of them starters) from last year’s team that finished up 9-12 overall, and 4-8 in the Red Division. With two freshman and five sophomores on the 2000-2001 varsity, this year’s goals are pretty basic.
"We’re very small, and we’re very young," fourth year head coach Jaymee Boehmer said. "So we’re just really trying to be competitive. It’s a whole different team. We have a whole different philosophy. We’re going to try to press and run this year if we can, because we are so small. We’re trying to rotate a lot of kids in. Everyone’s playing."
South’s lack of experience showed in the team’s first two outings. They lost on opening day (last Friday) to division rival Bishop Ahr 63-31, then dropped a crossover with the White Division’s North Brunswick on Tuesday. The final score in the latter was 36-35, but mid-way through the fourth quarter South Brunswick had been up by eight points. A little bit of panic, and not knowing how to use the clock worked against the Lady Vikings.
"It comes down to little things, like when there’s three seconds left on the clock, you’ve got to get the shot up," Boehmer said. "At one point, I called a time out to show them the score board, and that we were ahead by six points. But the other team had more experience, and they deserved the win at the end. I know we’ll get better in time. This just hurts because it’s one point, and because it’s North Brunswick."
South had been trailing by five as the third quarter was winding down. Sophomore forward Larissa Rogan hit a short jumper in the paint with one minute left that closed the gap to 27-24. That basket was the beginning of an 11 point run for the Vikings. Senior guard Ali Niemczyk (eight points) dunked two and dished out two assists in the run. That left South up 35-27 with 3:49 left on the clock, but North put together a nine-point rally to seal up the victory. The final shot of the game was a three-pointer from Raider Alana Ponder a minute before the final buzzer. Ponder led all players with 12 points earned on four treys. North’s big girl, Lorene Brown, finished with 11 points.
"I think we worked very hard," Boehmer said. "I’m sure we out-rebounded them. We played great defense tonight, especially against their big kid."Junior forward Meghan Jeffries (5-8) contributed six points off the bench. She shot 3-for-6 from the floor, and it would have been 5-for-6 if two rim-hangers had fallen the right way.
"Meghan was in the game because Meghan’s working hard on offense, and she’s been putting lay-ups in," Boehmer said. "She’s a kid who doesn’t normally start, but she worked hard in there tonight, along with Pam Weiss, a freshman."
Niemczyk (5-4), and junior point guard Lisa DiTuro (5-3) are the only returning starters in this year’s lineup. Junior forward Tahira Gillespie (5-9) saw some varsity time. Newcomers in the starting rotation are Rogan, a 5-7 forward, and freshman Heather Domotor, a 5-7 guard.
Junior reserve Caroline Alvarez (5-4) is a good ball handler who got some varsity minutes last year. Jeffries led the JV team in scoring and assists in 2000. Rogan, Karin Jensen and Emily Sokol all played freshman ball last winter, and Rogan and Sokol led the ninth graders in scoring and rebounding.
Rounding out the current roster are sophomore Nicole Monfasani (up from JV) and Weiss, a 5-9 forward. Sophomore Alissa Goldsmith, who played both JV and varsity last year, in on the injured list while shin splints left over from soccer season heal.
"It’s really hard to tell right now how things are going to go," Boehmer said. "It’s different. It’s great though because they’re such hard-working kids. They’re certainly the hardest working basketball kids I’ve ever worked with."
South Brunswick is again hosting a holiday tournament, the Viking Classic. The Lady Vikings meet Woodbridge in the opening round at 7:00 PM on Wednesday, Dec. 27. The other teams visiting this year are Hillsborough and West Windsor/Plainsboro South. The second round games take place on Friday, Dec. 29, with times determined by Wednesday’s outcome.