Lady Raiders rally for CJ 4 win at Edison

Geigert fuels second half surge

By: Rudy Brandl
   
   EDISON — The Hillsborough High girls’ basketball team enjoyed a well-deserved standing ovation in the closing seconds of last week’s Central Jersey Group 4 quarterfinal game at Edison.
   Those same fans didn’t have much to cheer in the early stages of the game, but they stuck with Lady Raiders and rooted them on to an impressive playoff comeback victory on the road. The fifth-seeded HHS girls trailed by as many as eight points in the first half but stormed back to clip the Lady Eagles in their home nest by a 48-36 score.
   "It felt really good knowing they were behind us," Hillsborough senior guard Lauren Wang said afterward. "It’s great to know we have their support."
   The Hillsborough faithful stood and cheered as their team executed the spread offense in the closing minutes of the game. Armed with a comfortable lead, the Lady Raiders held the ball and played keep-away to close out the game.
   Like their supportive fans, the HHS girls didn’t give up after a sloppy start. While the Lady Raiders received solid efforts from all five starters in the second half, the inspired play of their bench turned the momentum in their favor before the break.
   "I give a lot of credit to our bench," Hillsborough head coach Jim Reese said. "They ignited us. They got a lot of key steals and got us back in the game. We were sluggish in the beginning but our bench picked us up."
   Reese inserted freshman guard Jess Rainey and juniors Stacey Lindle and Amanda Morrison. All three made significant contributions to help Hillsborough take a surprising lead at the half.
   Morrison made several steals at the back end of the trap defense and added a bucket inside. Rainey harrassed Edison’s ball handlers from the point of the trap and produced many of the home team’s seven turnovers in the quarter. Lindle provided a major offensive boost by nailing a 3-pointer from the right wing with 26 seconds left in the half.
   Lindle’s three cut Edison’s lead to one and Barrie Quick completed the 9-0 spurt with a put-back that beat the buzzer for a 23-22 lead. Despite being outplayed for 14 minutes, the Lady Raiders raced into the locker room with a lead.
   "That basket at the end of the half really pumped us up," said senior forward Erin Fuller, who scored four of her six points in the second quarter. "We got a few steals and we kept trapping them. It’s always our defense that pulls it out."
   Hillsborough’s Edison stepped up again in the third quarter, holding Edison without a field goal until the 1:45 mark. The Lady Eagles managed to score only four points in the frame, while HHS scored 11 to take a 34-26 lead.
   "We played a great third quarter," Reese said. "The trap started to work. It wasn’t working early, but we made some adjustments and worked very hard. We got a lot of secondary steals just by continuing to rotate."
   Hillsborough scored six straight points in the final 51 seconds of the third quarter. Jenn Geigert, who had a sloppy first half, hit two baskets on the fast break and Quick converted a long pass into a layup for the other hoop in the spurt.
   Edison had visions of a fourth quarter rally after Jackie Kuntz hit from the right corner, but Wang nailed a clutch three from the right wing that bumped the lead to 10 points with 6:12 to play.
   "We just ran the fast break and I tried to stay wide and be ready to shoot," Wang said. "It was open and coach yells at us if we don’t take that shot."
   The Lady Raiders didn’t hit another basket the rest of the game, but they weren’t interested in taking shots. Hillsborough connected on 10-of-14 free throws in the final 4:22. Geigert and Quick were both perfect in four attempts.
   "We knew we needed to make them to win the game," said Geigert, who scored 10 of her game-high 12 points in the second half.
   Quick finished with 11 points and seven rebounds. The junior center was the only HHS player to score in all four quarters. Starting forward Tiara Simpkins added six points.
   Hillsborough continued to play relentless defense and spread the offense until Edison fouled. The result was a 12-point victory and the team’s first berth in the sectional quarterfinals since 1998.
   "We’ve been playing tremendous defense," Reese said. "They had 16 of their 36 points in the first quarter. Our defense took them out of what they wanted to do."
   And the HHS fans stuck around to applaud feverishly.