A fter suffering its first loss of the season, the South Brunswick High School girls basketball team has bounced back with three straight wins
The Lady Vikings were dominant in getting off to a 9-0 start, which included winning the championship at the holiday Brunswick Classic, before bumping into Edison on Jan. 12. South Brunswick went into the half with a 22-18 lead, but the host Eagles (11-2) used a 20-10 third quarter run to propel them to a 48-43 victory, despite a 23-point effort by Ashley DeGroff, who drilled five three-pointers.
Edison’s win also tightened up the race in the Greater Middlesex Conference (GMC) Red Division, where South Brunswick—with just one divisional loss— now leads the Eagles by one game.
“It was a tough loss, but Edison has a very talented team,” South Brunswick coach Beth Barrio said. “Sometimes a loss is a good thing because it makes you take a look at what you can improve and you realize that you need to refocus.”
The Lady Vikings are certainly focused. Following the loss, South Brunswick came out flying in its next game, which was against Steinert. Barrio’s team jumped out to a 24-6 lead in the opening quarter and never looked back en route to a 55-24 triumph. Danielle Padovano paced the offense with 17 points, while DeGroff added 11 and Vanessa Perdomo connected for 10 more. On Jan. 17 the Lady Vikings went back to work against a struggling Old Bridge team. South Brunswick built a four-point first period lead, which it extended to eight points at intermission. Barrio’s team dominated the third period and was well on its way to a 62-34 win. Danielle Roberts led the way with 20 points and Padovano added 15 points, nine of them coming from the free throw line.
South Brunswick then made short work of winless J.P. Steven on Jan. 19 to improve its record to 12-1 overall.
One reason for the Lady Vikings success has been the play of Padovano, a junior who has started for the last three years. The 6-0 forward has controlled the glass at both ends of the floor. She leads the team in scoring with a 15.5-point average, as well as in rebounding, where she averages 13 caroms.
The offense is further aided by Roberts and DeGroff, who both average in double figures. Perdomo and Victoria Jackson can also put the ball in the hoop, while hardworking guard Kelly O’Brien keeps opponents on their toes with exceptional defensive play.
One of Barrio’s goals this year was to consistently get off to fast starts—something the Lady Vikes have been able to do in most of their games.
“Right now we’re focused on winning the division and then we’ll focus on the GMC tournament,” Barrio said. “We don’t want to get ahead of ourselves. The girls have 12 wins because they’ve worked on the details and doing the little things. If anything, we need to make sure we continue doing that. That’s what wins games.”