Hasbrouck Heights girls basketball coach Brett Roscoe would like to take last Friday night's game at Weehawken and use that blue print all through the season.
The Lady Aviators were able to use a suffocating defense on the Lady Indians at home and in turn it resulted in a 36-21 victory in the season opener and the home opener.
Senior guard Daniella Castellanos (5-feet-3-inches) and junior guard/forward Kristine Dugay led the way against Weehawken with 13 and eight points respectively.
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Along with the points the pair caused havoc on defense against the Indians. Castellanos had eight steals while Dugay added five steals. "We really picked on their guards and our defense turned into our offense," said Roscoe.
The Lady Aviators led 10-2 after the first period and 17-11 at halftime before pulling away in the second half.
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Hasbrouck Heights though step up to another level when they travel to play Immaculate Conception, the defending North Jersey Interscholastic Conference Meadowlands B champion, on Tuesday night.
The Aviators come into the 2011-12 season with a 10-14 record and played in the state tournament last season, losing in the first game to rival Wood-Ridge.
The Aviators only returned four letter-winners from last season, but Roscoe believes the team can finish at the .500 level and also garner another state tournament bid.
The number one player back from last season is Castellanos who averaged 13 points per game and three steals last season while being named to the All NJIC first team. "She likes to drive to the basket, but we're trying to get her to shoot from the outside," said Roscoe. "She plays very good defense and can play anywhere on the floor."
Roscoe knows she will get points from Castellanos, but needs to get consistent scoring from one of her other four starters in Dugay, senior guard Jordyn Anderson (5-4), senior forward/center Nicole Callen (5-6), senior forward Pauline Paulino (5-8). "I'm looking for her to be more consistent for us," said Roscoe about Dugay.
If Roscoe had her druthers she would go 10 deep on the floor to keep the starters fresh, but that depends on the score in the game. "I would love to play 10 and give the starters a breather because by the end of the season the starters are beat," said Roscoe.
One of the top players off the bench and one of the top newcomers is freshman forward/center Stephanie Pagan who gives something that Heights lack for most of the lineup. "She's a true balance and if she can develop, we could have a nice inside-outside combination," said Roscoe about Pagan playing inside so teams do not pressure the perimeter. "It's all about balance."
The other players who will see significant time off the bench are sophomore forward Swati Shivkumar (5-6), sophomore guard/forward Carolyn Clites (5-5), sophomore forward Kristen Delcalzo (5-6) and sophomore guard Maggie Filja (5-2).
For Heights some of the tougher games will come against the likes of Immaculate Conception and rival Wood-Ridge, both teams are the favorites in their division, the NJIC Meadowlands B division.
Boys basketball
The Heights boys basketball team (0-1) dropped its opener, 61-44, on the road in Weehawken in the NJIC Meadowlands B division battle.
The Aviators started out slow to start the game in the second half. In both the first and third quarters, Heights was outscored 15-8 in each. Joe Crabbe had a game-high 20 points for the Aviators, but the Indians had more balanced scoring attack. Heights could not stop Weehawken's Roberto Moran and David Strandberg who had 16 and 13 points respectively.
Gabe Toledo and Allen Ernst added nine and eight points respectively for the Aviators.
Wrestling
The Hasbrouck Heights wrestling team came in third in the 11-team Garfield Holiday Wrestling tournament on Saturday.
The Heights/Wood-Ridge wrestling team had three wrestlers in the tournament final and two Aviators came out on top in Marc Mastropietro and Edward Cox at 113 and 145 pound titles respectively. Heights Alec Claudio finished second in the 152-pound weight class.
For Mastropietro he decisioned Joe Rocca of Elmwood Park, 3-1 in the 113-pound final. To get to the finals, Mastropietro dominated Lodi's Dom Salvatore, 10-2.
For Cox he dispatched Owen Mayer of Demarest, 9-4 in the 145-pound final. To get to the finals Cox pinned Lodi's Anthony Mobilio in the second period at 3:20.
For Claudio he almost made through his finals match, but was pinned by Ridgefield Park's Chris Fitzgerald at 5:30. Claudio registered a pin of his own in the semi-finals to the get to the finals and the victim was Andy Hernandez of Garfield at 3:52.
Varsity schedule
Tuesday
Swimming
Heights at Secaucus, 4 p.m.
Boys basketball
Hawthorne at Heights, 7 p.m.
Girls basketball
Heights at Immaculate Conception, 7 p.m.
Wednesday
Wrestling
Heights at Rutherford, 5 p.m.
Indoor track
Heights at Garfield Shot and High Jump, 6 p.m
Thursday
Girls basketball
Heights at Saddle Brook, 7 p.m.
Saddle Brook at Heights, 7 p.m.
Friday
Indoor track
Heights at Totowa Indoor Track, 4 p.m.
Wrestling
Heights at Hackensack, 7 p.m.
Dec. 27
Heights at New Milford, New Milford Holiday Tournament, 5 p.m.
Dec. 28
Girls basketball
Heights at Butler, Butler Holiday Tournament, 1 p.m
Boys basketball
Heights at New Milford Holiday Tournament, TBD
Dec. 29
Girls basketball
Heights at Butler Holiday Tournament, TBD
Wrestling
Heights at Bergen County Tournament, Suffern, NY, TBD