Madison Girls Basketball Rolls to Second Win

After starting the season with losses in its first two games, the Madison High School girls basketball team has rattled off two consecutive wins, the latest a 45-34 conquest of Boonton High School on Tuesday afternoon in the first round of the Lady Dodger Holiday Tournament in Madison.

While Madison struggled to open the season, the teams' confidence and chemistry have started to blossom, and the results are apparent as each member of this team seems to have a greater understanding of their roles and responsibilities on the court.

Head coach Stephen Finkelstein expressed his contentment with his team's effort, but stresses that they still must find consistency.

"We're an ebb and flow team," he said. "One minute we look great offensively, and then [there is] just some complacency here and there."

The Dodgers early on looked as good as they have all season, quickly jumping out to a 14-4 first-quarter lead on fast starts from senior captains Nikki Caruso, Sam Cicconi and Mackenzie Ellis.

"We just kept running the floor and getting our points that way," said senior guard  Caruso, who garnered Patch Athlete of the Week honors for her play last week and led all Dodgers with 16 points. "The plan was to just run the floor and get it to the post players as much as we can because we just wanted lay-ups the whole time."

That plan worked to perfection for Madison as the Dodgers used quality ball movement, great rebounding and tenacious defense to dominate the first half.

"We're feeling good," said senior point guard Cicconi, who recorded seven steals to go along with nine assists on Tuesday. "We had good energy in this game. I think we're feeling comfortable with each other, working well together now."

But with Madison holding a 32-15 lead in the third quarter and appearing set to put the game out of reach, Boonton came storming back.

"Offensively, we're confident in bursts," Finkelstein said. "We were in control today despite the [Boonton] runs. We just have to finish consistently. We have to find a way to put away a team when they're down."

But the Boonton surge wouldn't be enough to overcome Madison as a 13-point outburst from junior guard Corey DeBiasse helped the Dodgers seal win number two.

"We were able to hold the lead and we didn't really let them back to a point where I felt like they were going to overcome the lead," Finkelstein said. "I was really happy that we were able to hold them off."

The general feeling is that this team is beginning to round into shape.

"Everyone is just falling into their positions on the court, their roles," said senior forward Ellis, who recorded six points and nine rebounds. "We're executing. I think defense is always going to be our strong point."

Madison Player Stats

Player

2pt

3pt

FT

Total Points

Rebounds

Assists

Blocks

Steals

Nikki Caruso

7

0

2

16

2

4

0

1

Samantha Cicconi

2

0

0

4

0

9

0

7

Mackenzie Ellis

3

0

0

6

9

1

0

0

Tori Ellis

0

0

0

0

4

2

0

0

Corey DeBiasse

4

1

2

13

2

1

0

1

Margy Taylor

3

0

0

6

3

0

1

2

Total:

0

0

0

45

20

17

1

11