Montville Girls Ready to Bounce Back

Montville girls basketball knew it had a difficult task against Jefferson on Thursday. Despite their best efforts the Mustangs fell to the Falcons by a 43-22 score. Jefferson standout Sammy Lapszynski was hard to contain. She scored 22 points and challenged the Mustangs on the boards. Imani Brown chipped in with six. Seven different Jefferson players contributed to the scoring.

Meg Weiss led the Mustangs with six points. After a slow start in which Jefferson took a 22-2 halftime advantage, Montville played a much better second half. The Mustangs were also very happy with their defense since Jefferson (16-1) normally averages close to 60 points a game. The loss dropped Montville to 11-7 but overall the girls basketball team is experiencing one of its most successful seasons in decades.

Scoring

Montville (11-7)  - 2-0-7-13- 22

Jefferson (14-1) – 12-10-12-9 - 43.

IN SHORT
Jefferson took control of the game early and built a 22-2 advantage at the half. The Mustangs are a perimeter shooting team and the Falcons took every effort to get out behind the arc and limit Montville’s chances of getting off a good shot. Jefferson also had a serious size advantage under the basket which made it difficult for the Mustangs to score on the drive. Lapszynski scored 13 of the Falcons 22 first-half points.

Montville played a much better second half and got good efforts especially from Meg Weiss who had to really battle under the boards. The Mustangs as a rule try to play upbeat and push the tempo, but Jefferson has enough experienced guards to control the ball.

This year’s Montville team is shaping up as one of the best in years. They have an 11-7 record and along with a few upsets the Mustangs have been beating the teams they need to beat. It is a youth oriented squad (three seniors, one junior, six sophomores). Although a loss like this is difficult to take, its lessons can only help as a building block and learning experience for the future. .

MUSTANG OF THE GAME
Meg Weiss  — She had the difficult job of trying to limit Lapszynski on the inside. Although she couldn’t shut her down, Weiss was able to snag her share of rebounds and also drew some fouls from her work in the paint. Her senior leadership also encouraged the younger players to continue their hard work. Her forte is defense and toughness but she also led the team in scoring on Thursday.  

OTHER KEY PERFORMANCES
Katie O’Reilly added four points and a solid defensive effort. The Mustangs’ leading scorer (13 points per game) was always heavily covered. Tami Lake (four points) and Carly DeNegris (3 points) are young players gaining experience on the court and making the most of their second-half opportunities.

THEY SAID IT
"Tonight, I think we stepped it up on the defensive end. The Jefferson team averages high 50s per game. To hold them to 43 points, we did a really good job. The goal was to help out down low on their forwards and to keep an eye on some of their guards and I think we did a good job doing that. We had a lot of turnovers in the first half. We made some bad passes and we really weren’t seeing the floor well. We changed a few things and made a few adjustments at halftime and we got better looks at the basket (in the second half).

“We always want to press. We always want to be up on them. The girls know that we have to create turnovers and we have to create easy offense for us. We live by our defense. That’s what we preach and that’s something that we have to do. … Athleticism and youth has been a big part of (this year’s turnaround). Our seniors have been with me for three years. Getting used to our system, getting used to what I expect, defense. We were 6-18 last year so this is a big jump. We left a few wins out there but we probably stole a few victories, too. I guess we are where we should be. Now we have to get ready for Morris Catholic (on Saturday). We have to do what we’ve been doing all year, provide pressure, cause turnovers and take it from there."–Montville girls basketball coach Derek Lynn