After a great win against Westfield last Tuesday, the Scotch Plains-Fanwood girls basketball team has encountered some bad luck. Injuries to Aysia Peterson (knee), Becca Kreyer (teeth), and Taylor Sebolao (concussion) have forced the young team to adjust roles and add new responsibilities.
"It's been a tough couple of weeks for us with all the injuries," explained head coach Jennifer Ryan. "Aysia had a great game for us against Westfield and then goes down in the next game with a knee injury. Then we lose Becca because of chipped teeth on Saturday against Linden, and then Taylor gets a concussion. It's been a whirlwind lately. We started the season with 12 players and now we're down to 10, so everybody is a little bit off."
Peterson and Sebolao did not play on Thursday afternoon as the Raiders faced the undefeated Summit Hilltoppers (7-0).
Find out what's happening in Scotch Plains-Fanwoodfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Both teams started the game playing man-to-man defense. Summit applied a full-court press that the young Raiders had a tough time handling. Hilltopper point guard Kate Martino established herself early with a steal, assist, and layup after just one minute of play. Hilltoppers Emily Cristaldi and Kelly Osmulski also each had steals in the first quarter that resulted in layups.
Summit got out to a quick 6-0 lead, at which point, SP-F called a timeout to get settled and discuss how to handle the press.
Find out what's happening in Scotch Plains-Fanwoodfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
After the timeout, freshman forward Renee Oliver put SP-F on the board with a nice drive to the basket for a layup. Seconds later, Oliver blocked an Osmulski shot that would have put the Hilltoppers up by 10.
In the second quarter, the Raiders came out with more offensive firepower. Despite her previous injury, Becca Kreyer showed toughness when she dove on the floor for a loose ball. Her hustle paid off, as freshman Tara Sweeney hit a right-handed hook shot on the following possession. Seconds later, Raider Erin Brown hit a left-handed layup to make the score 18-6 with 6:00 remaining in the half.
In an effort to slow the game's pace, SP-F played the remainder of the half in 1-3-1 zone defense. Summit followed suit and went to 2-3 zone. At the half, Summit held a convincing lead, 30-6.
Action continued in the third quarter when SP-F's Evie Klotz hit an early three-pointer. Three minutes later, the junior guard weaved her way through Summit's defense and hit a layup to make the score 37-11. Klotz had 7 points in the third quarter. With 45 seconds left in the third, Raider Erin Brown came up with a steal and short jumper.
Summit responded quickly with a Cristaldi three-pointer and layup. Martino hit a pull-up jumper and a pair of free throws to make the score 43-17 at the end of the third.
SP-F continued to hustle and play hard in the fourth quarter. Renee Oliver made a nice pass to Evie Klotz as she rolled to the basket for a layup but was fouled. Klotz hit both foul shots to make the score 43-19 with 6:41 remaining in the game. Minutes later, Linsey Phelan hit a jump-shot to make the score 48-21. When the buzzer sounded, the final score was Summit 51, Scotch Plains 21.
"They're a well-coached team," said Summit head coach Brian Erickson. "Coach Ryan knows the game inside and out. Her team plays very hard. They dive on the floor for loose balls, they play good defense, and they hustle. They give you every ounce of energy they have, which forces you to play well. That's the sign of a well-coached team. We scouted them, and we knew we had to be sharp today."
Evie Klotz had a team-high nine points on the afternoon for the Raiders. Sweeney and Brown each had four.
"They were up by a comfortable lead, so we tried to just mix things up and try to get something positive out of the game," said Coach Ryan. "As a young team, we are already trying to find out who we are, but now, with the injuries, we're trying to re-create ourselves again. We're counting on some young players who don't have that much varsity experience, but we played hard the entire game and a lot can be said for that."
The Raiders' next game is against New Providence this Saturday at 1 p.m.
