Friday,
January 10, 2014
By Rich Barton
NJS.com Staff Writer
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Lindsey Rogers was the only player from either team to score in double-figures, finishing with 14 for IHA which improved to 5-2 with a 44-35 win at Passaic Tech on Thursday afternoon. |
WAYNE – Over the past few seasons whenever Immaculate Heart Academy had the luxury of a 6-foot-1 point guard with Division 1 talent to get them out of trouble when it reared its head during a girls basketball game. With Wilkes now playing at Villanova, this year's Blue Eagles need a collaborative effort when things get tight. Facing a Passaic County Tech team looking for a signature win on Thursday afternoon, IHA answered the bell with a big second-quarter that showed the potential of what this team could be come time for county and state tournaments.
Stephanie Olear came off the bench to hit a 3-pointer to end the first quarter. That snapped a tie and kick-started a 15-0 run in which five different players scored as IHA led by double-digits from that point until the final seconds in a 44-35 triumph over at Passaic County Tech in Wayne.
“We got off to a slow start, but we got our legs under us in the second quarter,” said IHA head coach Steve Silver. “PCT is a tough team who can force turnovers if you don’t take care of the ball. In the second quarter, we played one of our best quarters of the year on both ends of the floor.”
Brianna Nickson hit back-to-back jumpers as PCT hung tough early. The teams were tied inside the final minute of the opening stanza when Olear canned a 3-pointer from the wing to give IHA a 15-12 lead after one quarter.
That gave the Blue Eagles some momentum and they ran with it, literally. Consecutive transition buckets by Alex Mesropyan and Lindsey Rogers broke the game open. PCT’s Cedileth Pacheco finally snapped the eight-minute scoreless drought with a 3-pointer, but by that time, the damage had already been done and IHA held a double-digit lead at halftime, 27-15.
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Kierona Morton had eight points and eight rebounds for Passaic Tech, which is now 4-2 on the season. |
“It comes down to being smart with the ball and shot selection, we did both of those very well in the second quarter,” added Silver. “We did a nice job in transition all game. It’s a big advantage when you could have three bigs on the floor (Jordan Wilmoth, Kayla Oge, and Rogers) at the same time who can really run the floor and finish.”
IHA never led by less than the final margin throughout the second half. PCT attempted to make a pair of runs in the fourth quarter, but the Bulldogs were thwarted by baskets by Emilie Cieslak and Kayla Oge as IHA cruised home for its second straight win.
Rogers was the only player from either team to score in double-figures with 14 points for IHA (5-2). Wilmoth and Oge added eight and seven points, respectively. Nickson led PCT (4-2) with nine points, while Kierona Morton had eight points and eight rebounds.
Although league, county, and section titles comprise the list of trophies that IHA hopes to amass this season, the Blue Eagles know that there is still a lot of work left to do in order to achieve those goals.
“There are still so many games left to play, so we’re taking them one at a time,” said Rogers. “We know the county tournament will come up before we know it, but it’s still a long ways away. I think we’ve bounced back from a tough loss (49-48 to Paterson Eastside) well and we want to keep that momentum going.”
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