Tuesday,
December 23, 2014
By Rich Barton
NJS.com Staff Writer
|
Stella Mayer, a 1,000-point scorer, had 16 points in the first half and 19 in the game as Dwight-Englewood picked up its first win of the season, 57-25, over Queen of Peace on Monday. |
ENGLEWOOD – Whenever a pressure situation arose last year, the Dwight-Englewood girls basketball team looked to its star guard to bail them out. Stella Mayer was able to do that from time to time, but in order for this year's team to be consistently successful, head coach Marissa Moore knew that it could not be Mayer and four other players watching her. It would have to be a collaborative effort on both ends of the floor. Looking for their first win of the season on Monday, the Lady Bulldogs suffocated Queen of Peace with team defense to take control of the game early and never looked back.
Dwight-Englewood closed the first quarter on a 15-0 run and had the game well in hand by halftime to pick up its first win of the season, 57-25, in Englewood.
“We got off to a really slow start when we lost to Secaucus (down 25-3 after one quarter, lost 70-54) and we didn't want that to happen again,” said Dwight-Englewood's Regan Contrucci, a sophomore guard. “Stella is a great player but we can't just rely on her to do everything. I think the rest of us are playing with a lot more confidence and we know how to get the open player the ball for a good shot. When you start making that extra pass to find the open player, good things start happening. I thought we really stepped it up today and we were hitting shots from everywhere.”
|
Allison Guadenzi scored 11 points to lead Queen of Peace. |
Both teams got off to a slow start with Queen of Peace's Chelsea Kazska hitting a baseline jumper to tie the game at 4 midway through the opening stanza. The Bulldogs then ramped up the pressure and forced five turnovers on the next six possessions, turning four of those five turnovers into baskets on the other hand. Four different players scored, including a 3-pointer by Contrucci and a jumper from Heather Goldfarb in the midst of a 15-0 run that put Dwight-Englewood firmly in control after one quarter of play, 19-4.
“They were all over us and we didn't handle the pressure,” said Queen of Peace head coach Paul Passamano. “We don't have a lot of players who have varsity experience so we're learning as we go. I thought we broke the press early and got some good shots. But as a very inexperienced team, against teams like Secaucus and Dwight-Englewood you have to break the press every time down the floor and keep getting baskets to stay step for step with them.”
The second quarter was more of the same as the Mayer sisters, Stella and Lexi, helped wear down the Golden Griffins. Goldfarb hit another jumper and Stella Mayer scored on a driving layup late in the half as Dwight-Englewood padded its lead heading into the locker room with a 38-12 halftime lead. In the first half, all seven Bulldogs who took the floor scored.
The halftime margin was 26 and it never dipped below that in the second half as the Bulldogs cruised to their first win of the year. Stella Mayer, who scored her 1,000th career point in the season-opening loss to Secaucus, led all players with 19 points (16 in the first half), 7 steals, 6 assists, and 5 rebounds. Contrucci also reached double-digits with 10 points. Goldfarb, Lexi Mayer, and Isabel Guerriero had 8, 7, and 6 points, respectively, for Dwight-Englewood (1-1).
|
Regan Contrucci scored 10 points for Dwight-Englewood, which evened its record at 1-1. |
Shooting guard Allison Guadenzi was the only player to reach double-figures with Queen of Peace (0-2) with 11 points.
Dwight-Englewood will look to keep its winning ways going over the Christmas break, but it will not come easy. The Bulldogs will play in the Union City Holiday Tournament with a tough first-round matchup against North Bergen, which has one of the better centers in North Jersey in 6-foot-3 Icies Hammer. But if the Bulldogs have any hopes of winning a game in the Bergen County Tournament or making a run in the Non-Public B North state tournament, competing in games like those can only help them in the long run.
“We want to challenge ourselves and see how we stack up against the better teams in the area,” said Dwight-Englewood head coach Marissa Moore. “We played with a lot of poise and played smart. I'm very pleased with the balance we showed today, everyone had a chance to put the ball in the basket. Playing North Bergen, playing Immaculate Conception later in the season, we're excited about those opportunities. It's not about the wins and losses at this point. Granted it's always nice to win, but it's about pushing yourself to the limit. These girls want the challenge. As a small school, we're very excited to see how we fare against a big (Group 4) team like North Bergen. I'm sure we'll learn a lot about ourselves in the next week and we're excited to see where we are.”
CLICK HERE FOR MORE PHOTOS FROM THIS GAME. TO BUY A COLLECTOR'S PRINT
OF THIS STORY, PLEASE VISIT 4FeetGrafix.com. |