The Records: The girls’ basketball team entered its game against Westfield on Saturday 15-7. Westfield came to the game 3-15.
The Final Score: Scotch Plains, 37-21. The home team Raiders outscored
Westfield 10-0 in the second quarter to take the lead for good in Saturday afternoon’s Union County Tournament preliminary round game at Rahway High School’s Earl H. Walter Gymnasium. Scotch Plains, the eighth seed, will next face ninth-seeded Summit Thursday night at Rahway in a first-round encounter. Scotch Plains swept Summit in Union County Conference-Watchung Division play. The two first round games from the top side of the bracket will be played at Rahway and the two from the bottom side of the bracket will be played at Roselle Catholic. All four games are scheduled for Thursday night, with starting times of 6 and 7:30. “This year is a lot different, we’re a lot healthier,” Scotch Plains sophomore guard Taylor Sebolao said. “We’ll take it one game at a time.”
The Difference: After Westfield took a 10-5 lead at the end of the first quarter following senior guard Danielle Miller’s only 3-pointer of the game – she finished with six points, all in the opening period – Scotch Plains stepped-up defensively in the second quarter. The Raiders limited Westfield to nine shots, with most possessions consisting of only one. Offensively in the second eight minutes, the Raiders received six points from senior forward Aysia Peterson and four from Sebolao. Westfield also committed five turnovers in the period, compared to three by Scotch Plains. The Raiders out-rebounded the Blue Devils by a 12-4 margin. For the game, Peterson paced Scotch Plains in scoring with 15 points and rebounding with 16, with many of her boards coming on offense as she was able to follow up with inside baskets. Sebolao produced 11 points and nine rebounds. Scotch Plains and Westfield previously split UCC-Watchung Division games, each beating the other at home.
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The Heroes: Sebolao drove through the lane and made a basket to give her team the lead for good at 11-10 with 1:13 left in the second quarter. Peterson followed with two inside baskets to give Scotch Plains a 15-10 halftime advantage.
The Quotes: "It was a whole team effort,” Sebolao said. “We played good defense in the second quarter, helping out with screens and boxing out.”
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UNION COUNTY TOURNAMENT
PRELIMINARY ROUND GAME AT RAHWAY
17-WESTFIELD (3-16) 10 0 4 7 - 21
8-SCOTCH PLAINS (16-7) 5 10 8 14 - 37
WESTFIELD BLUE DEVILS:
15-Martina Landeka 2-2-0-10
20-Charlotte Lorentzen 1-0-0-2
12-Sophia DeVita 1-0-1-3
4-Danielle Miller 0-1-3-6
10-Ellie Callinan 0-0-0-0
23-Krista Embrett 0-0-0-0
3-Tess Lukowiak 0-0-0-0
21-Carolyn Maguire 0-0-0-0
Starters: Callinan, Lorentzen, Embrett, Miller, Landeka.
Totals: 4-3-4-21.
SCOTCH PLAINS-FANWOOD RAIDERS:
22-Evie Klotz 0-0-1-1
30-Katie Harper 0-1-4-7
24-Aysia Peterson 6-0-3-15
23-Taylor Sebolao 2-0-7-11
25-Renee Oliver 1-0-0-2
20-Tara Sweeney 0-0-1-1
21-Rebecca Kreyer 0-0-0-0
14-Alyssa RIporti 0-0-0-0
Starters: Sweeney, Sebolao, Kreyer, Peterson, Klotz
Totals: 9-1-16-37.
