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Pulling each other up and coming together as a team the Nettes beat a tough New Providence squad 38-18. Channeling their emotion into determination they played stifling defense against a team 1 and ½ games ahead of them in the standings. Breanne Mooney did not miss a shot the entire game leading the team with 12 points. Mooney also had 4 assists while working terrific give & go’s and pick & rolls with Allison Weber. Weber pulled in rebound after rebound and had a season high 5 assists. Playing better and better each game Weber also poured in 6 points. However, it was her passing that not only showed great improvement, but was the difference in the game. Megan Cieri’s composed leadership is always the rock upon which the Nettes build their press break. Her quality passes and calming influence destroyed New Providences hopes of pressuring turnovers. Cieri’s defensive contributions were a major factor in the win. Cieri also scored 2 points. Leah Ginefra contributed all over the court. Playing well at point and aggressive on defense, she helped hold New Providence in check while putting up 5 points. Kate Condon had another good game at guard and caused many turnovers with her speedy defense. Kate also added 4 points. Jessie Condon put in another tough defensive effort and showed terrific ball handling, breaking the press repeatedly late in the game. She went coast to coast twice, driving in and around the defense and feeding her twin sister for 2 of her 4 assists. Kayla Aljure played possibly her best game of the year so far. Kayla had a game high 7 rebounds, 6 points and 2 steals. Her defense was as important as any in the win. Rachel Usdin had another fine defensive effort while pulling down 3 rebounds. Amanda Stein scored 2 points and played well on “D”. Jackie Esposito, a tough, determined post player gave another fine effort. Jessica Farber (playing for the first time after an early season wrist injury) contributed with terrific defense while getting a rebound and a steal. Nikki Athan, a 7th grader getting some experience on the 8th grade team chipped in with 3 points and her typical quality defense. Next up for the Nettes; Chester comes in to try and avenge their last second loss in December.
The Nettes lost to Chatham 39-34 last night. The Nettes fell behind early 7-0 only to be led back into the game by Allison Weber. Allison, playing particularly inspired basketball scored 11 points and had 8 rebounds and 2 assists. Unfortunately, the Nettes ran out of steam in the 4th quarter and gave up a 30-22 lead. Costly turnovers once again hurt the team. However, the foul shooting was a source of encouragement as the team went 6-7 from the line. Guards Breanne Mooney and Kate Condon teamed up with quality defense, great passing and 6 points each. Leah Ginefra had 3 steals and poured in 5 points. Megan Cieri’s leadership helped them get back in the game with quality pressbreaking passes. Cieri also scored 6 points and pulled in 4 rebounds. Jessie Condon & Kayla Aljure each had an assist and played good "D". Aljure contributed 2 rebounds as well. 7th grader Nikki Athan played quality defense and had one steal. Rachel Usdin pulled down one board and helped out on "D". Next the Nettes travel to New Providence.
The Nettes lost their fourth straight game tonight to Westfield 35-29. Starting the 4th quarter tied 24-24 the dominant 6 foot Westfield Center took control of the game blocking 4 shots and scoring 6 of her 9 points to seal the victory. The Nettes backcourt tandem of Breanne Mooney and Kate Condon kept them in the game by scoring 10 & 7 points respectively. Jessie Condon added 4 points while playing good "D" as well. Allison Weber did a good job on the low post and chipped in with 1 point. Leah Ginefra (3 points),Megan Cieri (2 Points)and Kayla Aljure (2 points) all played stellar defense keeping the game close all night. Jackie Esposito, Rachel Usdin & Amanda Stein all had another good defensive effort. The Nettes lost the game on the foul line. Shooting 1-9 in the second half from the stripe and 2-11 overall while Westfield went 5-5 for the game. Next the Nettes visit a tough Chatham team.
The Nettes lost 49-20 to an undefeated Berkeley Heights team last night. While they played hard they just could not get a shot to fall. It is hard to imagine based on the score but, they gave a decent effort on defense. The opponents height was too much to overcome. Leah Ginefra led the team with 6 points. Breanne Mooney scored 5 and Allison Weber 4. Kayla Aljure played good "D" and scored 3 points. Jackie Esposito and Kate Condon each chpped in one. Jessie Condon, Megan Cieri & Rachel Usdin all played well on defense.
Pride. It’s how the coaches feel about this team. It’s what they play with when their backs are up against the wall. Trailing 30-20 with 13 min’s left to play we felt a need to challenge the team in a way that would wake them up. They went on an 18-5 run to take a 38-35 lead with less then 2 minutes to play. Unfortunately, we missed 5 straight foul shots, gave up a lucky 3 point bank shot, and 1 foul shot to fall behind again, 39-38 with 44 seconds left. However, after perfectly excuting a press break play Allison Weber stepped to the line down by one and made both foul shots to give us a 40-39 lead. A defensive mistake led to an open layup giving Millburn the 41-40 victory. The lesson learned is that when we give 100% we can stop any team from scoring. The biggest challenge is to get the team to play with that pride 32 min’s a night. If we do that, we will succeed and no one will care what the final score is.
