Summit Cruises to 1st Round Victory in States

Fifth-seeded Summit forced 19 turnovers to help them get off to a fast start in their 58-28 victory over 14th-seeded Voorhees in the first round of the 2012 NJ Central Group 2 state tournament. Kate Martino led the way for Summit with 20 points, five assists and five steals. 

"It's the first state game so there definitely were some nerves," said Martino. "We really wanted to go out there and get a lead and put some pressure on them."

The Hilltoppers did just that and jumped out to an 11-point advantage at the end of the first quarter behind a suffocating defense that overwhelmed the Voorhees attack. Summit's desire to apply pressure was evident from the opening whistle as Nicole Johnson (six points, five steals, five rebounds) recorded the first of the team's 17 steals in the game's early seconds.

"We defintely wanted to put them under pressure," said Martino. "We felt we could make them uncomfortable."

The success on the defenisve end continued for the Hilltoppers, with the team getting two more steals over the next 30 seconds and seven more in the rest of the quarter for a grand total of 10.  

Summit took a 25-12 lead into the locker room with Martino alone matching the opposition's point total. It was smooth sailing from there, as the Hilltoppers were able to continue to extend their lead even without as much of their suffocating zone press from the first half.

Union County's newest member of the 1000-point club, Kelly Osmulski, recorded 13 points, four rebounds and three steals.

The Hilltoppers will host sixth-seeded Holmdel in the quarterfinals on Thursday night at 7:00 pm.

Summit    (21-5)       15          10         14        19        58 Voorhees (7-17)         4           8          9          7        28