Girls Basketball Outlasts Hillside in UCT First Round

SCOTCH PLAINS–The Summit girls basketball team traveled to Union Catholic High School to take on the Hillside Comets in the first round of the Union County Tournament on Monday night. The Hilltoppers came out on top 63-44

Although Hillside was the quicker of the two teams, their quickness often resulted in sloppy play. In the opening quarter, Summit's Emily Cristaldi made four steals that resulted in six points for the Hilltoppers. Point guard Kate Martino sank a long two-pointer for her team, and Cassie Hall hit Kelly Osmulski with a long pass for the fast-break layup. Another Osmulski shot put Summit ahead 16-11 after one quarter of play.

To open the second quarter, Martino drove hard in the lane and laid a perfect pass off to Osmulski for the layup and foul. Osmulski missed the "and-one" foul shot, but senior Michelle Burian grabbed the rebound and sank the put-back. One minute later, Burian hit a 12-footer to put the Hilltoppers up 22-12 with six minutes remaining in the first half.

In an attempt to slow Summit's scoring, Hillside switched their man-to-man defense to an extended 2-3 zone. The Hilltoppers didn't seem to notice, though, and kept scoring at will. Martino hit Osmulski with another nice pass for the reverse layup, and on the following play, drove the baseline and dished the ball to Cristaldi for the short jumper. The 7-0 second quarter run helped Summit extend their lead to 30-18 at the half.

"I tell the girls to play with a purpose: cut with a purpose, shoot with a purpose, pass with a purpose," Summit head coach Brian Erickson said. "I think sometimes we get caught up in the run and run and run, and that works for us most of the time, but we need to remember to slow things down some, too. It's gotten to the point where the girls just get it–their basketball IQ has really improved."

Summit's smart play and aggressive defense continued to haunt the Comets during the third quarter. Cristaldi and Osmulski both had steals that resulted in layups, and Cristaldi nailed her first three-pointer of the game off a Hall assist. Despite a 9-0 run by the Comets that brought their team within twelve, the Hilltoppers never faltered. With 1:30 remaining in the third, Martino hustled after a loose ball and tipped it ahead to Osmulski for the score to make it 44-30, Summit.

Perhaps the play of the game occurred on one of Summit's many fast breaks. This break was different, though, in that the ball never touched the ground. Martino and Osmulski passed back and forth without dribbling until Osmulski hit the open layup. This was Osmulski's 17th point of the night and Martino's eighth assist.

"I think the job of a point guard is to set your teammates up first and, if they're in the right position, to get them the ball," Kate Martino said.

"Kate doesn't have to score, but I love it when she does," Erickson said with a smile. "She plays so well defensively and is one of the best passers I've ever coached. She passes with precision and purpose."

Hillside made another mini-run near the end of the game, but three-pointers by Emily Cristaldi and Olivia Galuppo sealed the 63-44 victory for the Hilltoppers.

Cristaldi scored a game-high 29 points and added seven steals and four assists. Osmulski had another strong performance for the Hilltoppers, scoring 17 points and making three steals. Martino finished the game with six points and eight assists.

"I think we came out strong tonight and really proved ourselves," Martino added.

With the win, the Hilltoppers will face Westfield in the quarterfinals of the UCT this Thursday at 7:30 p.m at Rahway High School. The Hilltoppers narrowly defeated Westfield 44-42 earlier this season.

"Against Westfield, we need to do what we did tonight–play good defense and be aggressive," Summit's Kelly Osmulski said. "I just try to go after the ball and steal it any chance I get."

Before their next UCT game on Thursday, Summit will travel to Roselle Catholic to play the Panthers on today at 4 p.m.