SUMMIT – Though he's an admitted advocate of scrappy man-to-man defense, on Tuesday night against Elizabeth High School, a slower-paced zone defense helped propel Summit head coach Brian Erickson and his Hilltoppers past the Minutemen 57-37.
"I trust my assistants, and they said 'stay with zone.' It's hard for me because I think we play better when we're man-to-man," said Erickson. "Zone helped us slow them down a bit, though. We were able to get our focus back and do the things we need to do to win."
Elizabeth High School, the largest high school in New Jersey with more than 5,000 students, came out strong against Summit on Tuesday night. Both teams applied a full-court press early and, despite a couple of turnovers, Elizabeth seemed more comfortable with the faster tempo. Minutemen point guard Emana Dent handled the press well, scoring five early points. After four minutes of play, Elizabeth led 7-5.
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At this point, Coach Erickson and his staff decided to slow things down and try a 2-3 zone. In doing so, Summit went on an 11-0 run and shut out Elizabeth for the remainder of the first quarter to lead 16-7.
In the beginning of the second quarter, Summit switched back to man-to-man coverage. Despite tenacious defense by Hilltoppers Kelly Osmulski, Emily Cristaldi, and Kate Martino, Elizabeth's Emana Dent continued to split traps and weave her way through the press. Elizabeth went on a 9-3 run early in the second, cutting Summit's lead to 19-16.
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"Elizabeth is athletic, fast, strong, and they crash the boards," said Erickson. "They're a good basketball team, and they anticipate rebounds better than anyone else we've seen so far. "
After Elizabeth's run, Summit again applied zone coverage. Immediately, the Hilltoppers forced consecutive Elizabeth turnovers. At the half, Summit held a slight lead, 25-20. Emily Cristaldi led the Hilltoppers with 13 points and 2 steals at the break.
Summit played zone for the remainder of the game and, despite the slower pace, Elizabeth could never catch up.
The Hilltoppers opened the second half with a great pass from Kate Martino to fellow sophomore Nicole Johnson for a layup. Johnson finished the game with 16 points–all in the second half–and shot 8-10 from the field. Summit's offense handled Elizabeth's defense with ease in the second, using multiple backdoor cuts for easy baskets.
Though Elizabeth was able to slow scoring leader Emily Cristaldi a bit in the second half, Cristaldi sparked a Hilltopper run in the third quarter by scoring 7 points in 35 seconds, courtesy of two steals, a pair of layups, and one three-pointer. Cristaldi had a game-high 24 points on the night.
Summit continued to stretch their lead in the third quarter and throughout the fourth. The final score was Summit 57, Elizabeth 37.
"They tried to take Emily out of it and Nicole stepped up in the second half," said Erickson. "Kate knocked down some jumpers and Cassie had another solid game."
Summit forward Cassie Hall finished the game with 6 points, 11 rebounds, 3 assists, and a pair of steals.
"I can't say enough what a good win this is for us–playing in a new league against a much larger school," added Erickson.
Summit, now undefeated at 5-0, will face Union High School this Saturday at 1 p.m. at Summit High.
"Being 5-0 is great, but more importantly, we're playing well," said Erickson. "We're starting to realize the little things we need to do to get better. The record's great, but it doesn't mean anything a few nights from now when Union comes in. Tomorrow we'll get ready for them."
