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Sports

Summit Girls Basketball Beats Rival Governor Livingston 39-33

Hilltoppers maintain composure late in the game to stay unbeaten.

BERKELEY HEIGHTS – On Saturday afternoon, the Summit girls basketball team traveled to Governor Livingston High School to take on the 5-4 Highlanders. It was "Super Saturday" at the school: the gym was packed and the crowd was lively. You could tell it was going to be a fun afternoon.

The pre-game energy and momentum was a bit derailed, however, as a pulled fire alarm delayed the game's tip-off. Forty-five minutes after the expected start-time, the Hilltoppers and Highlanders finally took the floor.

Senior guard Emily Cristaldi put the Hilltoppers on the scoreboard with a steal and quick layup early in the first quarter. Summit played full-court man-to-man defense for most of the afternoon and forced several GL turnovers.

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Governor Livingston took numerous three-pointers in the opening quarter, but sophomore Samantha Dowling's attempt at the 5-minute mark was the only one that fell. Her shot put GL ahead 3-2. It was a low scoring first quarter; Summit trailed GL 5-4 after eight minutes of play.

"We got off to a slower start than usual, but Governor Livingston is one of the most solid defensive teams in the county," explained Summit head coach Brian Erickson. "They close out well, and they box out like it's their job. They force you to get position and lock you out if you don't."

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Governor Livingston kept up the good "D" and kept shooting three's in the second quarter. At the 7-minute mark, sophomore Alyssa Polimeni knocked one down to make the score 8-4, GL. Summit's Cristaldi quickly tied it back up, however, with a pair of jumpshots.

The Hilltoppers continued their full-court press. With three minutes remaining in the half, defensive pressure by sophomores Kelly Osmulski and Kate Martino forced GL to call a time-out.

"Kate's one of the best defenders I've ever coached, boys or girls," said Erickson. "Kelly also had a great game and put a lot of pressure on their guards."

Kelly Osmulski may have had the "shot of the day" with 2 minutes remaining in the half when she drove baseline and flipped the ball up to the basket with her left hand. Her basket put Summit ahead 10-8. With 10 seconds on the clock, Martino made a clutch steal and layup to put Summit up 13-11 at the break.

In the third quarter, Summit's Emily Cristaldi took over . She had two steals, three layups, a turnaround baseline jumper, and a long-range three. Her 11 third quarter points helped the Hilltoppers extend their lead to 27-22 entering the game's final quarter.

"When Emily hit that turnaround baseline jumper, I knew she was feeling it," said Erickson. "She has worked so hard to prepare for this season, and she deserves any accolade she gets."

Governor Livingston threw several different types of defenses at the Hilltoppers, including man-to-man, 2-3 zone, 3-2 zone, and a Triangle and Two. Summit was able to handle the many transitions by remaining patient on offense and keeping their composure.

Summit continued to execute offensively in the fourth quarter. With 3:44 remaining in the game, Cassie Hall fed Nicole Johnson on a nice backdoor cut for the layup to make it 33-26.

Governor Livingston's Dowling drained her second three-pointer of the game one minute later to bring the Highlanders within five points, 35-30. Everyone seemed tense, both in the stands and on the court–everyone except for Summit's sophomore point guard Kate Martino.

In the final 30 seconds of the game, Martino went 4-4 from the foul line to put the game out of GL's reach. The composure and leadership shown by the young guard helped Summit overcome their rival by a final score of 39-33.

"I don't worry when Kate has the ball," said Erickson. "She is one of the best basketball players we've had in Summit in a long time. She's got every aspect of the game – mental, physical, and she is always composed. Kate just gets it. She takes every practice and every game personally; every day after practice, she and Emily (Cristaldi) shoot for an extra 20 minutes."

Cristaldi had another 20-point performance for the Hilltoppers. Martino had 9 points and 5 steals on the afternoon. Osmulski contributed 4 points and 7 rebounds. Cassie Hall led the team in rebounds with 9.

Summit, now 8-0, will face last year's Union County Tournament Champs, Roselle Catholic, this Tuesday at 7 p.m.

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