Summit Girls Basketball Continues Streak

SCOTCH PLAINS – The Summit Hilltoppers girls basketball team makes their presence known early.

In their previous game, Summit held Union scoreless in the first quarter of play. On Thursday afternoon against Scotch Plains-Fanwood (2-6), Summit again came out strong and held a dominant lead, 18-2, after just 8 minutes.

"Offensively, we had balanced scoring tonight," said Erickson. "Defensively, I thought we did a good job, and we rebounded the ball well."

Both teams started the game playing man-to-man defense. Summit applied a full-court press that the young Raiders had a tough time handling. Hilltopper point guard Kate Martino established herself early with a steal, assist, and layup after just one minute of play. Hilltoppers Emily Cristaldi and Kelly Osmulski also each had steals in the first quarter that resulted in layups.

Summit got out to a quick 6-0 lead, at which point, SP-F called a timeout to get settled and discuss how to handle the press. After the timeout, freshman forward Renee Oliver put SP-F on the board with a nice drive to the basket for a layup.

With two minutes remaining in the first quarter, the Hilltoppers went on a scoring spree. Martino got the ball rolling with a nice one-handed runner in the lane to make the score 12-2. Seconds later, Cristaldi made another steal and layup, which was quickly followed by a Martino steal and assist to Cristaldi. Osmulski then anticipated a SP-F pass and scored the layup for an 18-2 Summit lead.

In the second quarter, the Raiders came out with more offensive firepower. Tara Sweeney hit a right-handed hook shot, followed by an Erin Brown left-handed layup that made the score 18-6 with 6:00 remaining in the half.

Summit's offense continued to shine in the second quarter when Hilltopper Amanda Murphy knocked down a 10-foot jumper. Martino made another good play when she dove on the floor for the loose ball and tipped it to Cristaldi for a layup.

In an effort to slow the game's pace, SP-F played the remainder of the half in 1-3-1 zone defense. Summit followed suit and went to 2-3 zone. At the half, Summit held a convincing lead, 30-6.

"They're a well-coached team," said Summit head coach Brian Erickson. "(SP-F) Coach Ryan knows the game inside and out. Her team plays very hard. They dive on the floor for loose balls, they play good defense, and they hustle. They give you every ounce of energy they have, which forces you to play well. That's the sign of a well-coached team. We scouted them, and we knew we had to be sharp today."

Action continued in the third quarter when SP-F's Evie Klotz hit an early three-pointer. Three minutes later, the junior guard weaved her way through the Summit defense and hit a layup to make the score 37-11.

Summit responded quickly with a Cristaldi three-pointer and an athletic layup. Martino hit a pull-up jumper and a pair of free throws to make the score 43-17 at the end of the third.

Summit continued to play well in the fourth quarter. Olivia Galuppo, Cristina Ciaravalli, and varsity newcomer Ali Hoesly put up points for the Hilltoppers. The final score was Summit 51, Scotch Plains-Fanwood 21.

"We're still trying to focus on the little things we can do to get better–have more intensity, and continue to get better on free throws." said Erickson.

The practice paid off: point guard Kate Martino, for instance, went 6-6 from the foul line. Cristaldi finished with a game-high 21 points. Martino contributed 12 and Osmulski scored 6.

The Hilltoppers' next game is at Governor Livingston this Saturday at 3 p.m.