Summit Girls Basketball Sprints Past Rahway

SUMMIT–The Summit girls basketball team, coming off of a tough loss at Linden High School on Thursday, relied on aggressive defense and a fast-paced transition offense to beat the Rahway Indians for the second time this season, 51-31, on Saturday afternoon.

Point guard Kate Martino got things rolling for the Hilltoppers 30 seconds into the game when she grabbed a rebound and pushed the ball up the court, laying it off to fellow sophomore Nicole Johnson for the layup. Forty seconds later, Johnson grabbed an offensive rebound and hit the put-back to make the score 4-0, Summit.

The Hilltoppers applied a full-court press against the Indians in the first quarter that resulted in numerous Rahway turnovers and easy baskets for the Hilltoppers. Senior Emily Cristaldi made three consecutive steals and scored seven points in just over a minute to stretch Summit's lead to 15-2 with 2:50 remaining in the first. Near the end of the first quarter, senior Michelle Burian drained a six-foot jumper in the lane to make the score 17-4 after eight minutes of play.

"In the first quarter, we really moved the ball well and we got up and down the floor," Summit head coach Brian Erickson said. "When we're able to get into our transition offense, it means that we're doing something well defensively."

Though the taller Rahway squad out-rebounded the Hilltoppers for much of the game, the Indians could not get their shots to fall. Summit, on the other hand, continued to move the ball and shoot well on offense in the second quarter. Cristaldi and Martino each hit a three-pointer, and Burian drained another jump shot to put the Hilltoppers up 29-11.

With two minutes remaining in the half, Martino drove the length of the court and threw a bullet pass to teammate Olivia Galuppo, who hit the baseline shot. Martino scored two more buckets before the half came to a close, expanding Summit's lead to 37-11.

In the third quarter, Rahway senior Asia Huey created opportunities for herself and her teammates, and the Indians went on an 11-3 run to cut the score to 40-22. But like a dagger through the heart, Cristaldi drained another three-pointer as the third quarter buzzer sounded, ending Rahway's run and extending Summit's lead to 47-26.

With a convincing lead entering the final quarter of play, the Hilltoppers were able to give their younger players some valuable on-court experience. In the end, the Hilltoppers' tenacious man-to-man defense proved to be too much for the Indians and Summit won 51-31.

"Today we got back to doing the things that we do best," Erickson said. "I was really proud of everyone."

Emily Cristaldi had another 20+ point performance, scoring a game-high 23 points. The senior also made nine steals on the afternoon. Martino added nine points for the Hilltoppers, while Rahway's Asia Huey led her team with 13.

"It's the end of a long week and a half for the girls, with exams and last night's semi-formal," Erickson said. "Next week we look forward to getting back to a more normal schedule. Today started the second half of the season, so now it's really time for us to focus in on some areas of improvement, like rebounding and body positioning, so that we can go deep into the season."

Summit, now 12-2, will travel to Elizabeth on Tuesday afternoon to face the Minutemen at 4 p.m. The Hilltoppers beat the Minutemen 57-37 earlier in the season.