It was tough for the West Morris Highlanders to play in the first round of the state tournament on Monday. The day before, the girls won the Morris County Tournament title and were given no time to rest. But the Highlanders were strictly business in their dominating 69-29 win over the Iselin Kennedy Mustangs. The girls jumped out to an early 18-7 first quarter lead and never looked back, giving the starters time to rest and the bench to get their playing time. Freshman Courtney Chase was able to come off the bench and score not only her first varsity point, but was able to drop seven on the day. The bench for the Highlanders was a force on offense and defense, totaling 17 points and 6 steals on the day, ultimately making a large impact on the game.

The game began with West Morris controlling possession and the boards. Shayna Ericksen was able to score a layup off the pass from Carly Shello, rebound a missed Mustang shot, and take the ball down the court for another layup. Plays like these helped the Highlanders to get big points on the board. Alisa Greco sank a three point field goal to give West Morris a 7-0 lead. Mustang Vanessa Santana was able to roll a layup in the net for Iselin Kennedy’s first points of the game. The Mustangs, however, were not able to score again until the final two minutes of the quarter. Before this time, the Julia Scanlon-Shayna Ericksen combination totaled 4 points while Greco’s defense resulted in a steal and a layup. Brittany Washington had three points while Santana had two to round the first quarter score off at 18-7.

The second quarter reflected the plays in that of the first quarter almost exactly. Greco was able to execute her defensive skills, tallying another steal followed by a layup. Washington was the Mustangs’ playmaker, ending up with 8 of her total 16 in the second quarter alone. Mary Cabarle and Age Orlando were also on their defensive game, forcing turnovers and intercepting passes. At halftime, the score was 31-15.

The Highlanders exploded with points in the third quarter, scoring 23 to the Mustangs’ 6. Contributions from Scanlon, Jess Poole, Hailey Koop, Greco, and Caroline Consol put the game out of reach for the sixteenth seeded Iselin Kennedy. Courtney Chase was also able to add her first varsity point when she was fouled by Mustang Nneka Davis in the waning minutes of the third. She sunk her first foul shot to attain the achievement, but also scored the second foul shot, doubling her total points. The final score at the end of the quarter was 54-21.
Chase carried over the momentum she had from the third into the fourth as she scored five more points to total seven on the day. Steals by Carly Smolensky, Chase, Amy McQuaide, and Megan McQuaide kept the Mustangs’ points to a mere 8 for the final quarter. Davis was able to steal the ball and score a layup in hopes of having a late resurgent on the dominant Highlanders, but it was just too late. The final score of the game was 54-21.

The West Morris Highlanders took control of the Mustangs early and never looked back in their prevailing win over Iselin Kennedy in the first round of the state tournament. The Highlanders will play at their home court at West Morris Central High School on Wednesday against eighth seeded Warren Hills.