Miller's career-high 33 lead Franklin girls basketball team into TOC semifinals

TOMS RIVER – The Franklin High School girls basketball team is stacked with talent. But in Tuesday's NJSIAA Tournament of Champions quarterfinals, senior Adreana Miller showed why she's the star.

Miller was absolutely locked in, especially in the first half, as the Warriors built a 22-point lead. Miller finished with a career-high 33 points and her teammates and the defense did the rest, as Franklin topped Middletown South 66-38 at Pine Belt Arena.

"I felt it early," said Miller, who finished with five 3-pointers and grabbed 10 rebounds. "And, honestly, I felt like my teammates were looking for me because I was hot, so they rewarded me. That's what really matters. If you're hot, reward your teammate. I felt like at the end of the day it was a team effort, not just me."

"What was great about Adreana tonight is she was having fun," said Franklin coach Audrey Taylor, whose team will face Manasquan here at 5:30 p.m. Thursday in the semifinals. "She started warmups with a smile, they were very loose, and she came out not thinking about the last game where she couldn't necessarily knock them down. And once that first one goes in for Adreana, the rest of them kind of flow. She's that kind of shooter. She gets hot and she's hot."

It was evident early that Franklin was in for a dominant night. As a team, the Warriors shot 14-for-17 in the first half as Miller scored 20, hitting 4-for-5 from 3-point territory while the defense held Middletown South to 7-for-27 from field in opening half.

The Warriors got a little sloppy in the third quarter, as the pace of the game picked up and things started to get a little chippy. The Eagles tried to open things up as they tried to climb bac into it, but Franklin's defense was equal to the task.

Miller, who spent the second half of the second quarter on the bench with foul trouble, kept up the intensity, as did her teammates, as the senior and her mates continued to throw their bodies around, going after every rebound and every loose ball. Miller picked up her fourth infraction with 2:34 remaining in the third, and six turnovers gave the Eagles a chance to get back into the game.

But the rest of the Franklin squad wasn't having it, as the Warriors outrebounded Middletown South 9-3 and forced five turnovers of their own and led 52-24 headed to the final period before closing it out thanks to nine more points for Miller.

"I was aware of my fouls," Miller said, "but this is my senior year and I might as well go out with a bang and take every chance I can get."

"She was grabbing rebounds, she was getting layups, she was everywhere today," Taylor said. "She showed her true stardom today."

While Miller's performance was certainly the keynote, Franklin continued to play and win as a team, as the entire squad got into the act. Jaeda Wildgoose notched 12 points and six boards, while Alex Jackson posted another excellent postseason outing, tallying 12 points and four rebounds. Mary Trossi was also key, dishing out seven assists, while Tahira Scott added three points and four assists and Monique Davis-Campbell contributed two points and four rebounds off the bench.

"It's like a kid in the candy store. I absolutely loved it," Taylor said. "And I loved it because we shared it. Even with (Miler) knocking down 33 points, everybody else still touched the ball. Everybody else contributed assists and rebounds. So, to me, that's the most fantastic thing you can get on the court. It's a blessing to coach girls like this because they're intense and because they love basketball. So all I have to do is tell them where to be and how to do it and they go out and do the rest. And they did it today."

Staff writer Simeon Pincus can be reached at CNGirlsHoops@aol.com and on Twitter @SimeonPincus