Girls Basketball: Sayreville takes over sole possession of first place with win against Bishop Ahr
SAYREVILLE – The Sayreville High School girls basketball team entered this season as one of the favorites to win the Greater Middlesex Conference White Division title. The Bombers notched a key divisional victory on Thursday evening, proving they are indeed the team to beat in the division.
Entering Thursday’s game tied with Bishop Ahr for first place in the division, the Bombers outscored the Trojans 21-10 in the second quarter and went on to defeat their division rivals 51-32 to gain sole possession of first place in the White Division.
“This is great,” senior guard Isi Enahoro said. “This win shows all the doubters that we’re here, and we’re going to continue to be at our best.”
Despite what the lopsided final might suggest, the Bombers (7-1) initially stumbled out of the gates and trailed 10-7 after the first quarter. Both sides struggled to establish any offensive rhythm in the opening quarter.
Something sparked Sayreville in the second quarter, however, and the Bombers closed the first half on a 12-4 run to take a 28-20 lead into halftime. The Bombers were able to put up 21 points in the quarter with a balanced offensive attack. Enahoro scored six of her 14 points in the quarter alongside Ryane Brush who also tallied six.
Junior Jasmine Van Note and seniors Patrice Harding and Morenike Akinrefon also contributed to the offensive explosion in the second quarter.
“Any of these kids can go to a different program and probably average 20 points per game,” Sayreville coach Janet Cook said. “They understand that playing with us, that’s not going to happen, but we play as a team and it works out better.”
If the second quarter was when everything started to click offensively for the Bombers, then the third quarter was when they clamped down on defense. The Bombers opened the second half playing an aggressive press defense, creating havoc in the Bishop Ahr back court. Sayreville pushed its lead to 37-26 by the end of the quarter and then ran away with the game in the fourth quarter, outscoring Bishop Ahr 14-6.
Enahoro led the way on defense, tallying eight steals. The extra possessions created by turnovers in the third quarter were crucial for Sayreville, as the Bombers struggled to consistently knock down their shots throughout the game.
“That’s the name of our game, turning defense into offense,” Cook said. “We didn’t have a great shooting night, we missed a ton of shots and a tone of free throws, but I told them if you keep playing at this pace and tempo, things will go our way.”
For Bishop Ahr (5-3), junior forward Sara Decker led the way with 15 points while talented freshman Emma Boslet added nine points.
Staff Writer Daniel LoGiudice can be reached at dlogiudice@gannettnj.com. Follow him on Twitter @danny_logiudice.