Girls Basketball: Bound Brook holds off Delaware Valley, stays undefeated
Del Val senior Veronica Christ reached the 1,000th career point mark during the contest
BOUND BROOK - Having begun the season 9-0, outscoring its opponents by an average of close to 34 points per game, the Bound Brook High School girls basketball team had yet to face a really tough test after spending most of its time rumbling through the Skyland Conference Mountain Division.
Thursday night, Delaware Valley was kind enough to give the Crusaders their first real challenge of the season, and while the Terriers certainly didn’t make it easy, Bound Brook passed the test with flying colors.
Senior Janee’a Summers finished with 24 points and 10 rebounds, and Olivia Nilsen chipped in 11 points, and Bound Brook held off a fierce third-quarter rally that pulled Del Val to within three points before the Crusaders pulled away in the fourth, collecting a 61-43 home victory to remain undefeated.
“When we play teams that are not in our conference, we suspect they’re going to play their hardest, so that’s what we do,” said Summers, who collected 15 of her points in the first half, finishing the game within 100 points of the 2,000 mark for her career. “And we came out with the W this time.”
“Every day they fight each other in practice, so I know that we’re ready,” Said Bound Brook coach Jen Derevjanik said. “We were just waiting to have a real competitive game, and it was fun tonight.”
READ: Thursday's girls basketball roundup
Bound Brook pulled out to a 16-8 lead after one quarter and led 27-20 at halftime, but it was Delaware Valley that enjoyed the period’s biggest moment, as Veronica Christ netted her 1,000th point, sinking the second of two free-throw attempts with 2:42 remaining in the quarter. The senior entered the game needing seven to reach the mark, and after some difficulty shooting from the field early, she finally reached the milestone, five years after her brother, Peter Christ, reached the same mark for the Terriers.
“Coming into the game, I really was just trying to think about playing the game and winning,” Christ said. “I tried not to overthink about it because I knew I would just focus on that.”
With the Delaware Valley defense stepping up in the third, causing seven Bound Brook turnovers, the Crusaders also seemed to lose the handle on their shooting touch and advantage on the boards, allowing the Terriers to get as close as three points with 3:06 left in the quarter. Savana Granger led the charge with four of her 10 points and Christ netting three of her team-high 19 points to close the gap.
But Bound Brook regained the touch and kept the lead through the run, using a 17-11 run to start the fourth quarter to open a 15-point lead, and it proved too much for Del Val to overcome.
“Patience is what will keep us together,” Summers said. “And usually when we play great defense, the offense will eventually start coming.”
“We knew coming in it was going to be tough,” Derevjanik said. “I watched them play and their defense is good. It’s really good. And Veronica (Christ) is a very nice player. But we’re different now. We’re older and more mature. We take care of it, so when teams make runs we don’t get nervous or scared. I think we’re a little tougher than we were last year.”
While Bound Brook moves to 10-0, Delaware Valley falls to 4-5, with all its losses to teams with a combined record of 30-6 entering Thursday’s action. Still, with a quality club that also includes Margaret Affeld, who finished with 10 points and nine rebounds, the Terriers know the tough schedule is only going to pay dividends later.
“Ultimately, I think these games are helping us get better,” Christ said. “We might not be coming out with the win, but they’re making us tougher and helping us improve on the things we need to work on.”
Simeon Pincus can be reached atCNGirlsHoops@aol.com. Follow him on Twitter @SimeonPincus and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/SimeonPincusCN
