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Girls Basketball: Bridgewater-Raritan’s pressure too much for Immaculata

Simeon Pincus
@SimeonPincus

SOMERVILLE – The Bridgewater-Raritan High School girls basketball team has been working on a new identity the past few weeks, and after coming through the teeth of its conference schedule that included three straight losses to Rutgers Prep, Franklin and Gill St. Bernard’s, the Panthers new emphasis on defense and pressure was on full display Tuesday night at Immaculata High School.

Employing a relentless press, putting constant pressure on the ball handler all over the gym, Bridgewater-Raritan’s defensive heat proved too much for Immaculata. The Panthers defense forced the Spartans to commit 27 turnovers and 20 fouls, and junior Kristin Tribel posted 17 points and eight rebounds as Bridgewater-Raritan scored a 46-36 road victory against a county opponent on the eve of the Somerset County Tournament seeding meeting.

“We kind of changed things up a little bit and put in a press to put a little more pressure on these teams and give ourselves the ball more,” said B-R acting head coach Bob McGinley, who has joined fellow coach Scott Bray in running the club with head coach Dorcas Miller on maternity leave. “It’s all about possession in these games, and I felt, especially in the second half, we kind of locked down our defense a little bit. And the other thing we were stressing was to be more patient on offense and not to rush things. Especially once we started building a lead.”

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Bridgewater-Raritan’s pressure was in effect from the opening whistle and Immaculata was clearly shaken and increasingly frustrated, even committing a slew of unforced errors, including in-bounds passes that sailed out of bounds on the other end of the court, a host of traveling and back-court violations, and even a technical foul.

“We just worked on this new press about two weeks ago, denying really hard,” Tribel said. “He (McGinley) really wanted us to focus on defense because he could see we were getting stronger. He put that in because we have speed now and it’s really working.”

McGinley said the pressure would be game-plan specific, and it worked like a charm Tuesday.

“I think it’s just more of a mental lapse than it is our ability,” Immaculata coach Mike Dugan said. “We have kids that can handle the ball, but they struggle with pressure.”

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Despite Bridgewater-Raritan’s success on defense, the Panthers (11-8) did commit 21 turnovers of their own, allowing Immaculata to stay with them for much of the first half, as the game was a two-point affair after one quarter and again at halftime.

Immaculata (9-11) tied the game to start the third quarter on a runner from Anna Oliveri, who finished with a game-high 20 points, and, after the Panthers retook a two-point advantage on a Diza Hasanaj bucket, the Spartans tied it again on an Abby Gilbert basket with 5:41 remaining in the period.

But Immaculata wouldn’t score again for a full period, as BR closed the third on an 11-0 run, opening a 14-point advantage when Olivia Ortelli sunk three of four free throws after she was fouled while shooting on the same play an Immaculata player was whistled for a technical foul. Immaculata got as close as nine points on an Oliveri 3-pointer with 2:19 remaining and within eight points after Oliveri hit three straight free throws after being fouled while shooting from beyond the arc with 1:32 left, but Bridgewater-Raritan finished the fourth quarter having shot 11-for-15 from the free-throw line to ice it.

“Foul line to foul line we stunk tonight,” Dugan said. “When we got the ball into the offense, which we rarely did, we were able to get some things done. Third quarter has killed us the past couple of games. We went cold. We couldn’t hit shots. We talk about playing 32 minutes and a little lapse in four or five minutes when they go on an 11-0 run and that’s the difference in the game. It happens like that.”

Simeon Pincus can be reached atCNGirlsHoops@aol.com. Follow him on Twitter @SimeonPincus and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/SimeonPincusCN

B-R's Jordyn Hawthorne fights pressure against Immaculata on Tuesday
BR's Olivia Ortelli (with ball) fights through a pair of Immaculata defenders Tuesday
Bridgewater-Raritan's Meghan Ball looks to dribble past Immacu;alta senior Anna Oliveri on Tuesday at IHS