BASKETBALL

Girls basketball: Franklin breezes past West Orange to advance to Group IV final

Simeon Pincus
Courier News and Home News Tribune

UNION TOWNSHIP (Union) – The Franklin High School girls basketball team nearly learned the hard way in Tuesday’s sectional final victory over Watchung Hills what happens when it takes a team lightly and doesn’t come out guns blazing at this point in the season. The Warriors certainly didn’t make that mistake in Friday night’s NJSIAA Group IV semifinals.

Three days after dodging a halftime deficit and a tie game headed to the fourth quarter, Franklin wasted no time finding its energy against West Orange, as it built an 18-point lead by halftime, extending it to 20 after three quarters, leading by as many as 24 at one point, and closed out a 74-54 victory at Union High School to advance to the Group IV final for the second straight season and fourth time in the past five years.

“We just played Franklin basketball,” said junior Diamond Miller, who netted a game-high 25 points, adding nine rebounds. “Coach (Audrey) Taylor told us to jump on them from the start and we did just that today, which was good.”

“We came in confident and we came in comfortable, too, having the experience of playing here the last few years gives us that,” said Taylor, whose club will face South Jersey champ Toms River North at 6 p.m. Sunday at RWJBarnabas Health Arena in Toms River.  “So the girls kind of had in their mind they were going to stick to the same game plan, just act like they were home, and I think that helped us get an early start.”

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While Miller certainly led the way, she wasn’t alone, as all five starters reached double digits in points, with Keona Schenck and Kennady Schenck each adding 14 points and Camille Gray and Tiana Jackson each chipping in 12. But despite the Warriors scoring 74 points, it was the defense that probably had the biggest impact.

West Orange boasts a legit superstar in junior Mya Bembry, who averaged 19.6 points to go with 12.7 rebounds per game, but Franklin was able to limit the superstar, denying her the ability to take over the game.

“We knew they ran a lot of offense through her and she motivated everything that happened around her, so we just wanted to throw her off,” said Taylor, whose team held the Mountaineers star to 23 points to go with her 10 rebounds. “We wanted to throw some people at her and make some other people step up and hit big shots. We were able to execute defense very well.”

“We were just working hard, played good defense,” Miller said. “Number 10 (Bembry), she’s an excellent player, but we stopped her today.”

After a shocking Tournament of Champions title last year, Franklin isn’t taking anyone by surprise this season, as it’s playing with a giant proverbial target on its back. At the same time, the experience the team that returned all but one player from last year gained through last season’s run has proven invaluable.

“Last year we were definitely not experienced. This year we’re more experienced, we know how the season goes, and we know where we want to go,” Miller said. “But we have to play the same because they’re coming for us just like they’re coming for them. Everybody wants to beat the team that just won it, but we want to beat them and get back to where we were.”

“Last year was just so surprising for me, that every game we came out, executed and finished it was, like, ‘Oh my God! We got another one!’” Taylor said. “This year, we’re a little more set in that we know how to win, we know how to play in big games, and it’s just a matter of knocking down the shots and executing on defense. So I think we’re a little more comfortable this year.”

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

WEST ORANGE (22-8) 15-7-21-13 -- 54
FRANKLIN (22-7) 20-20-21-13 -- 74
SCORING:
WO –
Schultz 1-0-2, Simpson 2-3-7, Janes 1-0-2, Fede 1-(2)-0-8, Phillips 2-0-4, Bembry 9-5-23, Fort-Faskay 1-0-2, Dover 1-0-2, Perkins 1-0-2. Totals: 19-(2)-8-54.
F – Miller 6-(3)-4-25, Jackson 4-4-12, Gray 4-4-12, Keona Schenck 3-(2)-2-14, Kennady Schenck 3-(2)-2-14. Totals: 20-(7)-16-74.