LETTINI LED SCORING, RBS; FITZHARRIS ASST, STEALS
Improvement was expected and improvement is what they got when the AL Johnson High School Crusader girls took to the basketball court this season. With nearly all freshmen and sophomores, the Crusader girls finished with an 8-14 record last year but this season the girls added four more wins to their record while shedding three losses to finish 12-11 and they still are a very young team composed primarily of sophomores and juniors.
The Crusader girls began the season with a whopping 67-13 trouncing of Koinonia then followed with a pair of tight losses – Summit Hilltoppers (39-32), Dayton Bulldogs (43-42). After icing the Hillside Comets, 5621, the Crusaders lost to Summit again, 36-30, and Morris Knolls, 5630, at the Holiday Tournament in late December.
The Crusaders bowed to the Governor Livingston Highlanders, 44-41, then reeled off wins over Plainfield, 52-46, and the Oak Knoll Royals, 4843. After falling to Hackettstown, 4038, and Summit a third time, 32-28, the Crusaders’ record slipped to 3-7.
But three straight wins – Rahway (6142), and get-even victories over Dayton (46-36) and Governor Livingston (36-23) – followed.
The Cranford Cougars stopped the Crusaders, 47-28, but a 59-34 win over Hillside and a 60-48 loss to Plainfield followed. The Crusaders beat the Union Catholic Vikings, 3727, then lost to the Westfield Blue Devils, 43-38, in the Union County Tournament. The Crusaders completed their regular season with three straight victories – Edison Eagles (5224), Union Catholic (44-39), Delaware Valley Terriers (51-47). Their season came to an end with a 51-27 setback to Rumson-Fair Haven in the first round of the Central Jersey, Group 2 Tournament.
Four sophomores and a junior led statistically for the Crusaders. Sophomore Julia Lettini led the team with 174 points, including 42 free throws, 139 rebounds and 25 blocked shots, and added 32 steals and 10 assists. Sophomore Jordana Tarentino finished with 147 points (37 free throws), 131 rebounds, 35 steals, seven assists and a block. Sophomore Liz Fitzharris led the team in assists with 77 and was the “Chief Thief” with 55 steals. Fitzharris also had 132 points (27 free throws), 101 rebounds and a block.
Junior/tri-captain Mackenzie Thompson finished with 123 points (13 3-pointers, 30 free throws), 104 rebounds, 45 steals (tied for 2nd), 39 assists and four blocks. Sophomore Alisia Hamm led the team with 30 3pointers and totaled 115 points. She also had 47 rebounds, 18 assists, 14 steals and four blocks. Freshman Clare Brighouse came on strong to contribute 89 points, 93 rebounds, 31 assists, 45 steals (tie 2nd) and 13 blocks (2nd).
Senior tri-captain Kaileigh Netland finished with 59 points, 33 rebounds, 23 steals, 20 assists and a block. With moderate time on the floor, sophomore Avery Forfa finished with 48 points, 32 rebounds, 16 steals, eight assists and a block. Junior Alyssa Martucci finished with 36 points, 33 rebounds, four assists, five blocks and four steals. Senior/tri-captain Gwen Cahill had 35 points (6 3-pointers), 13 rebounds, six assists and six steals. Junior Bella Ciccotelli pulled 44 rebounds, and added 26 points, eight assists and five steals. Sophomore Alexa Sikoriak had seven points, four steals, a rebound and an assist.
Ciccotelli pulled 14 rebounds against Koinonia. In the first win over Hillside, Fitzharris netted 13 points, Thompson grabbed 13 rebounds and Brighouse had five steals. Netland scored 11 points against Plainfield and Fitzharris dished out six assists. Lettini and Hamm both bucketed 12 points in the win over the Oak Knoll Royals. Against Rahway, Lettini scored 13 points, Fitzharris dished out an amazing 10 assists and Brighouse made five steals.
Fitzharris had 14 points, eight assists and five steals against Dayton, while Lettini had 10 rebounds and Thompson netted 12 points, including a pair of 3-pointers. Lettini sank 13 points and Fitzharris pulled 10 boards in the second win over Hillside. Lettini had a double-double (10 points, 10 rebounds) in the first game against Union Catholic then doubledoubled again in the second meeting with 18 points and 13 rebounds. Tarantino got into the double-double act (10 points, 12 rebounds) against Edison and did it again in the win over Delaware Valley with 12 points and 10 rebounds, while Fitzharris had six steals and six assists.
The entire starting lineup plus nearly all of their backups return next year so it could be expected that several more wins will be added, while their loss record may dip below double digits.
