The top-seeded West Morris Highlanders took on eighth seeded Warren Hills Streaks in the quarterfinals of the state tournament. The Highlanders rolled out to an early 9-4 run, but the Streaks kept it close. With the final score of 44-38, the Streaks played close with the dominant West Morris squad, but Alisa Greco and Shayna Ericksen boosted the Highlanders to the semifinals of the North II Group III tournament.

After an early three point shot by Lindsey Schott to start off the game for the Streaks, the Highlanders found themselves behind for the first time in a while. The first Highlander point came from Ericksen off of a foul shot caused by Warren Hills’ Missy Detlaas. Julia Scanlon was able to add her own foul shot a little later and West Morris was finally able to go on a run after a Greco steal, a pass to Scanlon, who was able to put it up for the layup. Erica Swinton scored a foul shot for the Streaks to keep it at a one point game, but the Highlanders were truly able to break away after another Scanlon layup, a Greco layup and foul shot, and a Scanlon three pointer. The final score of the quarter was 15-7 after Ericksen was able to throw up a shot to beat the buzzer and put the Highlanders ahead by 8.

Much of the second quarter consisted of shots from each end of the court, with each team maintaining possession and scoring baskets. Greco was able to sink two foul shots before the Streaks came back with two baskets, one from Alyssa Zurio and Sam Winters.  ...Read More

It was tough for the West Morris Highlanders to play in the first round of the state tournament on Monday. The day before, the girls won the Morris County Tournament title and were given no time to rest. But the Highlanders were strictly business in their dominating 69-29 win over the Iselin Kennedy Mustangs. The girls jumped out to an early 18-7 first quarter lead and never looked back, giving the starters time to rest and the bench to get their playing time. Freshman Courtney Chase was able to come off the bench and score not only her first varsity point, but was able to drop seven on the day. The bench for the Highlanders was a force on offense and defense, totaling 17 points and 6 steals on the day, ultimately making a large impact on the game.

The game began with West Morris controlling possession and the boards. Shayna Ericksen was able to score a layup off the pass from Carly Shello, rebound a missed Mustang shot, and take the ball down the court for another layup. Plays like these helped the Highlanders to get big points on the board. Alisa Greco sank a three point field goal to give West Morris a 7-0 lead. Mustang Vanessa Santana was able to roll a layup in the net for Iselin Kennedy’s first points of the game. The Mustangs, however, were not able to score again until the final two minutes of the quarter. Before this time, the Julia Scanlon-Shayna Ericksen combination totaled 4 points while Greco’s defense resulted in a steal and a layup. Brittany Washington  ...Read More

Both teams came ready to play for the Morris County Tournament Finals, however, the first-time finalists Chatham Cougars just couldn’t dethrone the veteran West Morris Highlanders. The 21-3 Highlanders won a nail biter, 44-38, against the 21-5 Cougars at Fairleigh Dickinson University in Madison, repeating as Morris County Champions for the first time in school history. Senior captain Julia Scanlon had a dominating performance as she dropped 21 points while sophomore Shayna Ericksen took control of the boards for the Highlanders. Senior captain Caroline Murphy excelled on both offense and defense for the Cougars, totaling 10 points and 3 blocks on the day.

The first quarter opened up with two missed possessions by the Highlanders followed by an early surge from the Cougars. Sophomore Amanda Bernsten was a force on offense as she gave Chatham their first two buckets early in the game. Scanlon responded with a drive to the hoop for her first points of the game. A foul by Ericksen slowed down the pace after Murphy sank a foul shot. However, Junior Ally Tank was able to keep the Highlanders in the game at such a pivotal moment when she scored a layup while being fouled, executing a three point play. This helped West Morris grab not only the lead, but the momentum as well. The Highlanders went on a 7-2 run to close out the quarter at 14-11.

The next quarter was much of the same: scoring on one end, followed by scoring on the other, as well as excellent defense. West  ...Read More

The number one seeded West Morris Highlanders proved that they belong at the top after a dominating 58-38 win over Pequannock in the Morris County Tournament Semifinals at Fairleigh Dickinson University on Friday. The senior duo of Alisa Greco and Julia Scanlon, along with some major help from Shayna Ericksen propelled the Highlanders into the finals. The girls will look to repeat as County Champs when they face Chatham next Friday at Fairleigh Dickinson University at 7.

The 20-3 Highlanders showed no mercy for the Panthers as the girls from West Morris jumped out to an early lead. The first quarter ended at 13-7 in favor of the Highlanders thanks to exceptional combinations between Scanlon and Greco as well as defensive plays that ultimately decided the game. Pequannock’s possessions occasionally turned into West Morris’ steals, giving the girls opportunities to score.

However, although West Morris played strong defense and offense, Pequannock began to pick up some momentum at the end of the first quarter because of Scanlon’s missed layups and an Alex Brown layup. The Panthers immediately picked up the pace in the second quarter as Samantha Tabakman blocked a shot by Scanlon, Brown scored a layup and then Tabakman forced another turnover from the Highlanders. Soon, the score was tied at 13 and the Highlanders began to feel the pressure.

It’s a good thing that West Morris works well under pressure as Scanlon responded with a layup, followed by a three po  ...Read More

A repeat as Morris County Champs is looking to be imminent for the West Morris Highlanders after a 51-27 win over the Morris Knolls Eagles in the quarterfinals of the tournament. Dominant performances from both Alisa Greco and Shayna Ericksen of West Morris gave the Eagles little chance to gain momentum as they combined for 42 points. The Highlanders will play Pequannock next week at Fairleigh Dickinson University in Madison in a semifinal game.

After winning the tipoff from Ericksen, Julia Scanlon acted as the playmaker right from the beginning. She distributed the ball back to Ericksen who drove to the hoop for the layup. After a couple turnovers from each team, the next basket was from Ericksen again to help West Morris get out to an early lead. Scanlon followed with a layup after weaving through traffic in the paint before Knolls called an early timeout to regain composure. Afterwards, Jen Jarvis was able to sink a basket for two to final get some points on the board. The shots really began to rain in the last two minutes as Heather Rivardo had two points and Kristen Randolph had one for Morris Knolls while West Morris counted on baskets from Ericksen, Scanlon, and Greco to end the quarter at 15-6 in favor of the Highlanders.

The second quarter consisted of excellent defense by Jess Poole and Greco for West Morris. Each had a steal, while the rest of the team did a great job preventing the Eagles from completing passes by forcing turnovers and blocking the  ...Read More