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

Senior Night for the West Morris Highlanders posed many problems for the Vernon Vikings. Altogether, the seniors scored 22 of the total points as the Highlanders took down conference opponent Vernon 53-31. The game started off close, but the Highlanders started to take a big lead and the Vikings had no way to stop them as Senior Julia Scanlon had a career high 17.

The start of the game began with turnovers and steals for each team as neither one was able to get the ball through the net. It wasn’t until just over three minutes into the game when a basket was finally scored. With the help of starting seniors Age Orlando, Hailey Koop, Mary Cabarle, Alisa Greco, and Jess Poole, the Highlanders jumped out to a 4-0 lead from Orlando and Cabarle layups. Defensively, Cabarle was able to make a few steals and even a block to keep the Highlanders on top. The Vikings were finally able to get on the board from a Mallory Costello layup, but the tough defense from Greco and Shayna Ericksen stopped any more shots from falling as the first quarter closed out at 10-2.

The lead was really stretched just before half time as the Highlanders scored 19 points in the second quarter alone. Many of these points are attributed by Julia Scanlon and Ericksen who combined for 14 of these points. The one chance Vernon had to gain some momentum came from a three point shot by Carrie MacDonald, but, right after, West Morris stormed down the court, passed the ball off to Poole and she was abl  ...Read More

There was no sisterly love from top-seeded West Morris today as the Highlanders beat sister school Mendham 49-20 in the first round of the Morris County Tournament. The sixteenth-seeded Minutemen were not able to break the double digit mark until the end of the third quarter and on the other side of the court, the Highlanders relied on Ally Tank as the playmaker today. Meade Brewster had eight points for Mendham.

The Minutemen gave the Highlanders some competition in the beginning, opening up the game with a fast pace. Brewster was able to sink a foul shot and a layup, while Alisa Greco and Julia Scanlon each had a layup early in the first quarter. Shayna Ericksen had three baskets and an unforgiving block on Mendham’s Liz Malman to close out the first quarter at 12 to 6.

After the first quarter, however, the Minutemen weren’t able to score another point until after halftime. The second quarter consisted of steals and layups for the Highlanders. Tank had a steal on Mendham’s opening inbound pass and passed it off to Scanlon who was fouled on her way up to the hoop. She sank her two foul shots and on the Minutemen’s next possession, Jess Poole had her own steal, dribbled down the court and made it rain from the three point line. There was a scare for Scanlon in the middle of the quarter when she went down hard on her knee. The bionic point guard, however, shook it off and was soon back out on the court, driving to the hoop, making steals, and racking up the assi  ...Read More

Six three pointers for the High Point Wildcats just weren’t enough as the West Morris Highlanders sealed up another win, 54-43.

Exceptional performances by Shayna Ericksen and Julia Scanlon helped the Highlanders rack up another big conference victory. Leanna Tallamy and Alayna Donadio led the Wildcats as they fall to 14-3.

The first quarter began with a lot of pressure at both ends of the court. After Ericksen was able to win the tip off, the first two minutes of the game were filled with great defensive plays from both teams.

The first points of the game came from Jess Poole who was able to drive from the baseline to the basket for the layup. Multiple fouls from the Wildcats gave the Highlanders many opportunities to maintain possession and score points. A three pointer from Ally Tank put West Morris ahead 11 to 2, midway through the opening quarter. High Point called a timeout to regroup and after the girls came back onto the court, Scanlon was able to steal the inbound pass and drive to the basket, getting the foul called as she went up for the points.

The last minute of the quarter, however, the Wildcats were able to make a push as Alayna Donadio and Taylor Smith hit consecutive three pointers to close out the quarter, 13-8.

To start of the second, Scanlon was able to make a layup a three point play after a foul by High Point’s Kirstyn Connors. Following this, Alisa Greco and Ericksen were both able to score, stretching the Highlanders  ...Read More

Strong defensive plays by West Morris sealed yet another win for the Highlanders over the Mount Olive Marauders Thursday night, 48-30. Steals by Julia Scanlon, blocks by Alisa Greco, and rebounds by Shayna Ericksen helped West Morris to dominate.

After a couple turnovers and missed possessions by each team opening up the first quarter, Jess Pool was able to intercept a pass, drive to the basket and bank a layup, while getting fouled, for the initial points of the game.

Missing her foul shot, Ericksen was able to rebound and score another layup. The next play of the game, Scanlon drove down the center key, faked a pass to an outside player, and continued for the layup and one as she was fouled by Mount Olive’s Brittany Gulick.

This allowed the Highlanders to open up the game with a 7-0 run. The Marauders were finally able to get some points on the board when Allison Rolsing was able to drive to the hoop and get a layup. After that, however, Ericksen was able to get two layups off a pass from Greco one time and the other from Scanlon.

It was here that the Highlanders were able to rally off six more points. A couple more layups, some from Tank, others from Greco sealed the score off at 20-8 for the opening quarter.

The next quarter, Latifah Robinson was able to score three foul shots, adding to the Marauders points in the opening minute. Consecutive steals by Mount Olive, one from Robinson and the other from Brianna Zazzaro lit a fire under th  ...Read More

The West Morris Highlanders stayed in control for most of the game on Tuesday night, topping Sparta 63-50. The Highlanders jumped out to an early lead and a second half foul trouble from the Highlanders helped the Spartans make it close, but it proved to not be enough to take down powerhouse West Morris.

The Highlanders set the pace in the first quarter, opening up with a 22-13 lead at the end. Shayna Ericksen had nine points while Julia Scanlon followed with five. Hannah Cohen and Casey Creshaugh helped out the Spartans with two points each.

The second quarter was dominated by the Highlanders with drives to the hoop by Alisa Greco and Ally Tank. Although West Morris was able to rack up eighteen points this quarter, foul trouble allowed Sparta to get to a one-and-one situation early. Creshaugh was clutch on free throws for the Spartans, adding to shots by Cohen and a three pointer by Courtney Noone. The first half ended with a beautiful play by the Highlanders after Caroline Consol rebounded the ball, made a quick pass to Scanlon, who in turn made a court-long pass to an open Ericksen for the fast break layup. The score at the end of the quarter was 40-23 in favor of West Morris.

Opening up the third quarter, Sparta had some unfortunate turnovers, allowing West Morris to stretch the lead a little further. Fouls from Brittney Matthes and Cohen gave the Highlanders an opportunity to add points from free throws by Scanlon and Ericksen. Fouls really became a  ...Read More

West Morris came out ahead 47 to 42 in the last quarter after the Wallkill Valley Rangers rallied back to make it a close game. Shayna Ericksen made a large impact for the Highlanders with twenty points and Kelsey Murray helped out the Rangers, ending with ten points.

For most of the first half of the game, the Highlanders dominated with Ericksen under the hoop and Julia Scanlon feeding the ball, taking on the role as playmaker. Scanlon had assists to Alisa Greco, Ericksen, and Ally Tank to propel West Morris out to an early lead of 16 to 7 at the end of the first quarter. The Rangers, however, bounced back with 9-2 run in the beginning of the second quarter. Carley Mangine, Brittany Harlos and Katie Harrigan all helped to make the difference for Wallkill Valley. With West Morris turnovers and the Rangers hard work, the end of the half ended in a tie at 22.

Both teams came out in the third quarter strong, scoring on every possession. Layups by Scanlon and Greco for West Morris and shots by Melissa Conrad and Ashley Napovier for the Rangers kept the score close for not only the rest of the quarter, but for the rest of the game as well. Turnovers and fouls from each team both allowed equal opportunities to get points on the board. The score at the end of the third quarter was 37 to 36.

The fourth quarter started off much like the last one, with each teams scoring on almost every possession. An Ericksen layup commenced the final quarter, and a Kelsey Murra  ...Read More

Stellar performances by Shayna Ericksen and Ally Tank helped the Highlanders get another game in the win column as the Knights fall to 2-8. For the Knights, Dana Castellano had an outstanding game, anchoring the team on both offense and defense. With the final score being 58 to 36, West Morris proved that they are a force to be reckoned in the conference.

The first quarter started off with a Julia Scanlon foul shot, an Ericksen layup, and an Alisa Greco three pointer, allowing West Morris to start the game ahead 6 to 2. Knights’ turnovers proved to be the key element for the Highlanders as Morris Hills’ next three possessions ended in the hands of West Morris players. Tank, Greco, and Scanlon were all able to turn these turnovers into points for the Highlanders. The Knights were able to rack up some points before the first quarter closed out, with a layup and a three pointer by Castellano. The opening quarter ended with West Morris ahead 15 to 7.

The second quarter belonged to Ericksen as she scored 10 points, more than half of the Highlanders 18 points this quarter. She started by sinking two layups and was followed by a layup off an inbound pass by Tank. The next basket was another layup from Ericksen off of a steal and a fast break by Greco, but Diana Fleischman was able to temporarily stop the barrage of points when she sunk a three pointer about three minutes into the quarter. However, this hold up did not last long as Tank drove to the basket and made an  ...Read More

After a tough loss on Saturday, the Highlanders came back in full force today, dominating for most of the game, with the final score being 47-34. Shayna Ericksen made a presence underneath the hoop whether it was rebounds or layups, helping West Morris move ahead to 3-1 on the season. For the Rams, Leah Papalia was a driving force on defense as well as offense and had four points on the day before fouling out early in the fourth quarter.
Randolph’s first and only lead of the day came in the early seconds of the first quarter when Papalia drove to the hoop for a layup. From then on, it was all West Morris with layups from Julia Scanlon and Ericksen and a three point field goal by Alisa Greco. After a Scanlon block and layup, the Highlanders had a lead of 12 to 2 before the Rams came storming back to make it a 5 point game before the end of the first quarter.
The Rams went a short run for the beginning of the second quarter, carrying the momentum from earlier. Layups by Marvina Miniovich and Christine Meizoso helped to get the Rams back into the game. With the score tied at 16, it was fouling that helped West Morris get some more points on the board. Fouls on Michelle McGinniss allowed the Highlanders to bank a couple of foul shots, along with an Ericksen layup and a Jess Poole three pointer, and to stay on top for the rest of the game. At the end of the half, the score was 22-17.
Randolph came out strong, once again, in the third quarter with a quick block an  ...Read More

Defense, defense, defense. That was all North Hunterdon Lions needed to pull out a 49-22 win over the West Morris Highlanders, handing them their first loss of the season. The Lions move ahead to 2-0, while the Highlanders fall to 2-1.

Steals, blocked passes and deflected shots started in the first quarter, setting the stage for almost the entire game. North Hunterdon won the tip off and drove to the basket, but missed the shot.

Kelly Loughney fouled West Morris’ Julia Scanlon, giving her two foul shots, in the early seconds of the first quarter. Making one of the two, this was West Morris’ only point for the quarter, allowing the Lions to pull ahead early.

Numerous steals by Jess Pellechio, missed shots by the Highlanders, and layups by Loughney summed up the quarter which ended as 13 to 1 in favor of the Lions.

The momentum continued to swing towards North Hunterdon in the second quarter as well as missed shots became a big hindrance for the Highlanders. The Lions capitalized on West Morris’ mistakes as three pointers by Mary Vanoerveen and Alyssa Fania extended the lead even further.

A foul shot from Ally Tank and a layup by Shayna Ericksen were the Highlanders points for the quarter. North Hunterdon controlled the defensive game, once again, with steals from Vanoerveen closing out the first half at 25 to 4.

The third quarter was mainly dominated by West Morris as the girls pulled out twelve points, shortening the lead to fif  ...Read More

Junior Carly Shello was the sixth man in the Highlanders rotation today against the Pope John Lions, but that didn’t stop her from making a large impact in the game. With the final score being 58 to 49, much of the play making for West Morris started with Shello’s steals and blocked passes and really made the difference in a well-fought game.

Starting off the game, the Highlanders came out with force as Alisa Greco sunk a three pointer and both Shayna Ericksen and Julia Scanlon rallied off some foul shots to go ahead 8 to 0 before Pope John called a timeout to settle their players.

After the stoppage in play, the Lions regained composure and Alex Brehery responded with a three pointer as Pope John began to gain some momentum. Layups by Amy Rowland and Brehery tied the game up and it quickly became a battle for the lead. A reply from Scanlon and Ericksen put the Highlanders ahead, but, with two seconds to go in the first quarter, Brehery was able to take a shot from outside the three point arc as the buzzer sounded to keep the Lions in the game. At the end of the quarter, the score was 15 to 14 in favor of West Morris.

It seemed that the last second shot helped Pope John regain some confidence as soon as the second quarter started. Caitlin Whelan and Alexa Reigstad both came out strong with layups and tough defense. West Morris was able to keep the lead, but for most of the second quarter, the Lions were able to keep up with them.

Soon, both teams  ...Read More

The returning Morris County girls basketball Champions hope to start the season off strong, even after losing two key players, Haley D'Angelo and Emily Peel. Four year varsity player and senior captain Julia Scanlon leads the team along with senior captains Alisa Greco and Jess Poole.

The Highlanders have a lot of depth as returning starters Greco, Scanlon and Sophomore Shayna Ericksen work with Poole and seniors Mary Cabarle, Age Orlando, and Hailey Koop and juniors Ally Tank and Carly Shello. Coach Fran Gavin is hopeful that the girls will be able to recover from losing two driving forces in D'Angelo and Peel.by filling in those spots with Ericksen under the net and Greco and Scanlon taking over the point guard positions. The starting five of Scanlon, Greco, Poole, Ericksen and Tank look to use friendship and past experiences to work well together as a team.

These girls have grown up playing basketball together whether it was on travel teams, AAU teams, or middle school teams. Friends since an early age, all five of these girls have an unmistakable bond that carries off the court as well as on.

Point guards Scanlon and Greco have played on various teams throughout the years, but they have always played together. The ability for one to bounce off the other during the game will be a key factor in the success of the West Morris team this season.

"We have high hopes for this season and hope to compete for conference, counties, and states!" Scanlon  ...Read More

We are currently perfecting our new publication using Boy’s and Girl’s Lacrosse as our lead sports for West Morris. However we will soon be opening our recruiting doors to cover additional sports. If you are interested in joining in the fun of being a part of the world of sports journalism and making a difference for your school, please contact Barry Buchanan at buchanan@wmchs.org and tell him that you would like to interview for one of our roles.

This is a terrific way to get great experience in the world of sports journalism and photography and while putting something very tangible on your college resume. It involves a commitment, like any team, but is a lot of fun!

Sincerely yours,

George Muha (aka Unruly)
Conference Director
Iron Hills Sports Conference of the HSjox.com network.