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 problem for both teams in this quarter and, by the end, West Morris had six team fouls compared to Sparta’s five. Ericksen took control of this quarter, leading the team with eight points to round out the final score of the third at 54 to 38.

Sparta’s Kelly Giasson made a difference for the Spartans in the final quarter. Down as close as ten at one point, Sparta never gave up in an effort to ruin the Highlanders seven game win streak. Giasson had four points, but made a true presence on defense for the Spartans. The Highlanders got help from Scanlon on her foul shots as she was three for four in this quarter alone and a layup by Ericksen put the game out of reach for West Morris.

A good second half effort from Sparta allowed the girls to make it a close battle, but ultimately the West Morris Highlanders took on the Spartan attack, much like Persian King Xerxes, defending their home court as they move ahead to 11-2.