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 acrobatic layup under the hoop to put two more points on the board for the Highlanders. The passing, shooting, and defense all seemed to be going West Morris’ way as the girls dominated the half, ending at 33 to 13. Tank describes the team strengths saying that, “our aggressive defense and our ability to fast break well really make a difference. We work on both defense and fast breaks a lot at practice and it really pays off when we’re able to get points off of them in the game.”

Gabby Saggese was a key factor for the Knights for the rest of the game as she was able to drop two layups and a three pointer in the third quarter alone. Two foul shots, one from Jenna Chinco and one from Castellano helped Morris Hills, but the Highlanders were on too much of a hot streak to be stopped. Ericksen was able to add four more points this quarter, along with Age Orlando, Hailey Koop, and Caroline Consol, who each had two points to round out the score at 50 to 22.

The final quarter was dominated by Morris Hills as they scored 14 points to West Morris’ 8 to close out the game at 58 to 36. 4 points by Alexis Desa, 2 by Saggese, and 7 from Fleischman added to a last quarter surge by the Knights, but defense by Orlando, Consol, and Carly Shello ended any true threat from the Knights.