Summit, New Providence Girls Advance to Hilltopper Holiday Finals

New Providence 56, Kent Place 20 

Defending Group 1 champion New Providence cruised to an easy 56-20 victory Tuesday over the Kent Place Dragons, who were unable to recover after falling behind 15-2 at the end of the first quarter.

Guard Cassandra Squeri led all scorers with 14 points and led a ferocious Pioneer press that did not allow the Kent Place offense much breathing room. Squeri proved to be a difficult cover for the entire game as she showed off the ability to get to the basket with ease and finish with ease.

Center Kaycee deVoogd added eight points in the win and proved to be a difficult matchup for the Dragons’ defense anytime she took the floor. deVoogd also anchored a New Providence defense that was able to force turnovers with ease for much of the opening half.

Emma Culleton was effective at the point for the Pioneers, recording five assists to go along with four points in the game.

Trailing 27-4 at the intermission, Kent Place was able to right the ship in the final two periods and turn in a much better effort on the offensive end. Cara Brachman-Goldstein led the Dragons with eight points and  Jillian Nash added four.   

New Providence- Culleton-4, Lovenstein-2, Goslewski-5, deVoogd-8, Squeri-14, Cronin-11, Balog-5, McCurdy-6, Zepnick-2,

Kent Place-Nash-4, Cianciotta-2, Morgan-2, Brachman-Goldstein-8, Obercorder-2, Aronson-2

Summit 41, Livingston 16

Kate Martino (11 points) and Kelly Osmulski (10 points) both scored in double figures as host Summit cruised to a 41-16 semifinal tournament victory over Livingston. The Lancers were overmatched from the opening whistle and could not match up with the pace of the Hilltoppers.

Martino was able to control the game from the point guard position, dishing out five assists to go along with plenty of other impressive passes. The guard's  ability to push the ball up the floor and facilitate for her teammates was something that Livingston had no answer for all night long. Martino constantly seemed to be one step ahead of her opponents as she weaved her way the defense of the Lancers.

The Hilltoppers were able to withstand a relatively poor shooting performance by jumping out to a 16-0 lead and ending any doubt as to who the better team was on this night. Summit used a combination of defensive pressure and rebounding to ensure that their foe would not get many good looks at the basket.

Nicole Johnson added seven points for the Hilltoppers in the victory.

Summit- Chase-3, Baumeister-2, Murphy-4, Martino-11, Osmulski-10, Hoesly-5 Johnson-7, Galuppo-2

Livingston- Horluchi-5, Vacarro-7, Cole-4

Hilltopper Holiday Tournament Schedule

Thursday, Dec 29:

Third Place Consolation Game- Livingston vs Kent Place (4:30 pm)

Finals- Summit vs New Providence (6:00 pm)