By Scott Wild
For the second time in a week, the Morristown High School girls basketball team had a game postponed, with a snow-out on Tuesday vs. Montville.
Last Tuesday, the girls were rained out, an unusual occurrence for an indoor sport, when they were slated to play in Randolph.
In between those extreme weather events, the Colonials lost a rematch to conference rival Pope John, whom they had defeated in the season opener, and demolished Immaculata in Somerville.
Last Thursday night, Morristown was defeated 49-40 by Pope John at home.
With the game tied at halftime, 26-26, sophomore Mia Washington of the Sparta parochial school took over the game with a series of impressive acrobatic drives to the basket. Washington would finish with 17 points.
Sophomore Addison Platt also was a force for the Lions, scoring 18 and dishing four assists. Defensively she contributed three blocks and three steals as well.
With three minutes left in the third quarter, senior Anna Rivetti drove for a layup that gave Morristown a 33-32 lead. Rivetti would lead the Colonials with 13 points, including a season high three three-pointers.
From that point on, however, Pope John outscored the Colonials 17-7 as Morristown struggled with turnovers. The Lions were credited with a remarkable 12 steals in the game.
Seniors Cameron McGinley and Maya Summerille each scored 12 points for Morristown. McGinley scored all of her 12 points on three-pointers, a season high four triples for the team’s leading scorer.
Notably, Pope John did not make a single three-pointer. But the Lions were relentless getting to the rim. They avenged a 34-30 loss to the Colonials back on Dec. 14, 2023.
Morristown’s record dropped to 6-5. Pope John improved to 8-3 and moved ahead of MHS in the NJAC American conference standings.
A Saturday evening contest in Somerville was a much happier affair, as the Colonials blew out the Immaculata Spartans, 55-28.
Seniors Summerille and Ally Smith got the team going with their hot shooting and contagious energy crashing the boards. Summerville would lead the squad with 12 points while Smith added seven.
Seniors McGinley and Rivetti each made two three-pointers as Morristown built a commanding 31-12 lead by halftime. McGinley would finish with 11 points and Rivetti scored 10 while running the offense efficiently. Junior Kasie “KB” Bush contributed nine points.
Morristown got to the foul line early and often, making 14 of 21 free throws.
Immaculata was led by junior Sofia Kouridakis, who finished with seven points. Morristown’s tenacious defense helped hold the Spartans leading scorer, senior Maddie Babula, to just four points as Immaculata’s record fell to 6-4 with the loss.
With the win, Morristown’s record improved to 7-5 and the Colonials are third in the Girls Basketball North Jersey, Section 1, Group 4 Power Point rankings, trailing just Paterson East Side and West Orange.
Coming up, the Colonials will play at Morris Knolls (8-3) Thursday night at 7 pm. They travel to Mahwah (11-1) on Saturday for a noon tip-off.
Scott Wild has enjoyed cheering on his four kids through their athletic careers at Morristown High. His daughter Laura is a senior on the girls basketball team. Between games, Wild also serves on the town zoning board.
