Photo courtesy of Cynthia Cumming WOHS’ Mya Bembry, No. 10, Jewel Burnett, No. 45, and Deborah Alabi, No. 34, hold their defensive positions.
By Peyton Smith
Correspondent
WEST ORANGE, NJ – The West Orange High School girls’ varsity basketball team defeated both Bloomfield Tech and Orange High School to remain undefeated this season with a 13-0 record.
On Jan. 19, WOHS defeated Bloomfield Tech, 69-37, at home. The Lady Mountaineers got right to business as they started the game with an 11-0 run. Strong defense forced lots of turnovers and West Orange took advantage of their many fast-break opportunities. At the end of the first quarter, West Orange held a 28-2 lead.
In the second quarter the Lady Mountaineers continued to dominate in the paint. They controlled the boards on both offense and defense, which gave them ample scoring opportunities.
The Bloomfield Tech Spartans started to show signs of life in the third quarter where they outscored West Orange, 16-4. The Lady Mountaineers came back to life in the fourth, where they secured the win.
The Lady Mountaineers were led by strong performances by senior Jewel Burnett and sophomore Mya Bembry. Burnett recorded her third double-double of the season with 14 points and 12 assists. Bembry had a game-high 25 points, including two three-pointers. She also had nine rebounds, six steals, and four assists.
“I think it’s just my team. We’re passing the ball well and getting lots of open looks,” said Burnett after the game. “We just played great defense. You take what (the defense) gives you. That led to lots of assists and easy looks.”
WOHS head coach Caniece Williams added that her team’s success is the result of unselfish play. “We are always looking for the next person instead of putting ourselves first, and we get a lot of easy buckets because we pass the ball around. We aren’t worried about individual statistics, it’s been about the team all season long.”
Burnett said “since we’ve struggled the past three years, it feels amazing to be undefeated.”
Coach Williams also added: “Moving forward, our goal is to win the conference championship. Right now we are undefeated in the conference and we are trying to win a county championship as well. We are also ranked third in the state for our group, so we have that going for us, too.”
WOHS improved to a 13-0 record with a 39-34 win at Orange on Jan. 21.
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