Lady Bulldogs chase that elusive first win
BY SHAWN LAYTON
Staff Writer

METUCHEN — Despite stumbling out of the gate to an 0-6 start, the Metuchen High School girls basketball team remains optimistic and eager to notch its first win of the season with matchups against Mother Seton and Edison this week.

“We’re looking forward to the Edison game,” Metuchen head coach Susan LaFauci said. “The little pieces are starting to come together for us, and I think we will do well in our next three games.”

The Bulldogs will host Mother Seton for a 7 p.m. meeting Friday prior to traveling to Edison to take on the Eagles for a 1 p.m. tipoff on Saturday. The Eagles ended last week’s action with a 68-41 win over Monroe to improve to 5-4 on the season.

“I know they [Edison] are really quick on fast breaks and very aggressive,” LaFauci said. “They like to work inside, so it’s going to be important for Caitlin Walker and Katrina Hill to box out and remove Edison’s inside threat. If we can force them to shoot from outside we will be in good shape.”

The Bulldogs finished last week with a 49-29 loss to Middlesex after losing to South River on Wednesday by a score of 45-39.

“We were actually up in the Middlesex game in the third quarter, but they got away from us in the fourth,” LaFauci said. “Lauren Pisano had a good game for us, and finished with 14 points and seven rebounds.”

Walker was the leading scorer in the loss to South River as she ended the game with 15 points and a dozen boards.

“We’ve been working on having Caitlin go to the basket and draw some fouls,” LaFauci said. “She’s starting to be more aggressive and she’s made herself a threat in the middle.”

While Pisano and Walker have proven they can score, LaFauci is hoping they can have breakout performances on the same night.

“It’s nice that we’ve had a different girl step up each game,” LaFauci said. “What we need to happen is have all of them step up for the same game. If this happens the wins will start coming.”

Pisano and backcourt mate Joelle Vitale are doing a better job feeding the interior and getting the ball into the hands of Walker and Hill and it seems to be only a matter of time before the Bulldogs erase their goose egg from the winner’s column.

“Caitlin had some nice put-backs in the South River game,” LaFauci said. “She also made it to the foul line where she was very consistent. Both Caitlin and Katrina are rebounding the ball really well right now, and they keep getting better.”

Unfortunately, Walker got into some early foul trouble against Middlesex and her effectiveness was limited.

“With Caitlin out we looked to Lauren a bit more and she had a nice game,” LaFauci said. “We needed to work on not shying away from contact and we are starting to do well with this aspect. Things are looking better.”