DENVILLE - Volker Architect's pressure defense and balanced scoring attack was too much for Smart Growth Mutual Funds as Volker won the Denville PAL 7th/8th Grade Rec League's playoff championship with a 39-24 victory over Smart Growth in a game played at Riverview School here on Tuesday, March 9.
Both teams finished the regular season at 8-1 to tie for the regular-season crown and both teams won their opening-round playoff games. But Volker's balanced scoring - with four players scoring at least six points - made the difference in the playoff championship game.
Alexandraia Rankin led Volker (10-1) with 11 points while Julia Forsyth added eight points and Molley Reichhard and Brooke Fuertgas each finished with six points. Courtney Knudson added four points and Allyson black and Selena Miller each scored two to round out the scoring for Volker.
Shannon Gleeson scored a game-hith 12 points to lead Smarth Growth (9-2). Tess Feury added six points while Raelyn Giasanti finished with four poijnts and Danielle Fernandez scored two points to complete the scoring for Smart Growth.
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Smarth Growth, Volker win to gain title game
DENVILLE - Smart Growth Mutual Funds and Volker Architect - teams with identical 9-1 records - will meet in the championship game of the Denville PAL 7th/8th Girls Rec Basketball League playoffs on Tuesday, March 9, at Riverview School at 6 p.m.
The teams advanced to the title game with semifinal victories on Saturday, March 6, as Smart Growth edged Sunrise Rotary, 37-35, and Volker Architect beat Stewarts/Denville Freeze, 46-28, with both games played at Riverview School.
Smart Growth turned back a determined upset bid by Sunrise Rotary (6-5) when Raelyn Giasanti broke a 35-35 tie with 30 seconds left to play in regulation by scoring the final points of the game on a layup.
Shannon Gleeson scored 15 points to lead the scoring for Smart Growth. Tess Fuery added eight points; Giasanti finished with seven points; Claire Lubash scored five points; and Erin Logush added two points to round out the scoring for the winners.
Sarah Houtsma and Madison Beumee each scored 11 points for Sunrise Rotary while Samantha Bargfrede added eight; Michaela Clarke and Chrissy Esposito each scored two points; and Sandy Vuong added a free throw to complete the scoring for Sunrise.
In Volker Architect’s victory, Alexandria Rankin scored 12 points and Allyson Black added 11 to lead the scoring. Courtney Knudson added nine points; Julia Forsyth and Samantha Caby each scored six points; and Molly Reichard completed Volker’s scoring with two points.
Olivia Dlugasch finished with 12 points for Stewarts/Denville Freeze while Shannon Dolan added five points; Yasmin Assaf and Emily Bentivegna each added four points; and Erica Guiliana scored three points.
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Stewarts/Denville Freeze, Sunrise Rotary triumph
DENVILLE - Stewarts/Denville Freeze and Sunrise Rotary won first-round playoff games in the Denville PAL 7th/8th grade girls rec basketball league in games played at Riverview School here on Tuesday, March 2, and Wednesday, March 3.
Emily Bentivegna scored her only two points of the game with five seconds left to play to give Stewarts/Denville Freeze a 30-28 victory over API on Tuesday evening.
Olivia Dlugasch led Stewarts/Denville Freeze (4-6) with 11 points; Shannon Dolan added seven points; Kelsey Hanson chipped in with six points; and Erice Giuliano, Ashley Porto and Bentivegna each finished with two points.
For API (2-9), Marissa Bouman led the way with 11 points; Kelsey Grimm scored six points; Kate Tell and Marina Castelluzo each added five points; and Emily Poquette had a free throw to complete the scoring.
In Wednesday's game, Sarah Houtsma scored her only four points of the game to break a 14-14 tie and Sunrise Rotary went on to beat Joyce Honda, 20-17.
Sandy Vuong, Samantha Bargfrede, Madison Beumee and Houtsma each scored four points for Sunrise Rotary (6-4) while Nadine Hurt added three points and Michaela Clarke scored a free throw.
Analisa Rotella led Joyce Honda (2-9) with five points; Taylor Latorre and Krista Mennella each had four points; and Ashley Luca and Amber Predmore each finished with two points to complete the scoring for Joyce Honda.
Second-round games will be played on Saturday, March 6, at Riverview with Sunrise Rotary facing Smart Growth (8-1) at 9:15 a.m. and Stewarts/Denville Freeze playing Volker Architect (8-1) at 10:30 a.m.
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Volker Architect, Smart Growth tie for title
DENVILLE - Volker Architect beat Smart Growth Mutual Funds, 39-32, on Wednesday, Feb. 24, at Riverview School, to hand Smart Growth its first loss of the season on the final day of regular-season play in the Denville PAL 7th/8th grade girls rec basketball league.
The result left both teams with a record of 8-1 and the title of co-champs for the regular-season part of the league�s schedule. Both teams also draw a bye for the first round of the league's post-season playoff that are scheduled to start on Tuesday, March 2.
As for the Volker-Smart Growth game, Molly Reichard scored 12 points and Allyson Black finished with 10 points to lead Volker Architect in scoring. Alexandria Rankin added seven points; Julia Forsyth had six points; and Brooke Fuertges and Courtney Knudson each scored two points to complete Volker's scoring totals.
Tess Fuery scored a game-high 14 points to lead Smart Growth while Shannon Gleeson added eight points; Claire Lubash had six points; and Raelyn Giasanti finished with four points.
In another 7th/8th rec league game played on Wednes-day, API outlasted Joyce Honda, 33-30.
Maggie Shaw scored 13 points for API (2-8) while Megan Griffin added eight points; Raquel Frier and Kelsey Grimm each scored four points; and Marisa Boumann and Marina Castelluzzo each added two points.
For Joyce Honda (2-8), Analisa Rotella scored 12 points and Krista Mennella added 10 points to lead the scoring. Taylor Latorre added four points and Kayla Graessle and Kelly Dzialo each added two points to complete the scoring for Joyce Honda.
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Sunrise holds off Joyce Honda, 19-16
DENVILLE - Sunrise Rotary defeated Joyce Honda, 19-16, in a Denville PAL 7th/8th grade girls rec league basketball game played at Riverview School on Tuesday, Feb. 23.
Sarah Houtsma led the way for Sunrise (5-4) with five points; Sandy Vuong and Samantha Bargfrede each had four points; and Jennianne Shimansky, Madison Beumee and Micheala Clarke each had two points to complete the Sunrise scoring.
For Joyce Honda (2-7), Taylor Latorre and Krista Mennella each had seven points to share game-high honors and Kelly Dzialo finished with two points.
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Smart Growth stays unbeaten with win over Sunrise
DENVILLE - Smart Growth Mutual Funds remained unbeaten in eight starts with a 37-25 victory over Sunrise Rotary in a Denville PAL 7th/8th grade girls rec league game played at Riverview School on Saturday, Feb. 20.
Tess Fuery led Smart Growth with 11 points while Shannon Gleeson added nine, Michell Connell had eight; Sophia Anazelone scored five and Claire Lubash and Sophia Anazelone each finished with two for Smart Growth.
Samantha Bargfrede led Sunrise Rotary (4-4) with 10 points; Madison Beumee, Michelle Clarke and Sandy Vuong each had four points; and Jennianne Shimansky finished with three points.
In another game played Saturday, Volker Architect won its seventh game against one loss by stopping API, 46-24, behind the 16-point effort of Allyson Black.
Courtney Knudson added 10 points to the Volker attack; Alexandria Rankin and Julia Forsyth each finished with eight points; and Samantha Caby had four points.
Maggie Shaw had a game-high 20 points for API while Kate Tell and Marina Caselluzzo each finished with two points.
In the final game Saturday, Joyce Honda defeated Stewarts/Denville Freeze, 28-23, for its second win of the season. Krista Mennella had seven points to lead Joyce Honda (2-6); Taylor Latorre and Kayla Graessle each finished with six; Analisa Rotella and Kelly Dzialo each had four points; and Amber Predmore added a free throw to complete the scoring.
For Stewarts (3-6), Shannon Dolan had seven points; Olivia Dlugasch added five; Kelsey Hanson and Erica Giuliano each had four; Emily Bentivegna scored two points; and Yasmin Assaf had a free throw.
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Dolan, Dlugasch lead Stewarts to victory
DENVILLE - Shannon Dolan and Olivia Dlugasch each scored 10 points to lead Stewarts/Denville Freeze to a 34-26 victory over API in a Denville PAL 7th/8th grade girls rec game played at Riverview School on Tuesday, Feb. 9.
Erica Giuliano added six points; Nicole Cygon scored four points; and Kelsey Hanson and Ashley Porto each finished with two points for Stewarts (3-5).
For API (1-7), Kelsey Grimm had a game-high 12 points; Raquel Frier finished with five points; Marisa Boumann had four points; Marina Caselluzzo scored three points and Kate Tell completed the API scoring with two points.
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Gleeson late basket paces Smart Growth
DENVILLE - Smart Growth Mutual Funds remained unbeaten with a two-point victory and once-beaten Volker Architect also won in Denville PAL 7th/8th grade girls rec league basketball held Wednesday, Feb. 3, at Riverview School.
API (1-6) put a scare into Smart Growth (7-0) as it took Shannon Gleeson�s layup late in the game to break a tie at 33 and give Smart Growth a 35-33 victory.
Claire Lubash finished with 14 points for Smart Growth while Tess Feury added nine. Gleeson added eight points and Raelyn Giasanti and Erin Logush each finished two for the winners.
Maggie Shaw had a big game for API with her game-high 21 points. Marisa Bouman added six points and Kelsey Grimm, Emily Poquette and Megan Griffin each finished with two points.
Volker Architect (6-1) got a game-high 17 points from Alexandria Rankin in scoring a 47-20 victory over Stewarts/Denville Freeze.
Samantha Caby had eight points for the winners while Courtney Knudson and Brooke Fuertges each had six; Molley Reischard finished with four points; and Selena Miller, Allyson Black and Julia Forsyth each scored two points.
Erica Guiliano had seven points for Stewarts with Yasmin Assaf and Shannon Dolan each adding four points; Ashley Porot scoring three; and Kelsey Hanson finishing with two points.
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Fuery, Gleeson, Logush lead Smart Grownth
DENVILLE - Unbeaten Smart Growth Mutual Funds won its sixth game of the season by defeating Joyce Honda, 46-24, in a Denville PAL 7th/8th grade girls rec league game played at Riverview School on Tuesday, Feb. 2.
Tess Fuery scored 13 points, Shannon Gleeson added 12 and Erin Logush finished with 11 points to lead Smart Growth.
Sophia Anazelone and Danielle Fernandez each added four points and Michelle Connell finished with two to complete the scoring for Smart Growth.
Analisa Rotella led Joyce Honda (1-6) with 12 points while Taylor LaTorre added eight and Kelly Dzialo finished with four points.
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Smart Growth wins sixth game of season
DENVILLE - Unbeaten Smart Growth Mutual Funds won its sixth game of the season by defeating Joyce Honda, 46-24, in a Denville PAL 7th/8th grade girls rec league game played at Riverview School on Tuesday, Feb. 2.
Tess Fuery scored 13 points, Shannon Gleeson added 12 and Erin Logush finished with 11 points to lead Smart Growth.
Sophia Anazelone and Danielle Fernandez each added four points and Michelle Connell finished with two to complete the scoring for Smart Growth.
Analisa Rotella led Joyce Honda (1-6) with 12 points while Taylor LaTorre added eight and Kelly Dzialo finished with four points.
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Sunrise, Volker, Smart Growth win
DENVILLE - Sarah Houtsma scored her team�s last five points as she led Sunrise Rotary to a 26-24 victory over Stewarts/Denville Freeze in Denville PAL 7th/8th Grade Girls Rec League play at Riverview School on Saturday, Jan. 30.
Houtsma, who led all scorers with nine points, went on her streak with three minutes to play and the score tied 21-21. She also had three steals in the same time span.
Also for Sunrise Rotary (4-3), Madison Beumee scored five points and Samantha Bargfrede, Jennianne Shimansky and Micheala Clarke each finished with four points. For Stewarts (2-4), Olivia Dlugasch had a team-high seven points; Kelsey Hanson added six points; Erica Guiliano had five points; Yasmin Assaf finished with four points and Ashley Porto had two points.
In other games:
Volker Architect broke open a close game after one quarter and went on to beat Joyce Honda, 39-12.
Volker Architect (5-1) was led by Alexander Rankin�s 15 points while Molly Reichard, Selena Miller, Courtney Knudson and Brooke Fuertges each finished with six points. For Joyce Honda (1-5), Krista Mennella scored eight points and Analisa Rotella and Kayla Graessle each had two.
Smart Growth Mutual Funds, trailing 29-18 at the half, held API to eight second-half points and rallied for a 50-37 victory.
Smart Growth (5-1) had three players in double figures as Shannon Gleeson finished with 18 points and Tess Feury and Claire Lubash each finished with 14 points. Michelle Connell had four points to round out the Smart Growth scoring.
For API (1-5), Maggie Shaw finished with 15 points; Kelsey Grimm had eight points; Marisa Bouman and Marina Castelluzzo each had four; and Emily Poquette had two points.
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Clutch shots late in game boost Sunrise
DENVILLE - Sunrise Rotary used a balanced scoring attack and some clutch late-game shooting by Micheala Clarke, Samantha Bargfrede, Sarah Houtsma and Madison Beumee to beat API, 23-19, in a Denville PAL 7th/8th grade girls rec league game played at Riverview School on Wednesday, Jan. 27.
With the score tied at 16-16 with three minutes to go in the game, Sunrise closed out the game on an 7-3 run for the win.
Clarke started the rally with a free throw and Bargfrede, Houtsma and Beumee followed with field goals while the Dunkin� Ds defense was holding API to three points over the same span.
Jennianne Shimansky and Bargfrede each scored six points for Sunrise Rotary (3-3). Houtsma and Beumee each finished with four; and Clarke had three points to round out the scoring for Sunrise.
API (1-4) got a game-high 11-point performance from Maggie Shaw while Kelsey Grimm added six points and Kate Tell finished with two points.
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Smart Growth hand Volker first loss of season DENVILLE - Smart Growth Mutual Funds scored the last six points of the game to defeat Volker Architect, 34-38, in a battle between two unbeaten teams in a Denville PAL 7th/8th Grade Girls Rec Basketball League game played at Riverview School on Tuesday, Jan. 26.
With the score tied at 28-28 and one minute left to play, Shannon Gleeson got Smart Growth�s end-of-game run started with a free throw. Gleeson then scored on a layup to push Smart Growth�s lead to three at 31-28 and then Tess Feury followed with a 3-point field goal for the final points of the game.
The win kept Smart Growth's unbeaten season alive at 4-0; the loss was Volker�s first in five games.
Claire Lubash and Gleeson each had a team-high 10 points for Smart Growth while Fuery finished with eight points and Raelyn Giasanti had six.
For Volker Architect, Alexandria Rankin finished with a game-high 11 points; Allyson Black added six; Samantha Caby had five points; Courtney Knudson added four points; and Molly Reichard scored two points to complete Volker�s scoring.
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Voker's defense sends Joyce Honda to defeat
DENVILLE - Unbeaten Volker Architect's defensive pressure proved to be too much to handle for Joyce Honda as Volker improved to 4-0 with a 41-21 victory in a Denville PAL 7th/8th Grade Girls Rec Basketball League game played at Riverview School on Monday, Jan. 25.
Alexandria Rankin, Allyson Black and Selena Miller each scored eight points for Volker. Molly Reichhard added six points, Courtney Knudson had five; Samantha Caby finished with four points; and Julia Forsyth had two points to close out the scoring for Volker.
For Joyce Honda (1-4), Krista Mennella had 10 points; Analisa Rotella finished with nine; and Taylor Latorre added two points.
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Hanson, Dolan late FGs give Stewarts a 24-23 win
DENVILLE - Kelsey Hanson scored with 12 seconds to go and Shannon Dolan�s hit a basket at the buzzer to give Stewarts/Denville Freeze a 24-23 victory over Joyce Honda in a Denville PAL 7th/8th Grade Girls Rec Basketball League game played at Riverview School on Saturday, Jan. 23.
Joyce Honda (1-3) had a 23-20 lead with 25 seconds left in the game when Hanson scored on a layup at the 0:12 mark to cut the gap to one point and then Dolan followed with her shot that went through the nets at the buzzer to give Stewarts/Denville Freeze (2-3) the victory.
Hanson led the winners in scoring with eight points while Olivia Dlugasch added six, Dolan and Yasmin Assaf each finished with four, and Nicole Cygon added two points to complete the scoring.
Krista Mennella had a game-high 15 points for Joyce Honda while Analisa Rotella scored four points, Ashley Luca had three and Kayla Graessle had one.
In other games, Smart Growth Mutual Funds and Volker Architect each remained unbeaten (3-0) as Smart Growth beat Sunrise Rotary, 36-21, and Volker beat API, 42-17.
Shannon Gleeson scored 20 points for Smart Growth while Tess Fuery added nine, Erin Logush had three, and Claire Lubash and Michelle Connell each finished with two points.
For Sunrise Rotary (2-3), Samantha Bargfrede scored seven points, Sarah Houtsma had six, and Madison Beumee, Sandy Vuong, Jennianne Shimansky and Chrissy Esposito each finished with two points.
Volker Architect showed good balance in its win over API as Courtney Knudson led the way with 11 points, Brooke Fuertgas added 10 points and Allyson Black finished with eight points. Alexandra Rankin added five points, Selena Miller had four and Samantha Caby and Julia Forsyth each had two points.
For API (1-3) , Maggie Shaw finished with seven points, Marisa Bourman had four, Kelsey Grimm added three, Raquel Frier scored two points, and Marina Castelluzzo finished with a free throw.
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Sunrise Rotary 'smothers' opponent with defense
DENVILLE - Defense was the name of the game Wednesday (Jan. 20) evening as Sunrise Rotary defeated Joyce Honda, 20-2, in a Denville PAL 7th-8th Grade Girls Basketball League game at Riverview School here.
Analisa Rotella scored the only basket of the game for Joyce Honda (1-2) as Sunrise Rotary (2-2) used a smothering defense that kept Joyce Honda from getting off good shots.
Sarah Houtsma scored eight points and Jennianne Shimansky added six to lead Sunrise Rotary. Madison Beumee, Samantha Bargfrede and Sany Vuong each scored two points to complete the scoring for the winners.
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API edges Stewarts/Denville Freeze on late rally
DENVILLE - API outscored Stewarts/Denville Freeze by six points in the final quarter to break a tie and move out to a 23-17 victory in a Denville PAL 7th/8th-grade girls rec basketball league game at Riverview School on Tuesday, Jan. 19.
The teams entered the final period of play tied at 15 and API scored the first six points of the quarter to take a lead it never lost. API outscored Stewarts, 8-2, in the final period to seal the victory.
Maggie Shaw scored 13 points to lead API. Megan Griffin added five points; Kelsey Grimm and Raquel Frier each scored two points; and Marina Casteluzzo hit a free throw to complete API's scoring totals.
Olivia Dlugasch scored six points and Emily Bentivengna added four to pace Stewarts. Shannon Dolan, Ashley Porto, Erica Giuliano each scored two points and Yasmin Assaf scored one point to round out the scoring for Stewarts.
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Joyce Honda edges API; Volker, Smart Growth win
DENVILLE - There were three lead changes in the fourth quarter before Joyce Honda broke away for a 38-35 victory over API to highlight the Denville PAL 7th/8th Girls Rec League schedule of games played at Riverview School on Saturday, Jan. 16.
Analisa Rotella scored a game-high 16 points to lead Joyce Honda (1-1). Krista Mennella finished with eight points; Taylor LaTorre had six points; and Amber Predmore, Kelly Dzialo, Kayla Graessle and Ashley Luca each had two points.
For API (1-2), Maggie Shaw and Marisa Bourman led a balanced attack by each scoring nine points; Rachel Frier had eight points; Kelsey Grimm seven; and Megan Griffen completed the API scoring totals with two points.
In the other two games, both Volker Architect and Smart Growth Mutual Funds improved their records to 2-0 as Volker beat Sunrise Rotary, 32-8, and Smart Growth defeated Stewarts/Denville Freeze, 43-21, turning a one-point first-period deficit into a nine-point halftime lead and
For Volker, Molly Reichhard had 10 points and Alexandria Rankin added nine to lead the way. Allyson Black and Brooke Fuertgas each had four points; Julia Forsythe and Samantha Caby each finished with two points; and Selena Miller scored on a free throw to complete Volker�s scoring.
Sarah Houtsma, Sandy Voung, Jennianne Shimansky and Micheala Clarke each had two points and for Sunrise Rotary (1-2).
Smart Growth got a 15-point performance from Tess Feury and 12 points from Shannon Gleeson to lead its scoring. Raelyn Giasanti added eight points; Erin Logush finished with four points; and Clair Lubash and Michele Connell each had two to comple the winners scoring.
For Stewarts/Denville Freeze, Yasmin Assaf finished with six points; Shannon Dolan had five; Kelsey Hanson and Erica Giuliano each had four points; and Natile Porto had two.
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Stewarts/Denville Freeze edges Sunrise Rotary, 23-21
DENVILLE - The league is into only its second round of games, but the Denville PAL 7th/8th Grade Girls Rec Basketball League is already providing excitement.
Stewarts/Denville Freeze held off Sunrise Rotary, 23-21, in a game that was close throughout on Monday, Jan. 11, at the Riverview School here.
Stewarts was led by Erica Guiliano, who finished with a game-high eight points. Kelsey Hanson scored four points and Yasmin Assaf had three for the winners with Emily Bentivengna, Nicole Cygon, Olivia Dlugasch and Shannone Dolan each adding two points to the team total.
Sarah Houtsma and Samantha Bargfrede each scored six points for Sunrise Rotary while Madison Beumee finished with five points and Jennianna Shimansky and Sandy Vuong each had two points for the game.
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Rotary, Smart Growth, Voker triumph
DENVILLE - Sunrise Rotary, Smart Growth Mutual Funds and Volker Arhitect each won their games in the Denville PAL 7th/8th-grade girls rec league on Saturday, Jan. 9.
Sunrise Rotary defeated API, 20-10, in a good defensive game; Smart Growth beat Joyce Honda, 50-26; and Volker Architect beat Stewarts/Denville Freeze, 46-10, in games played at Riverview Middle School here.
Samantha Bargfred scored 10 points and Sarah Houtsma added six and Madison Beumee scored four for Sunrise Rotary. For API, Maggie Shaw and Kelsey Grimm led the way with four points each.
Smart Growth pulled away from Joyce Honda with an 18-2 run in the third period as Tess Fuery scored 18 points and Shannone Gleeson finished with 16 to lead the winners. Claire Lubash added eight points and Raelyn Giasanti chipped in with six points for Smarth Growth. For Joyce Honda, Analisa Rotella scored 10 points; Krista Mennella finished with eight; and Taylor LaTorre added four points.
Volker Architect used a pressing defense that forced several turnovers in jumping out to a 24-0 lead in their game against Stewars/Denville Freeze. Alexandra Rankin and Molly Reichard each scored 11 points for Volker while Courtney Knudson added eight, Samantha Caby had seven and Allyson Black finished with six points. Ollivia Dlugasch scored four points for Stewart/Denville Freeze and Kelsey Hanson and Shannon Dolan each finished with two points.
