Milestone Reached: Morris Hills High School girls basketball coach Bill Nieman, shown above coaching the Lady Knights in an earlier game this season, recorded the 400th victory of his basketball coaching career on Saturday, Feb. 13, when his Lady Knights defeated Morristown, 40-36, at Morristown.
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Photo by Vince Zovlensky / vz223@aol.com
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Lady Knights bow out
of state sectional play
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ROCKAWAY - The Morris Hills High School girls basketball season came to an end Monday, March 1, with a 58-33 loss to Pascack Valley in an NJSIAA's North 1, Group 3 first-round game played at Pascack Valley High School in Hillsdale.
Pascack Valley (22-4), the No. 2 seed in the 15-team section, took a 14-6 lead after one quarter and extended the advantage to 12 points at the half and was never in danger in the second half.
Morris Hills, the No. 15 seed in the section, finished its season with a 6-17 mark.
With Mel Bertoli and Colleen Monahan the only two seniors on his young team, Morris Hills head coach Bill Nieman opted to apply for the tournament to give his Lady Knights another taste of tournament play and another chance to go up against a good team -- and Pascack Valley certainly filled that bill.
"The experience will be good for the underclassmen," said Nieman, who closed the 2009-2010 season with 401 career victories. "It gives them a taste of post-season play and hopefully, it will inspire them to work harder to improve their play for next season."
Jenna Chirico led the Lady Knights in scoring with eight points while Dana Castellano added six points on two 3-point field goals.
Alexis DeSa, Rachel Sihlanick and Bertoli each scored four points; Gabby Saggese finished with three points; and Jennifer Polanco and Monahan each added two points. Ally Abrams, Audrey Bencel, Casey DeSa and Diana Fleischman got in the game for the Lady Knights but did not score.
Pascack Valley’s quarterfinal-round opponent is No. 7 seed Wayne Hills, which beat No. 10 Wayne Valley, 40-36, also on Monday evening.
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Lady Knights honor seinors Bertoli, Monahan
ROCKAWAY - The Morris Hills High School girls basketball team said goodbye to its senior players on Saturday, Feb. 27, and will probably say farewell to the 2009-2010 season as well on Monday, March 1.
That’s when the 6-16 Lady Knights play Pascack Valley in an opening-round game of the NJSIAA North 1, Group 3 girls basketball sectional tournament. Pascack Valley brings a 21-3 record into the 15-team competition and was awarded the No. 2 seed behind Teaneck.
Morris Hills, the 15th seed, was originally scheduled to play No. 1 seed Teaneck as the 16th seed, but it was discovered that one of the sub-.500 teams that was used to fill out the 16-team bracket never submitted an intent-to-play application indicating it wanted to be considered for tournament play even if its record was less than .500 at the cutoff date for qualifying.
When Morris Hills coach Bill Nieman was approached by the school's athletics director Rob Haraka about applying for the tournament, Nieman never hesitated in agreeing to apply.
"The only thing I knew for sure about our season at that point was that we would be struggling," explained Nieman, who had but two seniors on his team and often went with a starting lineup consisting of one junior, three sophomores and a freshman. "We had our games when our inexperience hurt us, but there were four-five games that we lost that could have gone the other way, too.
"The girls have worked at the game and in being competitive and I wanted them to have the experience of playing in the state tournament. It will be a good experience for our younger kids - it will give them a chance to see a top-notch program in action and hopefully will want to get there themselves and step up their off-season workout programs.
"All in all, we’re looking a this as a positive experience for the team."
As for Saturday's game against Wallkill, the team honored seniors Melanie Bertoli, Colleen Monahan and senior captain Sara Polanco for their efforts they put into the Lady Knights’ program for the past four seasons.
"Bertoli and Monahan were spot starters for us - each of them started four-five games this year and came off the bench as role players in the rest of the game," Nieman said. "Polanco spent the season sidelined while recovering from a stress fracture in her back, but she helped out by being at every practice and all the walk-throughs and games ... we made her an assistant coach and the girls elected her as the team’s senior captain."
As for Saturday’s final regular-season game against Wallkill Valley (18-7) at Morris Hills, the Lady Knights stayed within range for the first half before the visitors pulled away in the second half for a 44-26 victory.
Rachel Sihlanick and Dana Castellano each scored five points for the Lady Knights. Alexis DeSa, the team’s junior captain, and Monahan each added four points; Gabby Saggese scored three points; Jenna Chirico and Diana Fleischman each finished with a field goal; and Casey DeSa rounded out the team’s scoring with a free throw.
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Strong second half beats Hopatcong, 61-42
ROCKAWAY - The Morris Hills High School girls basketball team put on its best second-half offensive show of the season Tuesday, Feb. 23, when the Lady Knights defeated Hopatcong, 61-42, in a game played at Hopatcong High School.
Morris Hills (6-15) took a 13-6 lead after one period only to have Hopatcong (3-18) cut the gap to four points by outscoring the Lady Knights 13-10 in the second quarter.
The Lady Knights almost matched their first-half scoring output by putting 20 points on the board in the third quarter to take a 43-33 lead into the final period, where Morris Hills again outscored the home team, 18-9, to seal the 19-point victory.
Rachel Sihlanick led the way for Morris Hills with a 15-point performance while Dana Castellano chipped in with 11 points - six on a pair of 3-point field goals and the remaining five points on free throws.
Gabby Saggese added 10 points to become the third Lady Knight in double figures; Diana Fleischman scored seven points; Alexis DeSa finished with six points; Casey DeSa had five; Jenna Chirico scored four points; and Colleen Monahan added two points to complete the scoring for Morris Hills.
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Lady Knights fall to Randolph, 47-37
ROCKAWAY - Morris Hills and Randolph were all-even at the half but the Lady Rams pulled away in the second half and went on to record a 47-37 victory over the Lady Knights in a girls high school basketball game played at Randolph on Thursday, Feb. 18.
With the teams tied at 18 after two quarters, Randolph (12-7) went on an 18-9 run to take a nine-point lead into the final quarter where the Lady Rams outscored Morris Hills, 11-10, to earn the victory.
Morris Hills (5-15) got nine points from Dana Castellano; seven each from Alexis DeSa and her sister Casey; and four from Rachel Sihlanick.
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Lady Knights fall to Pope John, 47-33
ROCKAWAY - Morris Hills fell behind by eight points after one quarter of play and Pope John steadily widened the lead throughout the game to defeat the Lady Knights, 47-33, in a high school girls basketball game at Pope John in Sparta on Wednesday, Feb. 17.
Morris Hills (5-14) was outscored by Pope John (8-8) by only six points for the final three periods, but the first-quarter deficit was just too much for the Lady Knights to overcome.
Alexis DeSa led Morris Hills in scoring with 12 points - eight from the free throw line. Casey DeSa added eight points; Dana Castellano scored seven points - including two field goals from 3-point range; Rachel Sihlanick finished with four points; and Diana Fleischman rounded out the Morris Hills scoring with two points.
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(More game stories under the photos below)
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In top photo, Jenna Chirico of the Morris Hills girls basketball team lines up a shot; above, Dana Castellano prepares to make her move as a Jefferson defender comes out to meet her; below, Colleen Monahan fights through the defense to take in a pass.
Photos by Vince Zvolensky / vz223@aol.com
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Slow starts hurts Lady Knights
in their 48-30 loss to Vernon
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ROCKAWAY - Morris Hills couldn’t recover from a two-point first quarter scoring effort and went on to lose a 48-30 decision to Vernon in a high school girls basketball game played on Tuesday, Feb. 9, at Vernon.
Vernon (14-4) held a 9-2 lead after the first period and, after Morris Hills (4-14) outscored the home team 11-10 to cut the lead to six at the half, Vernon went on a 15-6 third-period run to just about seal the victory by taking a 34-19 lead into the final quarter.
Alexis DeSa led the Lady Knights with 10 points; Dana Castellano added seven; Casey DeSa finished with six points; Rachel Sihlanick scored four points and Diana Fleischman had a 3-point field goal to complete the scoring for the Lady Knights.
Morris Hills head coach Bill Nieman, who came into the season needing five victories to reach the 400-win plateau for his career, still need one more win to reach that milestone.
Nieman's next chance for No. 500 will be Thursday, Feb. 11, when the Lady Knights face Morristown in a 7 p.m. game at Morris Hills -- weather permitting, of course.
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Lady Knights bow to Mendham, 38-34
ROCKAWAY - Morris Hills scored but four points in the second quarter and that proved to be the Lady Knights undoing as they lost a 38-34 decision to Mendham in a girls high school basketball game played at Morris Hills on Thursday, Feb. 4.
Leading by an 11-7 score after one period, Morris Hills (4-12) was outscored 11-4 by Mendham (9-6) and trailed 18-15 at the half.
Mendham stretched its lead to five points after three periods and Morris Hills was able to cut into that lead by only one point in the final eight minutes of play as the Lady Knight lost their third straight game.
Alex DeSa led the Lady Knights in scoring with eight points. Jenna Chirico finished with seven points; Dana Castellano and Diana Fleischman each scored five points; Casey DeSa had four points; Colleen Monahan and Rachel Sihlanick each had two points; and Gabby Saggese completed the scoring for Hills with a free throw.
Morris Hills coach Bill Nieman, who has 399 career coaching victories, must now wait until Tuesday, Feb. 9, when the Lady Knights travel to Vernon for a 7 p.m. game, for another chance at his milestone victory.
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Lady Knights lose to Knolls in try for Nieman's 400th
ROCKAWAY - When Bill Nieman talked to his Morris Hills High School girls basketball team after the Lady Knights lost to sister-school Morris Knolls, 45-39, in a game played at Hills on Thursday, Jan. 28, he told them that he "... shared their disappointment about not winning," but was also very quick to praise their effort.
After all, Morris Knolls came into the game with a 10-3 record and Morris Hills was 4-9, although the Lady Knights had won their last two and the Lady Eagles had a four-game winning streak stopped by 2-11 Morristown earlier in the week.
"We could have shot a little better, but we certainly did not lose because of a lack of effort," said Nieman, whose quest for his 400th career victory continues against Parsippany at Parsippany in an MCT prelim Saturday, Jan. 30, at 7:30 p.m. “Jen Jarvis was the biggest difference ... she was the main reason they came out on top.”
Morris Hills took an early 7-4 lead, but Morris Knolls pulled ahead 13-12 at the end of the first period and took it to 26-20 at the half. The biggest deficit for Morris Hills was seven points in the third period as the teams played it even in the second half as each team scored 19 points.
Gabby Saggese, who led the Lady Knights with 17 points, scored 10 of those points - including two of her four 3-point field goals - in the first period to keep Morris Hills close.
Freshman Casey DeSa scored 10 points for Hills; Jenna Chirico and Colleen Monahan each added four points; and Dana Castellano and Rachel Sihlanick each finished with two points to complete the scoring for the Lady Knights.
Jarvis finished with 21 points for Knolls. Kelsey Wade added 13; Christina Vittorio scored six points; Kristen Randolph had four points; and Mary Ninivaggi had a free throw to complete the scoring for the Lady Eagles.
Knolls is now 11-3; Hills is 4-10.
Nieman, who entered his 27th season at Hills last fall knowing he needed five victories to reach the 400 mark, also knew his young team would take some time before putting everything together.
“We usually start three sophs, a freshman and a senior or a junior ... sometimes it’s four sophs and a senior or junior,” Nieman said. “The 400th win? That will get here when it gets here ... no need to be thinking about that.
“We’re playing better now, but we still have some improvements to make.”
When No. 20 seed Morris Hills faces No. 13 Parsippany in their MCT prelim Saturday, Jan 30, at 6 p.m., the Lady Knights will be playing a team that they lost to by 22 points earlier in the season -- 61-39 on Saturday, Jan. 16, in a game played at Parsippany.
"Casey DeSa was out for that game and we need her for defense," Nieman said. "We’re hoping that our improvement and having Casey back will be game-changers for us."
And No. 400 for Bill Nieman
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Castellano's 3-point buzzer-beater give MH an OT win
ROCKAWAY - Dana Castellano’s 3-point field goal at the overtime buzzer put Morris Hills girls basketball coach Bill Nieman one victory away from his 400th career coaching win when the Lady Knights won their second straight game by beating Mount Olive, 50-49, at Mount Olive on Tuesday, Jan. 26.
The Lady Knights (4-11) trailed by six entering the fourth period but outscored Mount Olive, 13-7, in the final eight minutes of play to force the extra session.
Mount Olive (3-12) had a two-point advantage at 49-47 with time running out in the first overtime session when Castellano let fly from 3-point range and beat the buzzer with her fifth 3-point field of of the night to put Nieman at 399 wins for his 27-year career.
Castellano finished with 17 points and Gabby Saggese added 15 - including three 3-point field goals - to lead the Lady Knight scorers. Jenna Chirico had nine points; Casey DeSa added three; and Alexis DeSa, Colleen Monahan, and Rachel Sihlanick each had two to complete the scoring for Morris Hills.
The Lady Knights play host to sister school Morris Knolls in their next game, a 7 p.m. start on Thursday, Jan. 28, that has been designated as "Coaches vs. Cancer Night" by the girls basketball programs at both high schools.
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Lady Knights stop skid with 44-24 win over Madison
ROCKAWAY - In a game that has to be called an upset on paper but was nothing at all like one on the court, Morris Hills led from start to finish to beat Madison, 44-24, in a high school girls basketball game played on Saturday (Jan. 23) night at Morris Hills High School.
Morris Hills came into the game with a 2-9 record and four-game losing streak and Madison was a game better than .500 at 7-6.
The Lady Knights led by one point at 5-4 after a slow first period and increased the advantage to four points after outscoring the Lady Dodgers 10-7 in the second period.
With Casey DeSa scoring six points, Morris Hills went on a 12-4 run in the third period of play and took a 27-15 lead into the final eight minutes of the game where the Lady Knights went on a 17-point burst to close the deal.
Dana Castellano scored six of her team-high 11 points for Morris Hills in that final period.
Casey DeSa finished with eight points and her sister Alexis added five as nine Lady Knights scored at least two points in the game.
Mel Bertoli, Diana Fleischman and Colleen Monahan each added four points; Gabby Saggese and Rachel Sihlanick each had three points; and Jenna Chirico had two points to complete the scoring for the Lady Knights.
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Lady Knights lose to Par Hills in OT, 48-44
ROCKAWAY - The Morris Hills High School girls basketball team suffered its fourth straight defeat when Parsippany Hills defeated the Lady Knights, 48-44, in overtime in a game played at Morris Hills on Friday, Jan. 22.
Morris Hills (2-9) held a five-point halftime lead before Par Hills (4-8) closed the gap to two with a 12-9 third-period and then outscored the Lady Knights 9-7 in the fourth quarter to send the game into overtime, where the Lady Vikings had a 7-3 edge to seal the victory.
Dana Castellano and Gabby Saggese each hit three 3-point field goals and finished with 16 points to lead the Lady Knights.
Colleen Monahan finished with six points and Mel Bertoli, Casey DeSa and Jennifer Polanco each had a field goal to round out the scoring for the Lady Knights.
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Lady Knights slip to 2-8 with loss to Mendham
ROCKAWAY - The Morris Hills High School girls basketball team lost its eighth game of the season, a 58-36 decision to county-power West Morris in a game played at West Morris on Tuesday, Jan. 19.
West Morris (9-2) led by 15-7 after one period and and Morris Hills (2-8) never threatened, trailing by 33-13 at the half and 50-22 after three periods of play.
Diana Fleischman led the Lady Knights (2-8) with 12 points, a total that included two three-point field goals. Gabby Saggese finished with nine points; Dana Castellano and Alexis DeSa each scored six points; Colleen Monahan had a field goal and Jenna Chirico’s free throw completed the scoring for Morris Hills.
West Morris was led by Shayna Ericksen’s game-high 16 points.
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ROCKAWAY - Dana Castellano had a banner night for Morris Hills with 21 points, but the Lady Knights suffered through two bad quarters and Parsippany came out on top, 61-39, in the high school girls basketball game that was played at Parsippany on Saturday, Jan. 16.
Morris Hills (2-7) trailed 24-9 after one period of play and, after both teams scored 15 points in the second period, the Lady Knights were held to two third-quarter points as Parsippany (7-5) took a commanding 55-26 lead into the final quarter of play.
Castellano had five three-point field goals and four three throws included in her team-high 21 points.
Alexis DeSa and Gabby Saggese each scored six points for the Lady Knights and Mel Bertoli, Jenna Chirico and Rachel Sihlanick each had two to complete the scoring totals for Morris Hills.
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Lady Knights fall to High Point, 48-21
ROCKAWAY - The Lady Knights of Morris Hills couldn’t overcome a 13-point first-period deficit and suffered a 48-32 loss to High Point in a girls high school basketball game played at Morris Hills on Thursday, Jan.14.
High Point (8-1) took a 21-8 lead after the first eight minutes of play and led 28-14 at the half before the two teams played a fairly even second half.
Alexis DeSa led Morris Hills (2-6) in scoring with nine points with Jenna Chirico right behind her with eight points.
Gabby Saggese finished with six points, including one of the two three-point field goals made by the Lady Knights; Dana Casellano got the other trey and finished with five points; Diana Fleischman scored three points and Colleen Monahan had a free throw to complete the scoring for Morris Hills.
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Lady Knights beat Montville to snap losing streak
ROCKAWAY - Morris Hills took an early lead it never lost as the Lady Knights broke a five-game losing streak with a 38-23 victory over Montville in a high school girls basketball game played at Montville on Tuesday, Jan. 12.
The Lady Knights (2-5) jumped out to an 11-4 first-period lead and then both teams struggled offensively and scored three points each in the second period as Morris Hills took a 14-7 lead into the halftime break.
Morris Hills extended its lead to 17 points with a 15-5 third-period run to seal the victory over a winless (0-8) Montville team.
Gabby Saggese was the game�s top scorer with 12 points while teammates Alexis DeSa and Dana Castellano each added six points, with Castellano sinking two three-point field goals for her point total.
Ally Abrams and Diana Fleischman each added four points and Rachel Sihlanick, Colleen Monahan and Jenna Chirico each finished with two points to round out the scoring for the Lady Knights.
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Losing streak hits five in 37-30 loss to Boonton
ROCKAWAY - The Morris Hills High School girls basketball team saw a four-point halftime lead erased when Boonton went on an 11-2 third-period run on its way to a 37-30 victory over the Knights in a game played at Morris Hills on Saturday, Jan. 9.
The Lady Knights (1-5) held a slim 5-4 lead after a slow-moving first period and increased the margin to four at 14-10 at the halftime break.
But Boonton (3-4) took a 21-16 lead into the final eight minutes of play after its third-period run and outscored the Lady Knights 16-14 the rest of the way to seal its seven-point victory and send Morris Hills to its fifth straight loss.
Diana Fleischman had nine points - including two three-point field goals - to lead the Lady Knights in scoring. Alexis DeSa finished with seven points; Gabby Saggese had five; Jenna Chirico scored three points; and Ally Abrams, Mel Bertoli and Dana Castellano each had two points to complete the Lady Knights Scoring.
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Knights lose fourth in a row in 50-34 loss to Sparta
ROCKAWAY - Morris Hills High School girls basketball team was outscored 25-8 in the first and fourth quarters as the Lady Knights lost a 50-34 decision to Sparta in a game played at Morris Hills on Tuesday, Jan. 5.
Sparta (4-2) jumped out to an 8-2 lead at the end of the first period but Morris Hills (1-4) held a slight 26-25 advantage over the next two periods to cut the lead to five points at 33-28 going into the final period.
Sparta took off on a 17-6 run in the final eight minutes of play to seal the victory and send Morris Hills to its fourth straight loss.
Ally Abrams finished with nine points to lead the Lady Knights in scoring. Gabby Saggese had seven points; Casey DeSa and Rachel Sihlanick each had four; Dana Castellano and Diana Fleischman each scored three points; and Jenn Chirico and Alexis DeSa each finished with a field goal to complete the scoring for Morris Hills.
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Lady Knights lose consolation game at MH tourney
ROCKAWAY - The Morris Hills High School girls basketball team lost its third game in a row when the Lady Knights fell to Watchung Hills, 45-28, in the consolation game of the Morris Hills Girls Basketball Holiday Tournament held at Hills on Tuesday, Dec. 29.
Watchung Hills (2-3) jumped out to an 11-2 lead when cold-shooting Morris Hills managed but one field goal in the first quarter. Watchung increased its lead to 13 points (21-8) at the half before Morris Hills (1-3) steadied a bit in the second half and stayed with the winners in the second half of play as Watchung Hills outscored the host club, 24-20, in final 16 minutes of the contest.
Dana Castellano had eight points and Alexis DeSa added seven for the Lady Knights. Jenna Chirico finished with four points; Gabby Saggese and Rachel Sihlanick each had three points; Colleen Monahan finished with a field goal and Diana Fleischman had a free throw to wrap up the Lady Knights scoring.
In the championship game that followed, Hanover Park beat Jefferson, 49-38, as both teams entered the game at 3-0.
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Lady Knights bow to Jefferson in tourney opener
ROCKAWAY - A cold-shooting second period put the Morris Hills High School girls basketball team down by 16 at the half and the Lady Knights never could recover as they lost a 57-25 decision to Jefferson in a first-round game of the Morris Hills Holiday Tournament at Morris Hills on Monday, Dec. 28.
The loss puts Morris Hills (1-2) against Watchung Hills (1-3) in the 6:30 p.m. consolation game on Tuesday, Dec. 29, with Jefferson (3-0) facing Hanover Park (3-0) in the championship game that is scheduled to begin at 8 p.m. Hanover Park beat Watchung Hills, 54-42, in the early game.
Jefferson took a 15-9 lead after one period of play but Morris Hills could score but two points in the second period as the winners moved out to a 27-11 lead at the halftime break.
Jefferson took an 18-point lead into the final period of play and overwhelmed the Lady Knights, 18-4, in the final eight minutes of play to create the margin of victory.
Gabby Saggesse and Dana Castellano each hit two three-point field goals to lead the Lady Knights in scoring with six points each.
Jenna Chirico added four points; Casey DeSa scored three points; and Alexis DeSa, Melanie Bertoli and Rachel Sihlanick each finished with two points to round out the scoring for Morris Hills.
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Knights fall to Roxbury, 42-27
ROCKAWAY - It was youth vs. experience at Roxbury High School on Tuesday, Dec. 22, and experience came out on top in this one as Morris Hills fell to Roxbury, 42-27, in a girls high school basketball game.
Morris Hills, which starts one junior, three sophomores and one freshman, fell behind by six points after one quarter but battled back in the second quarter to force a 14-14 tie at the half.
But Roxbury, with seven senior and junior lettermen back from last year�s team, pulled away in the third quarter with a 14-5 run to take a nine-point lead at 28-19 into the final period.
The Lady Gaels put the game away with a 14-8 fourth-quarter to improve to 2-0 on the season.
Morris Hills (1-1), playing its second game in as many nights, was led by sophomore Dana Castellano nine points, a total that included two three-point field goals.
Juinior Alexis DeSa, sophomore Gabby Saggese and freshman Casey DeSa each finished with six points to round out the scoring for the Lady Knights.
The Lady Knights won't be back in action until after Christmas when they play host to their own holiday tournament on Monday and Tuesday, Dec. 28-29 ... Hanover Park and Watchung Hills meet on Monday in the tournament's first game at 6 p.m. and Morris Hills-Jefferson follows at 7:30 p.m. ... on Tuesday, Monday's losing teams play in a 6 p.m. consolation while the winners play for the title at 7:30 p.m.
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Alexis DeSa's buzzer-beater gives Hills opening-day win
ROCKAWAY - There were two things that Morris Hills head coach Bill Nieman had to do during a timeout with 3.4 seconds left and the score tied at 48 in the Lady Knights' season opener against Newton at Newton on Monday, Dec. 21.
First, he reminded the players of their roles in the out-of-bounds play they were about to run.
And then he told junior Alexis DeSa that she was about to make the winning basket and nobody would remember "the other one."
The play worked to perfection and Alexis DeSa's winning layup fell through the net just as the game-ending buzzer was sounding and Morris Hills was a 50-48 winner in its 2009-2010 season opener.
DeSa was mobbed by her teammates and, just as Nieman had predicted, nobody even mentioned "the other one."
"The other one" was a layup that DeSa had missed a minute earlier that would have given the Lady Knights the lead at the time.
"Things like this happen ... it is what it is," Nieman said over the phone from his office at Hills the day after the game. "She felt horrible about the miss, naturally, but there was no reason to go right back to her for the winning shot ... and that's what I told her that in the huddle as I was diagramming the play.
"Then they went out and did their jobs -- they made it a perfect play."
The play started with sophomore Dana Castellano inbounding the ball in front of the Lady Knights' bench on the Morris Hills side of the court just past the half-court line.
Freshman Casey DeSa - Alexis' sister - set a back screen that picked off Alexis' defender and, as Alexis streaked toward the Morris Hills basket, Castellano threw a perfect baseball pass. Alexis caught the ball in stride, took one dribble and sank a left-handed layup to win the game.
Castellano's steal with 13 seconds left in the game set up the play. Hills asked for a timeout right away and, when the first play didn't work out, the Lady Knights quickly asked for another timeout with 3.4 seconds left.
"Casey's screen ... Dana's pass ... Alexis' catch ... Alexis' layup," Nieman said. "It was a perfect play."
Alexis DeSa's winning basket capped a wild back-and-forth fourth period that saw each team score 18 points. Both Newton (1-1) and Morris Hills held leads during the final eight minutes, leads that were "... no more than three or four points at any one time" according to Nieman.
Newton took a 15-11 lead after one period of play and led 26-23 at the half. Morris Hills edged out in front by two points at 32-30 after outscoring the Lady Braves, 9-4, in the third period.
Morris Hills hit four of its seven three-point shots in the final period before leaving it up to Castellano and the DeSa sisters in the final 3.4 seconds.
Sophomore Gabby Saggese led the Lady Knights in scoring with 19 points, including a pair of three-point field goals. Castellano finished with 14 points with four three-point field goals.
Alexis DeSa had eight points; sophomore Jenna Chirico added four; sophomore Diana Fleischman hit a three-pointer for her only points of the game; and Casey DeSa had a field goal to round out the Morris Hills scoring.
Nieman had high praise for his Lady Knights - not only because they found a way to win the game, but because of the way they played in their opening game.
"We are very, very, very young," Nieman said. "We start a junior, three sophomores and one freshman.
"We were supposed to open Saturday and the girls were disappointed when that game got snowed out. We couldn't practice Sunday, either ... and then we had to open the season in an away environment.
"But they responded to everything quite well and put together a great effort for the first time they played together when it really counted. They played a great game."
Especially the last play.
NOTES: Senior captain Sara Polanco will miss her senior season because of a stress fracture in her back but she doesn't intend to miss any of her teammates practices or games.
"She is our spiritual leader ... we've actually given her the title of 'assistant coach,'" Nieman said. "She worked very hard here the past three years and I can't imagine what she is going through not being able to play.
"But she's there every day helping out her teammates and helping out the coaches.
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Milestone
victory for
Nieman
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ROCKAWAY - At the beginning of the season, Morris Hills High School girls basketball coach Bill Niema didn't allow himself to think too much about the five victories he needed to reach the 400-win milestone for his 30-year coaching career.
"When it gets here, it gets here," Nieman would say. "It will be nice when it does, but there it's not something that is on our minds day in and day out."
The Lady Knights presented Nieman with his 400th win on Saturday, Feb. 13, when they defeated Morristown, 40-36, at Morristown. The team entered the fourth period tied at 25 and Morris Hills won the game by outscoring the home team, 15-11, in the final period.
The win gave the young Morris Hills team a 5-12 record ... and ended the waiting game for No. 400 that Nieman had feared would become a distraction to his team.
At the beginning of the season, Nieman's main concern was - as it is now - doing his part in molding a very young basketball team consisting of two seniors, three juniors, six sophomores and one freshman into a working unit.
There was no time to think about No. 400.
"I never said anything about it because we had a lot of more important things to take care of," Nieman says. "The milestone is nice, but I didn't want it to get in the way of what we were doing to improve the team ... it was going to happen eventually, so there was no sense being concerned with it."
Fact is, Nieman didn't even know his team was aware of the approaching milestone until after they had won their fourth game of the season - Nieman's 399th - a 50-49 win over Mount Olive when Dana Castellano made a 3-point field goal at the buzzer to provide the winning points.
"I had just finished going over the week's schedule of games and practices when one of the girls said I had forgotten something," Nieman says. "She said that they expected to get me my 400th victory that week, too."
The Lady Knights lost their next three games after beating Mount Olive but came through with their fourth-quarter effort against Morristown and No. 400 was in the bank.
Senior Mel Bertoli and junior Alexis DeSa each scored eight points for the Lady Knights. Castellano, a sophomore, added seven points and freshman Casey DeSa added six.
Junior Rachel Sihlanick finished with five points; sophomore Diana Fleischman scored three points; sophomore Jenna Chirico had two; and sophomore Gabby Saggese had a free throw to complete the Morris Hills scoring. Senior Colleen Monahan and junior Ally Abrams did not score but saw minutes in Nieman's milestone game.
Nieman, who is in his 27th season as the head coach at Morris Hills after starting his career with a three-year stint at St. Mary�s of Rutherford, has also passed the 500-win milestone in softball.
"You don't have this kind of success without playing a lot of games with a lot of good kids and a lot of good assistant coaches," Nieman says. "I get a lot of help from the administrations here at the school and, when I was younger, I got a lot of help from the veteran coaches in the area.
"In the end, it's all about the kids ... I don't have to make any shots or get any rebounds or play defense -- the athletes do all that. It's nice when you put together a strategy that works but even then, the kids have to pull it off.
"It all comes down to the kids."
Nieman says the biggest changes to the game in his 30 years as a head coach came when they made the size of the ball an inch smaller in diameter and added the 3-point field goal.
"The changes made sense," Nieman explains. "The girls have smaller hands but they were also capable of making long-range shots."
The biggest change in the athlete of today against the athlete of 30 years ago is that today's players are being "... pulled in so many directions.
"All but one of my girls is a multi-sport athlete and a lot of sports now have practices or set up leagues or games in their off-seasons, as well," Nieman adds. "Also, there is a bigger summer-time commitment now with open gyms, camps, showcases and clinics ... it's a lot for a young athlete to handle."
Nieman will return to the practice court with No. 400 in the book and continue to work on putting a better and more-experienced team out onto the floor for the next game ... and the game after that.
No. 401 will get here, too.
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Diana Fleischman (above) of Morris Hills goes up for a jump shot. In photo below, Casey DeSa scores on a layup.
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Morris Hills
Girls Roster
Seniors: Melanie Bertoli and Colleen Monahan.
Juniors: Ally Abrams, Alexis DeSa and Rachel Sihlanick.
Sophomores: Audrey Bencel, Dana Castellano, Jenna Chirico, Diana Fleischman, Jennifer Polanco and Gabby Saggese.
Freshmen: Casey DeSa.
Coach: Bill Nieman.
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