Secaucus’ Kristina Ulrich (3) grabs the rebound during a game against Harrison, Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2015 at Harrison High School, 800 Hamilton in Harrison.
Picture by: Neil Barris | The Jersey Journal
StoryBy Yueh Ho | The Jersey Journal
HARRISON — Almost everything that Secaucus did worked against Harrison yesterday. The Patriots may be an undersized unit, but they make up for it with tremendous speed at the guard position. Nearly every Harrison pass that was even slightly off target was intercepted by a Patriots defender and turned into points the other way.
The Patriots cruised to a 64-28 win over the inexperienced Harrison at Harrison to remain undefeated this season.
“It’s a lot better than being 0-10,” Secaucus head coach John Sterling said with a laugh. “We played well, obviously there are some things we have to do better. We’re so small so rebounding is always a factor.”
Secaucus (10-0), No. 17 on NJ.com’s Top 20, proved itself as the superior team early on. It ended the first quarter on a 26-2 run that was fueled by fast-break scores off steals and excellent shooting.
“Their defensive pressure is phenomenal,” Harrison coach Al Ruiz said. “You’re looking at a lot of sophomores. I have one or two seniors sprinkled in here.”
Secaucus junior Kristina Ulrich was especially lethal in transition as she ended the game with 15 points.
Patriots senior point guard Andie Lennon was red hot on offense, especially in the opening minutes. She scored the game’s first 13 points by herself and finished with a game-high 25. Senior Wagner-commit Julia McClure nearly had a triple-double as she recorded 12 points, 10 rebounds and nine steals.
“We don’t ever try to target any one person, our girls are very unselfish and they share the ball very well,” Sterling said. “They know that if someone is shooting very well they try to get them the ball and get open shots. We’re happy when anybody does well and Andie shot the ball very well today.”
The unselfish style of play is one of the primary reasons Secaucus has yet to lose a game this season. But Lennon stressed the importance of maintaining focus and not dwelling on the team’s perfect record.
“It feels really good but we can’t let it go to our heads, because if we keep thinking that no one can beat us than obviously we’re not going to have a good game,” she said. “I think we just really connected today. As the season goes on we’re getting better and we’re getting more chemistry. So games like this will help us for the bigger and tougher games.”
For Harrison (4-3), several of the miscues the Blue Tide made on offense can be attributed to the large difference in experience between the two rosters.
