Thursday, December 29, 2011

By Rich Barton
NJS.com Staff Writer

Tiffany Vellis scored 8 of her game-high 14 points in the third quarter for Wallington, which topped Lodi in the consolation game of the William Masopust Jr. Tournament.

LODI – After scoring only nine points in the first half against Lodi, it would have been easy for Wallington to panic as it has in years past when faced with a pressure situation. But with a more experienced group on the floor this year, the Lady Panthers have learned that sometimes the best way to deal with pressure is to turn the tables on an opponent and forcing it into mistakes.

That strategy worked to perfection as Wallington forced 11 turnovers and Tiffany Vellis scored eight of her game-high 14 points in the third quarter when Wallington seized control on its way to a 39-26 victory in the William Masopust Jr. Holiday Tournament consolation game on Wednesday at Lodi High School.

“We knew we had to step up in the second half and start making some plays,” said Vellis, a four-year starter. “I think we just needed to calm down and play our game. Once we started getting some turnovers with the press, everything fell into place.”

With an extremely young squad, Lodi has gotten off to a slow start this season, but it was a different story this time as the Rams handled the press well and played solid defense to not only stay in the game, but take a lead when Danielle Santana’s putback made it 13-9 at the half.

Lodi's Danielle Santana finished one point shy of a double-double with nine points and 11 rebounds.

The Panthers used the halftime break to collect themselves and tweak their full-court press. It worked as they forced backcourt turnovers on four straight possessions and took the lead back for good less than two minutes into the third quarter on a three-pointer from Vellis. In the final minute of the third, Vellis provided the backbreaker from almost the exact same spot on the wing with another three-pointer to put the Panthers up nine, 28-19.

“We’re young, we start two freshmen, and in the second half it showed because we made young mistakes,” said first-year Lodi head coach Alyson Gorski. “Playing confident is key to being a successful team. We played with confidence in the first half and had the lead. Then we had a few turnovers in a row in the third quarter and it all started going downhill. By the time we regrouped, it was too late.”

Vellis finished with 14 points, four steals, and three assists to lead Wallington (3-3). Elisha Rodriguez had eight points, three assists, and three steals.

Freshman Tania Castro had team-highs of 11 points and four steals for Lodi (0-4). Santana finished one point shy of a double-double with nine points and 11 rebounds.

With a favorable schedule over the next few weeks, Wallington has a chance to qualify the Bergen County Tournament and also put itself in good position for the state tournament as well. But that is way down the road for a team that, after some rough years, can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel.

“We see what we’re capable of doing this year and it makes work that much harder every day,” added Vellis. “We’ve had a lot of ups and downs both over the last few years and this season. But things are starting to turn up and we’re playing with a lot more confidence than we did when the season started.”

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