By Jeff Appelblatt
The girls’ basketball team at Colts Neck High School took care of business in its season opener Dec. 16, beating Howell High School, 42-36. But it took fewer than 24 hours for the Cougars to be bounced from the WOBM Christmas Classic and have as many wins as losses on the season.
The team couldn’t use playing back-to-back days as an excuse. Red Bank Regional High School, which defeated Colts Neck in the first round of the Christmas tournament, 54-32, played the day before, too.
Whatever it was, the running game the Cougars plan to lean on this year was a step slow in the second game of the season.
“We’re going to try to run and run some more,” Colts Neck coach Glenn Jansen said before the first game.
“We’ll just try to wear [out] and out-think our opponents.”
First-year starter Lexie Iglesia is ready to run.
“We’re going to use our speed to our advantage because we don’t have that much height,” the senior said.
That plan worked for the game with Howell, highlighted by the leadership of Sam Roth. In that one, the senior poured in 17 points. But Red Bank Regional was prepared to keep Roth from making too much of a difference in the tournament game at Tom River High School North. Jansen knows that his team will rely heavily on the four-year varsity player this year following the graduation of three.
“It kind of all starts with Sam Roth,” the veteran coach said. “I think our team will run as smoothly as Sam guides us in every aspect of the game.”
Jansen also knows his two other seniors, Jaime Prestigiacomo and Iglesia, are also very important to the club.
“Jaime’s a fast guard. Lexie is big and strong and smart on the inside,” he said. “We’re going to go as far as our seniors take us.”
Those players could always use some help on the court.
“We’re expecting the three seniors we have this year to lead by example. They’re all hardworking, tough kids that bring a different skillset to the team,” Jansen said. “But obviously, of course, Cara Volpe, who’s a junior, is inarguably one of our best players. She gives us the inside presence we desperately need.”
The girls from Colts Neck are going about as strong as Iglesia expected at the start of the season.
“Our chemistry on offense is pretty good. We’re still working on the defensive side,” she said.
When that defense comes together in tandem with the debut of freshman Camryn Foltz, Iglesia expects Colts Neck to be more than a .500 team.
“[The defense] is coming along. It’s going to be where we want it,” Iglesia said. “We’re expecting [Foltz] to be a big asset to our team.”
Foltz began the season on the injured list after suffering a knee injury during the summer.
“She will hopefully be back soon. I know she’s a good player,” Iglesia said. “She played in middle school. She played AAU. She’s got good height, too.”
There’s no timetable for the freshman to be on the court, but Jansen doesn’t expect his team to rely on her return. He knows there are many good teams around his own in the Shore Conference A North Division.
“We don’t have much time to wait around. [The schedule] is going to hit us real hard, and we’ve got to be ready,” the coach said.
Colts Neck was scheduled to take the court again Dec. 20 at Marlboro High School. The Mustangs were dominated by Neptune High School in their opener, 44-28.
