The Edison High School girls’ basketball team displayed plenty of heart when it pulled through with a recent double-overtime victory over South Brunswick High School.
The Eagles managed to erase a 16-10 deficit at halftime en route to a 45-41 victory in the game that was played on Jan. 11 at South Brunswick.
Edison came out on fire in the third quarter with 19 points to tie the game at 29-29.
Junior forward Daniella Marmol hit the game-tying floater for Edison as the buzzer sounded at the end of the fourth quarter, sending the game into its first overtime session with the score at 36-36.
Both teams only scored two points in the first overtime, but the Eagles pulled away in the final minute of double overtime for the four-point victory.
Edison coach Frank Eckert was proud of the team’s effort, stating that the heart they showed is what he expects every night from his club.
“We just showed a lot of heart,” the coach said. “We just stuck to the script. They work hard. This is a game we wanted to win, and that’s what it came down to.”
“We had faith in each other,” Marmol said. “We pick each other up when we’re down. We push each other through this. This is just [about] heart, like coach said. We don’t quit.”
The victory improved the team’s record to 4-5 on the season. Eckert believes this game could be the jumping point the team needs to make a push as the postseason gets closer.
“This is just another game to us,” he said. “We aim to win every game. We fell short in our first few games to start, but we’re starting to hit our stride. So from now on, we’re going into every game with the same principals. We’re just going to go out there, play good defense and play with heart — every time.”
“We just showed that if we work hard and believe in each other, we can always walk away with the ‘W,’ ” Marmol said.
The Eagles play as the host to Piscataway Township High School on Jan. 17 at 7 p.m.
The loss dropped the Vikings to 5-2 on the year. South Brunswick senior forward Alexis Adams led the team with 18 points, nine rebounds, three steals and three blocks.
Adams was impressed with the team’s performance on the defensive side of the court.
“I feel like our defense is always strong,” she said. “Our defense kinds of brings our offense, so when our defense is really clicking, it keeps us in games.”
Adams, however, stated that there needs to be more consistency on offense.
“I personally think there’s a lot that we need to improve on,” she said. “Our offense isn’t always there. We’re just too inconsistent. Sometimes it’s on, and sometimes it’s not, like today. Our attitude when it’s off just isn’t right. We need to always have the mindset that even if we’re off, we can still come back up. Right now, that’s just not there. We need to get mentally tougher if we’re going to be successful this year.”
The Vikings will be the host to Monroe Township High School on Jan. 18 at 6 p.m.
