Immaculate Conception started on their drive to win their third-straight Essex County Tournament on Saturday morning.
For the top-seeded Lions the ECT first round contest against neighborhood rival, 16th-seeded Montclair, was all business.
Immaculate Conception took control from the start as they led 26-6 after the first eight minutes.
The Lions frenetic pace on defense and offense was just too much for the Mounties as Immaculate Conception would race to an 80-15 victory at Immaculate Conception.
With the win the Lions (14-4) take on eighth-seeded Glen Ridge on Feb. 3 in Montclair in the ECT quarterfinals. The Ridgers defeated West Essex, 42-40.
After the win over the Mounties, Lions junior center Nila Giraud pointed out what the team has improved on since they defeated Caldwell, 78-27, on Dec. 14.
“I think we are communicating better and sharing the ball better,” said Giraud who led Immaculate Conception with a double-double against Montclair with 14 points and a dozen rebounds.
Speaking of allowing only 15 points to Montclair, Immaculate Conception head coach Jimmy Kreie said ‘defense’ and depth is the big difference between this season’s Lions and the 2022-23 Immaculate Conception team that won 22 games, won the county title, and reached the Non-Public North B state sectional championship.
“We have a much bigger focus on defense,” said Kreie. “We are much more athletic than last year, one through 14.”
Despite only putting up 15 points, Mounties head coach Ed Connell was impressed with how his team was able to get the ball over midcourt against a furious Immaculate Conception full court press that was on for almost the entire of the game.
“I was proud of how we faced the press,” said Connell. “I thought we were able to break it. It is tough to face a frenetic press and I think we did a good job for all four quarters.”
Despite the defeat to Immaculate Conception, it was the first time for the Montclair girls basketball program to get through the county tournament preliminary rounds and to the first round in seven years since the 2016-17 season.
“Being in the first round of the county tournament is an achievement for us where we had been the last few years,” said Connell.
While Immaculate Conception is looking to win another county championship, Montclair is trying to make it back-to-back Super Essex Conference divisional titles.
The Mounties put themselves back in the race for the Super Essex Conference Colonial Division with a 37-34 win at Payne Tech on June 23 at home. The Mounties lost 47-37 in the game at home on Dec. 19 to Payne Tech. The Mounties were a game behind Verona in the race for the Colonial title with a critical contest at home against the Hillbillies on Tuesday (Jan. 30) at 4 p.m. Montclair defeated Verona, 35-34, at Verona on Dec. 21.
Like Immaculate Conception, Montclair has seen a big improvement on the defensive side of the ball, especially recently. “What’s working is on the defensive side of the ball, that is our bread and butter,” Connell said. “We are very strong defensively. We can rebound, contest shots, that is the way we make our profit.”
While Montclair is battling for the SEC Colonial championship, Immaculate Conception is looking to move closer to the SEC American title when they host Newark Academy on Jan. 30 at home. The Lions are two games ahead of University in the American race and Immaculate Conception has already defeated University twice during the regular season.
Immaculate Conception Girls Basketball Schedule
(Games at 7 p.m. unless noted)
Jan 30 Newark Academy, 5:30 p.m.
Feb. 1 at West Orange, 4 p.m.
Feb. 4 at Trinity Hall, 11 a.m.
Feb. 6 at Columbia
Feb. 13 Newark Central
Feb. 20 at Newark Academy, 4 p.m.
Montclair Girls Basketball Schedule
Jan. 30 Verona, 4 p.m.
Feb. 1 Livingston, 7 p.m.
Feb. 3 Nutley, 1 p.m.
Feb. 6 at MKA, 4 p.m.
Feb. 8 Millburn, 7 p.m.
Feb. 10 Cedar Grove, 1 p.m.
Feb. 13 West Side, 4 p.m.
Feb. 17 at West Essex, 11 a.m.