Montclair Basketball: Mounties fight hard, fall to Glen Ridge in ECT — Rapid Reaction

by Andrew Garda

garda@montclairlocal.news

GLEN RIDGE — The Montclair High School girls basketball team came to play, and while they fell to Glen Ridge, 46-26, they didn't flinch in the face of a very tough and physical Ridgers team.

The Mounties actually led for the first few minutes of the game, playing a very determined and relentless style of defense which appeared to rattle Glen Ridge. However, the Ridgers responded, scoring the last four points of the quarter and finishing it up 9-7.

Glen Ridge continued to attack Montclair, but the Mounties refused to back down, continuing to press Glen Ridge and disrupt their offensive flow.  Birgitta Taylor-Lilliquist especially showed toughness in battling Glen Ridge's Claire McMahon.

McMahon at times definitely seemed frustrated by Taylor-Lilliquist physical defense, though she continued to fight her way through it. McMahon was especially dangerous in the second quarter when she scored a dozen points, virtually the whole offense for her team.

Coming out of the break, the Mounties again buckled down in the defensive end and slowed the Glen Ridge attack, holding them to just 8 points.

Unfortunately, Montclair struggled to string points together themselves, and while they were able to generate some turnovers and rebounds, MHS just couldn't sink baskets. Glen Ridge was especially careful to cover Syncere Lambert, having a defender shadow her at all times in the second half, even if it left another Mountie open on an inbound pass.

Lambert would break free in the fourth quarter, drawing multiple free throws as she drove through the lane, but by that point, Glen Ridge had built too much of a lead for Montclair to overcome.

While the Mounties kept fighting hard, Glen Ridge took advantage of more of their chances, and Montclair just couldn't keep up.

Check back next Thursday for more details and comments from coach Emily Hall in the Montclair Local's print edition.