CLARK, NJ- The Arthur L. Johnson High School Crusaders girls varsity basketball team played shorthanded this week with players missing games due to the flu. On Saturday afternoon, they got back on track winning against the Roselle Park High School Panthers by a final score of 56-25 in the first round of the 2018 Union County Tournament.
“They played together as a team,” Johnson head coach Joe Marino said. “We have about three girls down with the flu and we’re playing shorthanded.”
In the first quarter, Johnson opened the game on a 9-0 scoring run and didn’t allow their first basket until the final minute of the opening quarter, leading 11-2 after the first eight minutes of play. Johnson had four different players score in the quarter, with seniors Amy Wysocki and Shelby Lynes, along with juniors Victoria Zatko contributing points.
“[The girls] shared the wealth today,” Marino said. “There were a lot of people scoring today, which was outstanding and we’ve been missing that.”
Roselle Park put a few shots together to trim the Johnson lead to 13-6 with 6:42 left in the second quarter, but the Crusaders withstood their temporary momentum with a series of shots of their own.
Johnson used a string of offense from different players, building their lead to 23-8 with 3:47 left in the second quarter, with senior Kellie Bonaccorso seeing a piece of the team’s swing on offense.
Wysocki scored ten points in a two-minute span in the second quarter, powering the Crusaders to a bigger lead. Johnson led Roselle Park 33-13 at halftime, with Zatko coming up in a big way for the Crusaders on offense, tallying eight points in the first 16 minutes of action, including two long three-point shots that connected.