The Alternative Press

BERKELEY HEIGHTS, N.J. - The Governor Livingston girls basketball team has played two postseason state games, and have yet to be challenged. On Thursday night at home, they rolled through the Warren Hills girls, leading by as many as 27 before cruising to a 47-30 victory in the North II Group 3 state sectional quarterfinals.

And the game was not really that close.

"We know that if we don't win, we go home. We want to go as far as we can, so we have a lot to look forward to," senior Erin Ferguson said. "We definitely came out, we shared the ball, we have a lot of teamwork and team chemistry."

With the score remarkably still tied up at two, late in the first quarter, Ferguson pulled down an offensive rebound, put back the shot and drew the foul, completing the three-point play. Ferguson's bucket sparked a 26-8 run lasting through the end of the first half, putting the game to bed early on.

Up 28-10 to start the third quarter, the Highlanders pulled away in the second half, opening up with a 12-5 run. Warren Hills did not reach 20 points till the midway point of the fourth quarter, with most of GL's starter's resting up for Saturday night's semifinal.

"We came in, we moved the ball well, we made our shots," GL head coach Andy Silvagni said. "I thought we did well on the glass, controlling their opportunities."

The home team absolutely dominated the glass, outrebounding the visitors, 32-19. Ferguson led the way with 11 rebounds to go along with her game-high 18 points. Mallory George also chipped in 13 points to go along with five rebounds. Overall, the girls took great shots, mostly in the paint as the team shot 44 percent from the floor, and three-of-six from beyond the arc.

"Erin and Mallory have been playing for four years now, they're both athletic big girls, and they hit the glass hard, so they get rebounds," Silvagni said.

Defensively, the Lady Highlanders controlled the game from the start. Sara Dilly and Patrice DiTomasso combined for eight of GL's 12 steals, leading to 16 Warren Hills turnovers. The visitors were also held to 29 percent shooting from the floor.

"We were prepared for what we thought they were going to do and the kids just played hard," Silvagni said. "We work on defense in practice a lot and we just had a good night."

It was the 12th straight win for GL, which improved to 22-4 with the win, while Warren Hills fell to 16-10. The Highlanders will face Mendham, which edged Nutley in the quarterfinals, at home on Saturday night in the sectional semis.