Mercer County girls basketball fans are well-aware of Ewing’s three senior Division I recruits.
Because of this, what happened on Thursday as Ewing started its pursuit of a second consecutive state title was encouraging because the Blue Devils also received a significant win from a different source.
Lillie Alston, a sophomore, is front and center. Alston scored 20 points as Ewing defeated Allentown, 88-42, in the opening round of the Central Jersey Group III Tournament. Alston is anticipated to be a team leader the following season after the Blue Devils are destroyed by graduation.
Alston ended up being her team’s second-leading scorer with 10 points in the second quarter, after Ewing had jumped out to a 27-10 lead after the first quarter.
Te’Yala Delfosse, a recruit for the University of Michigan, led all scorers with 24 points. Alston (20), Joi Johnson (19), and Rhian Stokes (16) came after her.
Even though it’s entirely possible that Ewing’s top three players will be enough to lead the team to another state championship, things might be made easier if other players can contribute in the same way that Alston did on Thursday.
Ewing will play in its first state tournament since winning the Mercer County Tournament three years in a row on Tuesday when it hosts Colts Neck. Colts Neck defeated Hopewell Valley 38–26 to advance.
ALLENTOWN (42)
Townsend 2-1-6; Patten 0-0-0; Olhovsky 3-0-6; Rondinelli 3-0-8; Cruz 4-0-9; Sebar 5-1-13. 17-2-42 is the total.
EWING (88)
Williams 1-0-2; Durham 1-0-2; Upshur 0-1-1; Rivas 1-0-2; Johnson 8-2-19; Delfosse 9-4-24; Stokes 5-4-16; Alston 7-5-20. 33, 16, and 88 are the totals.
Allentown (6–17) 10 10 11 11 – 42
Ewing (23-5) 15 – 88 27 16 30
Townsend, Cruz, Rondinelli 2, Sebar 2 (A) all scored three points. Delfosse 2, Stokes 2, Johnson (E), Alston