Over winter break, the Hillsborough girls basketball team travelled to Cranford for a holiday basketball tournament.  Spanning Dec. 27-28, the girls took on the Roxbury Gaels and the Immaculata Spartans.  

Led by senior guard Dani Muntone, the girls dismantled Roxybury 79-27. Muntone was the leading scorer with 21 points. Senior Elissa Nsenkyire and freshman Amy Rachilla also chipped in for a combined 24 points. Although Hillsborough’s offense shined, their defensive performance was equally as impressive. The girls combined for 14 steals and kept every player on Roxbury in single digits in scoring. With seniors like Allison Watson roaming the paint, the girls are making it very hard for their opponents to get easy baskets. 

In the second game, Hillsborough continued their winning ways, topping Immaculata 52-37. Coming out of the gate strong, the Raiders were up 17-4 at the end of the first quarter. They continued to coast the rest of the game, outscoring their opponent in every quarter except the fourth. Sophomore Olivia Gaspar broke out in this game, putting up a double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds. Along with help from Muntone, who had 19 points and 5 rebounds, Hillsborough was able to have another excellent game to secure the win. 

After two blowout wins, Hillsborough was crowned champion of the Holiday Tournament. 

Senior Allison Watson, who has been a varsity member for three years, knows winning this tournament was a huge way to begin the season.

“It was a step in the right direction for what we want to achieve this season,” Watson said. “We need to keep winning our big games.” 

Beating a neighboring rival like Immaculta was a huge victory, as the girls seem like they will have a very promising season. They now have 2 wins, and only 1 loss, a heartbreaker to Gill St. Bernards by 2 points. 

The girls resume regular season play as they take on rival Bridgewater-Raritan at home on at 7:00 p.m. on Jan. 3 at 7:00 p.m.