BY TIM MORRIS
Staff Writer

SCOTT PILLING staff Howell's Michelle Blum drives to the basket during the Rebels' sectional final loss to Trenton Central on March 6 in Sayreville. There wasn't the usual sense of finality when the Howell High School girls basketball team walked off the court on March 6.

Yes, the Rebels' 2006-07 season had come to an end in the NJSIAA Central Jersey Group IV championship game, falling to their nemesis, Trenton Central, 51-24, at Sayreville High School. However, with so many underclassmen on the squad, there was a real sense that their March playoff run could be the start, rather than the finish of something big.

"We take this experience and move forward," said coach Julie Hoebee.

The Rebels have a lot to look forward to.

Point guard Denise Crudup is only a junior and proved her value as a floor general. With the reins in her hands, everyone got involved in the offense, and the scoring was balanced (Howell's leading scorer, Michelle Blum, averaged 11 points a game).

Forward Margaux Pickell is a diamond in the rough. The junior made huge strides this year, becoming a prolific rebounder (13 a game) and a defensive presence in the paint. The 6-footer did not start playing basketball until high school and is still learning. She showed enough flashes on the offensive end this winter to be someone who could give the Rebels a double-double each night next year.

Freshman Jackie Ward didn't figure in the rotation back in November, but she played her way into the starting lineup, where she and Crudup proved to be an ideal mix in the backcourt. She didn't play like a freshman and still has three years to go with the Rebels.

Junior Michelle Blum stepped up and became the team's leading scorer. She was the outside threat, but also aggressively took it to the basket, drawing fouls. When Crudup wasn't on the floor, she could take over the point guard role.

Other newcomers like Sabrina Jamolinski contributed this season and will play a larger role next year.

Plus, Hoebee pointed out, there are two or three players off the freshman and junior varsity teams who will move up to varsity next year, making the club much deeper.

Senior Erin Donahue, of course, will be missed. She set the example for the team with her tireless work ethic. Her leadership helped the young Rebels find their wings this year. For Donahue, one of the veterans of the Howell teams that had won 20-plus games the previous two campaigns, this year was all about proving that Howell was a winning program and could survive the loss of its four graduating seniors. They did just that, going 17-12 and surprising everyone by advancing from the No. 10 seed to the state sectional final.

A tough schedule helped steel the Rebels for postseason play. Wins on the road over No. 7 Steinert (51-43), No. 2 West Windsor South (43-31) and No. 3 Hillsborough (36-33) were a tribute to the caliber of teams on the schedule and the way the Rebels were peaking. However, No. 1 Trenton Central was a whole different ballgame. The two-time defending champions had taken Howell out the last two years, beating them two years ago in the sectional final and last year in the semifinals in Howell. The names have changed, but not the quickness or the size.

"They are very good, excellent," said Hoebee. "We wanted to slow the pace down, go inside and try to get them in foul trouble and convert off defensive rebounds. We knew we couldn't play full-court defense against them.

"A couple of things didn't work out and they have that extra gear to go to," she added.

The start of the game couldn't have gone worse for the Rebels. There was a lid on the basket, while the Tornadoes were hitting everything thanks to guard Jacoby Ford, who consistently set her teammates up for easy shots with her ability to take it to the basket and draw the Rebel defense around her. Leola Spotwood and Torrie Childs were the beneficiaries of her passing.

It was 14-0 after one quarter and grew to 18-0 before two free throws by Donahue with 5:49 left in the half got Howell on the scoreboard. Howell switched to a zone defense in the second quarter, leaving Pickell to patrol the paint, where she took away the inside game that had been hurting the Rebels.

While the zone was slowing the Tornado down, shots were finally falling for the Rebels, with Donahue and Pickell leading the way. A 13-4 run cut the lead in half to 22-13. Tracey Parsons put the lead back up to double-digits (24-13) at halftime with a basketball for Trenton. Still, Howell had every reason to feel good about itself having managed to climb back into the game.

Then came the second half and more of Ford, Spotswood, Parsons and Childs. A 20-4 edge in the quarter put the game away.

Trenton Central, 28-1 on the season, got 16 points from Parsons, 14 from Spotswood and 11 more from Childs, who was a swat team in the paint on defense with her shot blocking. Donahue and Ward each had six for the Rebels, who finished the season at 17-12 and with plenty to look forward to next year.