STATING HER CASE: Stuart Country Day School baseball player Lia States dribbles the ball in a game earlier this season. Last Monday, sophomore guard States produced a double-double with 21 points and 12 rebounds in a losing cause as Stuart fell 38-36 to Robbinsville. The Tartans, who moved to 6-3 with the loss, play at the Academy of St. Elizabeth on January 15 before hosting Medford Tech on January 20. (Photo by Frank Jacobs III)
By Bill Alden
With the Stuart Country Day School basketball team missing two key players as it hosted Robbinsville last Monday, Lia States realized that she would be under the gun.
“I knew that they were probably going to pack it in on us,” said Stuart sophomore guard States as the Tartans were without her older sister, Taylor, and Mayah Chennault due to injury and illness. “We tried to work around the perimeter and tried to get cutting passes and see what happens.”
States made things happen from the outset, scoring nine points in thr first half as Stuart led 16-15 at intermission. In the third quarter, States poured in 10 points as the Tartans forged ahead 28-24.
“I just needed to dig deep,” said States, referring to her third quarter outburst. “I knew that we needed to push out our lead and get farther ahead.”
In the fourth quarter, though, Robbinsville dug deeper as it outscored the Tartans 14-8 to pull out a 38-36 win.
States acknowledged that Stuart misfired down the stretch as it dropped to 6-3.
“When teams pack it on us like this, it is important that we get our shots down,” said States, who ended up with a game-high 21 points and also led all players with 12 rebounds. “We did have some open shots down low, and we weren’t able to finish the layups. We still have to work on our finishing.”
In the waning moments of the contest, States did get a look but her last second shot clanged off the rim.
“I was trying to draw a foul, but I didn’t get it,” said States. “I have to focus on getting a better shot next time.”
In her second campaign, States has gotten better in some key areas.
“I am more confident in shooting and doing more attacking than last year,” said States, who is averaging 13.2 points a game and leads the Tartans in assists with 38 and is second in rebounds with 60.
Playing with older sister, senior star Taylor, and sophomore transfer Carmela Arana has helped States feel more comfortable on the court.
“They are very helpful, they relieve some stress off of me sometimes,” said States. “If I have to bring the ball down sometimes and need a break, I can hand it off to Carmela. If we can get some good looks for Taylor, she is really good down low.”
While Stuart head coach Tony Bowman acknowledged that not having Taylor States and Chennault put the Tartans at a disadvantage, he didn’t see that as something that couldn’t be overcome.
“Taylor’s inside presence is big for us and then you got Mayah, she is sick; those are my two inside people,” said Bowman. “But even with Taylor not there, you still have to play. The next person has to step up and play.”
While Stuart executed well offensively in the third quarter, Bowman wasn’t happy with the effort at the other end of the court.
“I did like that stretch, but we weren’t playing defense well enough,” said Bowman. “We had some good offensive play but not enough. The defense wasn’t up to par, and we played down. We didn’t play the level of defense that we usually play. It was predicated on Taylor not being here and Mayah not being here. I will take some of the blame as well.”
In reflecting on Robbinsville’s late surge, Bowman credited the Ravens with showing grit.
“The postgame message was you play hard, you play smart, and then you win basketball games,” said Bowman. “If you don’t do both, you don’t win basketball games. They played harder than us at the end and they played smarter than us at the end, so they were rewarded with the win.”
Bowman likes the way that Lia States has been playing this winter.
“As a sophomore she is doing really well,” said Bowman. “She is picking up the pace. She is taking on more of a leadership role, and we are looking for her to do more.”
The addition of sophomore transfer Arana, who scored 14 points against Robbinsville and is averaging a team-high 16.8 points a game, has given the program a lift.
“Carmela has been a big boost the whole year, she is one of the differences in the team,” said Bowman. “When both of the sophomores are playing well, we do well.”
With Stuart playing at the Academy of St. Elizabeth on January 15 before hosting Medford Tech on January 20, Bowman believes the Tartans can keep doing well.
“I am happy about our effort; 6-3 is OK but I want better,” said Bowman, whose team has already matched last year’s win total when it went 6-15. “I am happy about our effort. I want more. I think we can do better. I need to work harder, teach better, and we will do better. I put it on myself.”
States, for her part, likes the progress the team has already made and believes it can keep building on that.
“We are doing way better than last year,” said States. “We need more practice on finishing our layups. Also talking on defense — that is a key part. We had a lot of struggles down low today with the middle. No. 3 (Keira Pierini) did a lot of scoring in the paint, so we just need to focus on playing that part.”