BRINGING IT: Stuart Country Day School sophomore guard Jalynn Spaulding brings the ball up the court in recent action. Last Thursday, Spaulding scored 13 points to help fourth-seeded Stuart defeat 13th-seeded Trenton High 49-45 in the opening round of the Mercer County Tournament. Two days later, the Tartans fell 75-27 to fifth-seeded Allentown in the MCT quarterfinals. Stuart, now 19-8, hosts Nottingham on February 25. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

Jalynn Spaulding’s offensive prowess has been a key factor underlying the success enjoyed by the Stuart Country Day School basketball team this winter.

With sophomore guard Spaulding averaging 15 points a game, the Tartans brought an 18-7 record into the Mercer County Tournament where fourth-seeded Stuart hosted 13th-seeded Trenton High in an opening round contest last Thursday.

But when Spaulding managed just three points in the first half against Trenton, she wasn’t fazed. With the Tartans up 27-16 at intermission, things were going according to plan.

“Our coach (Justin Leith) said our defense was going to win the game so I didn’t really focus on points,” said Spaulding. “Defense really helped us a lot and I think all of us stepped up as a team.”

The Tartans struggled a bit down the stretch as Trenton outscored them 19-10 in the fourth quarter. But learning from a 53-45 loss to Princeton Day School in the Prep B tournament where Stuart squandered a 10-point halftime lead, the Tartans pulled out a 49-45 win over the Tornadoes.

“We didn’t worry about losing that, we had bigger things to focus on like winning in the MCT so we focused on this,” said Spaulding, who ended up with 13 points in the victory. “We really came together as a team.”

For Spaulding, who transferred to Stuart from Lawrence High this year, things have come together nicely in her new school.

“It has been a really good transition,” said Spaulding. “I just saw a good opportunity for me in the school.”

Stuart head coach Leith was happy to see his team put together a really good second quarter, as it outscored Trenton 22-5 after falling behind 11-5 in the first eight minutes of the contest.

“If we are doing what we practice and we are into it, pressuring the basketball and denying, doing all the things that we practice every day, we are a solid team,” said Leith.

“If we do anything other than that, we are not a good team. We saw that in the first quarter where we were down 11-5 and it could have been worse than that if they had hit a couple of shots. But then we slowly started getting back to what we do and it is a reminder that’s why we came back.”

Senior guard Harley Guzman sparked the comeback as she scored 16 points in the second quarter.

“It is always great when a player steps up like that, she doesn’t average that in a game,” said Leith of Guzman, who ended up with 18 points on the evening.

“We have a couple of players who can do that. I know that Jalynn has done that a couple of times this season, Bey-Shana (Clark) has done it a couple of times this season. I don’t know if Harley has, but she is certainly capable of it because she used to do it last year when we didn’t have many weapons.”

Leith didn’t like the way his team did things on the boards as it let Trenton creep back into the contest down the stretch.

“The frustrating thing was that we had to box out, we knew that this team wasn’t the best shooting team but they are great at offensive rebounding,” said Leith.

“We did a little bit in the first half; we were getting some rebounds and then it just started to fall apart. If we win, we win, if we lose, we lose, but if we are not doing what we practice every day and what we are all about, that is frustrating. I wasn’t worried, it was just frustrating as heck to do something since November and here we are in February and you go away from it.”

While Stuart wasn’t at its sharpest. Spaulding’s efforts helped it pull out the win.

“Jalynn did an excellent job defensively today; we knew that they had a tough player in No. 11 (Jhava Wilson) and she accepted the challenge and she stepped up,” added Leith.

“The points started to come, she let the game come to her. She is one of the main reasons why we won the game, because she was a presence there and caused Wilson some trouble.”

For Leith, seeing his program win a game in the MCT was a big deal.

“I don’t know when the last time Stuart advanced in the MCT so that was one of our goals this season,” said Leith, whose squad fell 75-27 to fifth-seeded Allentown in the MCT quarterfinals last Saturday to move to 19-8 and will play Nottingham on February 25 in its season finale.

“We talked about it and we accomplished that goal and we are happy with it.”

In Spaulding’s view, the squad’s good chemistry has helped it achieve goals this winter.

“We all as a team really connected,” said Spaulding. “It is not me and Bey-Shana, it is a full team. We all came together, the seniors have been really leading.”