Highlanders beat DePaul, 48-45

Laurel Space scored a team-high 16 points and Avery Vacca and Sarah Benowitz each added 10 points to lead the West Milford High School girls basketball team to a 48-45 victory over DePaul in the consolation game of the Blue/Gold Holiday Tournament on Thursday, Dec. 28 in Pompton Plains.

West Milford (3-3) trailed, 39-38, at the end of three periods but closed with a 12-6 fourth-quarter showing to earn the decision and snap its three-game losing streak.

In the opening game of the tournament Wednesday, Dec. 27, Vacca, a senior, dropped in 19 points and Space, a junior, added 14, but the Highlanders bowed to Pequannock, 60-52.

West Milford was scheduled to play host to Passaic Valley at 7 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 4 before playing at Northern Highlands at 2 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 6.

Here’s how other West Milford sports teams fared last week:

Boys basketball

The Highlanders suffered two close defeats in finishing fourth at the Blue/Gold Tournament in Pompton Plains.

In the opener Dec. 27, West Milford led against Pequannock, 41-39, after three quarters but was outscored, 10-5, in the final stanza.

Nas Appell led the Highlanders with a team-high 16 points, with Connor Vogt adding eight points.

West Milford then played Jefferson in the consolation game Dec. 28 and bowed, 58-56.

The Highlanders (1-7) were slated to play at Passaic Valley at 4 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 4 before playing at Hawthorne Christian at noon Saturday, Jan. 6.

Ice hockey

Carson McGuire and John Biegel each scored, but the Highlanders dropped a 5-2 decision to Kinnelon on Saturday, Dec. 30 in the Ice Vault Classic in Wayne.

West Milford (7-2) finished 2-1 in the Classic. The team began the tournament with a 7-1 win over Mount Olive on Dec. 26.

Aiden Lindgren and Brayden Treloar each had a goal and two assists; Kyle Gregory added a goal and an assist; and Sean Hughes, Biegel, Timmy Riche and Joe Barroquerio also tallied a goal, with goalie Matt Montena finishing with 24 saves.

On Dec. 29, the Highlanders again unleashed the offense in a 6-1 victory over St. Peter’s Prep led by Lindgren (two goals, one assist), Hughes (one goal, two assists), Barroquerio (one goal), Anthony Weisse (one goal) and Biegel (one goal), with goalie Nick Lombardo making 18 saves.

West Milford is scheduled to face Passaic Tech at 9 p.m. Friday, Jan. 5 at the Ice Vault Arena before playing Mahwah at 8 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 7 also at the Ice Vault.

Wrestling

The Highlanders took part in the Ball Drop Brawl quad Saturday, Dec. 30 in Hillsborough and finished 2-1 in three matches.

West Milford defeated Princeton, 63-12, and Montgomery, 64-18, and bowed to Hillsborough, 46-28.

Nicholas Carbone won three times by fall on the day.

The Highlanders, now 4-4, are scheduled to wrestle at Fair Lawn at 6 p.m. Friday, Jan. 5.

Indoor track

Noah Traverso finished first in the long jump with a leap of 20-9.5, won the triple jump event with an effort of 43-1.5 and placed sixth in the 200-meter run in 23.05 to highlight West Milford at the Coach Glynn Holiday Carnival on Dec. 28 at the Ocean Breeze Track and Field facility in Staten Island, N.Y.

Other top 10 finishers included Tyler Meier, who was third in the high jump with a leap of 5-10.

For the girls, Ciara Clinton was the highest place-winner, finishing second in the 3200-meter run with a time of 11:40.10.

Other individual finishers for the Highlanders were Lola Novak (third in long jump, fourth in 800-meter run), Chloe Brijbag (fifth in shot put), Gia Bonsignore (third in shot put) and Addison Newton (fifth in shot put).