On December 29th and 30th Colonia High School Girls’ Basketball Team played hometown rivals, John F. Kennedy and Woodbridge at home. Colonia came out victorious in both games making them Township Champs for the first time in as long as anyone can remember.
JFK started out the game well with a 6 point lead ahead of Colonia. CHS and JFK were neck-in-neck in the second quarter with a score of 16-15. In the third quarter Colonia was able to pull ahead, 30-23. Finally Colonia sealed the win in the fourth quarter with a final score of 42-28.
Senior, Juli Wright led the team with 14 points, 10 rebounds, and four steals. Junior, Angela Barrett also contributed to the win with 11 points. Ayanna Abdulahad, junior, scored seven points. Abdulahad also had 11 rebounds and three blocks. Hannah Doyle, senior, added five points, eight rebounds and six steals to the win against JFK.
Just about 24 hours later CHS took on WHS at home. Unlike JFK, Woodbridge never was able to pull ahead in the game. The first quarter ended in 10-5. In the second quarter Colonia continued to thrive with a score of 21-14. The third quarter, Colonia continued to pull ahead as WHS struggle to keep up at 25-16. Then Colonia finished them off with a 19 point lead, 43-24.
Barrett aided with 18 points and Wright added 7 points to Colonia’s win.
This was the first time Drew Biri, Girl’s Basketball Coach and History Teacher at Colonia, was able to lead the team to victory over both townships, making CHS township champions. Biri has been a coach for the CHS Girls’ Basketball team for five years.
Biri prepared his girls for these games the same as every other game. “We focus on the fundamentals,” Biri said, “and do the things we can control.”
If Biri is known for any one thing, it’s his beloved beard. He made a deal with the team that if they were able to win, they could shave it off him.
“I like to put my beard on the line for a situation that is special. In this case, winning the township is something no team of mine has accomplished. A win against those teams is worth losing my beard for a few days if you ask me.” Biri continues to say that his girls play much better when they put in energy and effort, “sometimes putting my beard on the line gives them that little extra incentive to play hard.”
Biri always believes his team can win. “That’s the great thing about sports,” he said “any team can win any day.”
The possibility of shaving his beard quickly became reality and he realized this in the last minute of the game and he describes a brief moment of sadness over the loss of his loved beard but it was a well worth it seeing how happy the team was.
As for the rest of the season: Colonia can expect to see the Varsity Girls’ to play together and compete until the last minute. Their record is currently 4-7 and their next game will be away on Thursday, January 28th against the Bishop George Ahr Trojans.
