CHATHAM, NJ -- In case anyone was wondering when Ella Kreuzer might be in game shape after missing time in the preseason with an injury, the answer came in the first five minutes of Chatham's girls basketball contest vs. Colonia on Monday night.

The sophomore guard was on her game from the start of the home opener and led a surge that sent undefeated Chatham to a 16-point lead in the first quarter and an eventual 74-50 win.

"Ella has been playing for a week against live competition and she's just starting to get her legs underneath her," Joe Gaba, Chatham coach, said. "So it was good to see her going to the rim and shooting the three."

SIGNUPSCRIPT

Chatham was "Kruezing" as the guard scored 13 of her team-high 22 points in the first eight minutes when the Cougars moved to a 29-13 advantage. Sophomore backcourt mate Mia Semioli finished with 18 points and six assists, and senior Riley Allen notched a double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds for Chatham, which scored its highest point total in six years.

Ella Kreuzer and Mia Semioli talk about the win

Gaba went to the full-court press right away in this one and the Cougars put together a 16-0 blitz over a two-minute span to grab a 19-5 lead. Kreuzer sparked the run with a 3-pointer and Semioli followed by converting a kick-out pass from Addison Barrett into a 3-point basket from the top of the key.

Kreuzer then dropped in a jumper off a Semioli pass before Allen pulled down a defensive rebound and fed Semioli, who bounced it to Kreuzer for the fast-break layup. She was fouled on the play and sank the bonus. Allen then drained a 3-pointer and Barrett capped the spree off a feed from Semioli.

"Mia is lights out right now and Riley has her thing going on," Gaba said."

Kreuzer continued to pour in the points after the break, scoring in the lane and then curling in for a jumper (see below).

The 5-11 guard then drove into the lane and dished off a pass to Kelsey Clark for the layup (see below) before feeding the ball to Ella von Doussa for two more points and a 57-36 Cougar lead.

COUGAR NOTES: The 74 points represented the highest single-game total for a Chatham team in 175 games, dating back to an 82-48 win vs. Mount Olive on Jan. 19, 2016. In that game, Chloe Blanc led Chatham with 17 points and Cougar teammate Cassandra Falone hit for 15 points ... Riley Allen's three 3-pointers vs. Colonia gave her 14 3-pointers made in three games this season ... the 22 points by Ella Kreuzer represented the second-highest point total in her career ... Colonia's Taylor Derkack led all scorers with 26 points ... Chatham plays at Sparta (3-0), 7 p.m. Wednesday in a rematch of last season's Group 3 state semifinal won by the Spartans, 48-46, on a buzzer-beating shot by Ally Sweeney.