Cranford Proves Too Much for Kearny

The original article can be found at:
http://cranford.patch.com/articles/cranford-proves-too-much-for-kearny

Cougars girls basketball team overcame offensive difficulties and layoff to rally past the Kardinals.
By Todd Cohen

With just one practice over the past six days, Cranford girls basketball coach Jackie Huber figured her team might come out a little flat Monday.

She probably didn't realize the layoff was going to be only one of several obstacles her team would have to overcome.

"One of the players at the foul line said, 'This ball seems kind of heavy,'" said Huber whose team was stuck with a larger boys regulation basketball. Officials realized the mistake in the fourth quarter of the game, but decided to keep the score as both sides had played with the ball.

Despite the obstacles, the team rolled past Kearny 45-27 in the opening game of the Lancer Holiday Basketball tournament at Livingston High School.

"We came in very slow, but fortunately, we picked it back up," Huber said of the first half, when they converted just six of 31 shot attempts.

But the Cougars bounced back with a 21-2 run midway through the game.

They used a split of perimeter shooting and shots in the paint in the first half. After halftime Cranford (2-1) seemed like a different squad, using its fast break to find high-percentage shots under the basket. Even the two ounce increase from the girls' to boys' ball didn't deter Cranford from connecting on 52 percent (11-of-21) of its shots in the second half.

"We love to shoot from the outside, but we have a lot of talent inside," Huber said. "We spoke about getting into the habit of getting the ball inside."

Freshman forward Jessica McCoy epitomized Cranford's effort. The freshman missed all six of her shots in the first half, but contributed strong defensive play, posting six steals to guide the team's transition. As the team started stringing together buckets, McCoy joined the mix, contributing all of her seven points in the second half.

"I got really down on myself because all my lay-ups were off," the 5-foot-8 McCoy said. "Coach Huber told me not to worry about it and keep going hard."

Cranford's tandem of freshman Jenna Goeller and sophomore Morgan Miller did a solid job frustrating Kearny's leading scorer Janitza Aquino, who was averaging 28.7 points a game heading into the contest.

Aquino, who had a team-leading 13 points, seemed to have difficulty penetrating against Cranford's larger front court and failed to convert many of her jump shots, hitting just 4-of-17 attempts and just one 3-pointer in the second half. Goeller blocked Aquino's 3-point try to end the first half, sending Aquino into the locker room with her head shaking and the team facing a 19-14 deficit.

Cranford opened against Kearny (3-1) with a zone defense to moderate success but a change to a man-style appeared to fluster the Kardinals, who were limited to nine points over the second and third quarters of the game. The defensive switch also generated more energy for the team on the other side of the ball as Cranford scored 10 points to open the second half – exclusively in transition.

"Our zone is a slower defense and when we're in man we think more up-tempo and go for steals," said Huber, whose team forced 16 turnovers in the game. "If we're in man we tend to play more aggressively on offense."

Senior Danielle Gross paced the Cougars with 11 points. Despite early foul trouble that forced her to the bench in much of the second and third quarters, point guard Jamie Webb added 10 points for Cranford, which has won two-straight games and plays for the tournament title Tuesday.

"We lost our first game of the season but we've really improved from that point," Webb said. "I think we're going to do really well."

Sara Gugliuci had six points, Goeller posted four points and Taylor D'Antico and Kaitlin McGovern adde three points apiece to round out the scoring for Cranford.

Cranford plays West Orange in the championship round 7 p.m. Tuesday. The Mountaineers defeated host Livingston in the other opening round matchup.