35TH ANNUAL FRANK J. CICARELL
GIRLS’ BASKETBALL
UNION COUNTY TOURNAMENT
QUARTERFINALS
By JR Parachini
Union County Sports Editor
ROSELLE – Sometimes it takes more than steals, passes, rebounds and – ultimately – baskets to win games.
Sometimes it takes a little yelling by the head coach to get a team going.
Third-seeded Roselle needed that against 11th-seeded Johnson in Thursday Tournament quarterfinal games at the Lions Den at Roselle Catholic.
After giving up a 13-point lead heading into the fourth quarter, the Rams – following first-year head coach Duane Eason’s strong pep talk – outscored Johnson 7-0 in overtime to
survive 65-58.
“We had to go back to man and that made a difference in overtime,” Eason said. “We had to attack them again and play our tempo and not sit back.”
TUESDAY, FEB. 24 SEMIFINALS
AT ROSELLE CATHOLIC
7-Westfield vs. 3-Roselle, 6 p.m.
4-Cranford vs. 1-Roselle Catholic, 7:30 p.m.
THURSDAY, FEB. 18 QUARTERFINALS
AT RAHWAY
Cranford 57, Oak Knoll 44
Roselle Catholic 63, Linden 43
AT ROSELLE CATHOLIC
Roselle 65, Johnson 58 (OT)
Westfield 47, Summit 45
Roselle won its fifth straight and improved to 18-5, while Johnson had a four-game winning streak snapped and fell to 13-9.
The teams previously split Union County Conference-Mountain Division contests, both winning at home.
Roselle reached the semifinals for the second straight season and will play in the first semi at Roselle Catholic Tuesday night at 6. The Rams last reached the final in 2006
and captured their only championship in 2002.
During a frantic final seconds, Johnson sophomore Cyndi Wilson grabbed an offensive rebound and scored inside at the left of the basket to tie the game at 58-58 with just two seconds
left. The Crusaders outscored Roselle – which seemed to have
the game in hand – 20-7 in the fourth quarter.
Of the 16 games played in the tournament so far, this was the only one that went to overtime.
“We let them hang around in that fourth quarter and weren’t pushing it,” Eason said.
Eason also reported that the reason junior point guard Bianca Partlow did not play was because of a stomach virus. Eason expects to have her back in the lineup for Tuesday’s
semifinals.
“She didn’t feel good all day,” Eason said. “She should be fine by Tuesday.”
Roselle was not able to beat Johnson on the road without Duggans in the lineup because of her knee injury at the time. The Rams almost didn’t survive without Partlow playing.
Neither team managed to make a field goal in the extra session, but Roselle was able to make seven-of-12 free throws after taking advantage of numerous Johnson turnovers and then
subsequent Crusader fouls.
Johnson wowed its fans by sending the game to overtime. However, the Crusaders ran out of gas in the closest they have come to reaching the semifinals in some time.
Roselle freshman and starting guard Johanna Jaramillo’s only point of the game turned to be the winning free throw. She made the first of her two attempts from the line early in overtime
to give the Rams a 59-58 lead.
The next Roselle free throws were made by Nyasia Davis and Shan-Tasia Padgett, both making one of two. The Padgett made two in a row before she missed two straight.
Felicia Claiborne made the game’s final two free throws following Johnson’s fourth OT turnover.
Although the Crusaders came up short – with both teams missing inside shots throughout the contest – they can hold their heads up high and take the experience of this game into the
Central
Jersey, Group 2 playoffs.
Johnson standout senior Gina Trani paced all scorers with 23 points and is now exactly 15 points away from 1,000 for her four-year varsity career.
Roselle was paced by standout senior Jakoya Duggans, who netted 22. Also scoring in double digits for the Rams were Davis with 15 off the bench,
Padgett with 13 and Claiborne with 11.
Johnson junior guard Kristy Pflug produced a stellar effort, finishing with 16 points after making 50 percent of her field goals. Her three 3s – all hitting nothing but the
bottom of the net – helped keep Johnson in the game before the Crusaders made
their comeback in the fourth quarter.
In the two quarterfinals at Rahway, fourth-seeded Cranford defeated fifth-seeded Oak Knoll 57-44 in the first game, while top-seeded Roselle Catholic ousted
eighth-seeded Linden 63-43 in the nightcap.
Cranford and Roselle Catholic will meet in the second semifinal Tuesday night at 7:30 at RC. The teams split UCC-Mountain Division contests, with Cranford winning at RC and
then RC winning at Cranford.
Cranford has defeated RC in the Lions Den during the 2008, 2009 and 2010 regular seasons, handing RC its first loss of the year all three of those campaigns. Cranford defeated RC at RC in
the season-opener for both in the 2007-2008 season, won at RC last year when RC
was 9-0 and won at RC this year when RC was 8-0.
Cranford improved to 16-5 and reached the semifinals for the first year since winning its only title in 2006. Third-year head coach Jackie Huber has guided her Cougars to the Final Four for
the first time.
Oak Knoll lost for the second straight time and fell to 15-6.
Roselle Catholic won for the ninth straight time and improved to 20-2.
Linden fell to 12-9.
WESTFIELD’S LORENTZEN COMES THROUGH IN THE
CLUTCH WITH THE GAME-WINNING BASKET
As drama-filled as the first game was, the second one provided even more, with seventh-seeded Westfield holding on for a hard-fought 47-45 victory over second-seeded Summit, which lost a tough quarterfinal game at
Roselle Catholic for the second consecutive season. In last year’s quarters,
seventh-seeded Summit lost to second-seeded Plainfield 45-36, with the victorious Cardinals
ending the game on a 21-0 run.
Westfield won for the eighth straight time and improved to 13-7. The Blue Devils began the season 0-3 and 1-5.
Summit had an eight-game winning streak snapped and fell to 18-3. Two of the Hilltoppers’ three losses have come at the Lions Den, with the first one a 44-34 non-conference setback to Roselle Catholic on
Jan. 19.
Although she didn’t score a single point through the first three quarters, Westfield 5-10 starting junior forward Charlotte Lorentzen was doing her job time and time again by grabbing one
important rebound – with the proper two-hand technique – after another.
Then, with the score tied and just 20 seconds left in the fourth quarter, she hit the biggest shot of her life.
Right after Summit senior Michelle Burian connected on her first basket and scored her first points of the game by making a shot from the left side to tie the contest at 43-43, Lorentzen found herself open on the left
side with the ball and decided to put it up.
When the ball went in, Westfield went back on top for good at 45-43. Following a Summit turnover and then a foul, Blue Devil senior forward Diana Venezia scored the final two of her game-high 28 points by hitting the game’s last two
free throw attempts.
Westfield allowed Summit sophomore point guard Kate Martino to drive the lane and score on a layup to make what turned out to be the final score 47-45, but it was too little and too late.
For Lorentzen, it might have been the only shot she took. She gets credit for the game-winning basket because it put Westfield ahead to stay for good. Venezia’s free throws were crucial insurance points that were, obviously, needed.
“I thought shot right away because I knew there wasn’t a lot of time left, so I knew I had to throw it up and get it in,” said Lorentzen, who also came down with 10 rebounds.
“It was amazing,” Venezia said of Lorentzen’s shot. “She’s playing awesome for us. Rebounding was the key to this game tonight and that shot at the end of the game was just amazing.”
“That was big for us,” Westfield head coach Joe Marino said. “Charlotte all season was a little not too confident in her shot and I’m really happy for her that she managed to hit that big one when we needed it.”
After Westfield lost at home to Summit 44-42 in Union County Conference-Watchung Division play on Jan. 26 when Summit senior Emily Cristaldi produced the winning basket at the buzzer, Lorentzen and her teammates expected another
battle right to the end.
“We knew that we lost to Summit before and really wanted to win this game to get to the semifinals,” Lorentzen said. “We’re going to be practicing real hard to beat them (Roselle) and we’re going to try to make it a game just like
tonight.”
Venezia has come on real strong of late, with a total of 77 points in her last three games, including 18 Monday night in Westfield’s 49-41 first round win over Governor
Livingston at Union Catholic and a career-high 31 in Tuesday’s impressive 43-26
non-conference win at Cranford.
This is what Venezia thought it took to win the game: “A lot of heart. We came out wanting it in the beginning.”
Summit trailed by 12 at 33-21 heading into the fourth quarter, which was Westfield’s largest lead. The Blue Devils also led by 11 a 36-25 with six minutes to go when the Hilltoppers made their move.
“Summit’s a great team and we knew that they were going to come back at some point and we just had to hold on to it.”
Westfield reached the county’s Final Four for the third time in four years. Westfield, as the third seed, lost to 14th-seeded Elizabeth 48-46 in overtime in a first round game
last year at Roselle Catholic.
Westfield defeated Elizabeth in the 2008 final at RC for its first title after falling to Scotch Plains in overtime in the 2007 title game at RC. That was the first year the Blue Devils reached the final.
Summit, which again just fell short of reaching the semifinals for the first time since 2000, was led offensively by Cristaldi’s 19-point effort.
Cristaldi stepped up big-time in the fourth quarter by scoring 13 of her points in a period that Summit won 14-4. The Hilltoppers were outscored 7-2 in the third quarter with the Blue Devils
ending the period on a 7-0 run after a basket by Kate Martino opened the second
half scoring.
Cristaldi, who had to sit the last three minutes of the second quarter with two fouls, had six points at the half and those same six points going into the fourth quarter.
Cristaldi nailed a 3-pointer that gave Summit a 41-39 lead with 1:15 left.
After a basket by Westfield senior Amanda Markowski tied the game at 41-41 soon after, Cristaldi was called for her fifth foul at half court with 49 seconds left. Cristaldi tried to take the ball away from Markowski, but made
contact with the Westfield player.
Two free throws by Markowski gave Westfield a 43-41 lead before Burian’s basket tied the game for the final time.
“I have no problem with the way we played tonight,” Summit head coach Brian Erickson said. “Every time we step out on the court it’s Summit basketball.”
Sophomore Kelly Osmulski also turned in a solid effort, producing 13 points and several key rebounds before fouling out late in the game.
Martino finished with eight points. Cristaldi has scored in double digits and has been Summit’s leading scorer in all 21 games. She now has 1,089 points for her career and is third on the girls’ all-time scoring
list at Summit.
“My team gave it everything they’ve got,” Erickson said. “If a team wants to box-and-1 us, then good for them. If they think we have a player or two that needs to be guarded closely like that, well
I have confidence in every one of my players.
“In the first half Emily didn’t get as many looks as - maybe - she wanted and missed a few. Kelly got some shots, Michelle got some shots, Cassie (Hall) got looks and Kate got looks. Everybody
on our team had looks and they were good looks, they just didn’t fall.”
That was the case especially in the third quarter when Summit scored only two points. Then the Hilltoppers netted 24 in the fourth, which is something you don’t see that often, a team scoring two points
in one quarter and then 24 in the next.
“Over the last four weeks, those shots have been falling and tonight they didn’t until late,” Erickson said. “When we played them the last time it was the same type of game.
“I have to give a ton of credit to Joe (Marino) and his staff. His kids played a tremendous ball game. I thought my kids were just as tired and just as spent and the effort was there.
“I’m not going to say anything negative about my team. This is Summit basketball every time we step on the floor.
“The better team beat us tonight. They won, so they were better tonight. We were better last time by two points.
“It was a great ball game by two good teams, it was well officiated, and that’s what Union County basketball is all about right there, I think you got to see it.
“You saw physical basketball. You saw some great defense. I have nothing but high praise for my kids. They gave me everything they had.
“We are who we are and that’s what you saw tonight, bottom line. I’ll take that every time out on the floor. Those kids, they’re the reason why I come to school and go to practice – they give me
everything that they have.
“That’s the same reason why Joe does. His kids give him everything as well.”
NOTES: Summit has clinched at least a tie for the first Union County Conference-Watchung Division crown. The Hilltoppers are 11-1 in the division, with conference games remaining at home against Scotch Plains and Westfield, if necessary. Westfield is 8-3, with games remaining at Plainfield, at Summit and home against Elizabeth. The best Westfield could do is tie Summit for the division title, but would have to
win all three of its remaining games and Summit would have to also lose to Scotch Plains, which is not likely.
FIRST QUARTERFINAL AT ROSELLE CATHOLIC
11-JOHNSON (13-8) 13
9 14
20 0 - 58
3-ROSELLE (18-5, 5 in a row) 14 19
18 7 7
- 65
JOHNSON (58):
3-Kristy Pflug 2-3-3-16
22-Jessica Schurtz 1-0-0-2
14-Michele Smorol 1-1-1-6
13-Gina Trani 8-0-7-23
55-Kate Matthews 0-0-0-0
12-Eryka Underwood 0-0-0-0
15-Cyndi Wilson 4-0-3-11
24-Lauren Saracen 0-0-0-0
Totals: 16-4-14-58.
Starters: Wilson, Underwood, Pflug, Matthews, Trani
ROSELLE (65):
24-Jakoya Duggans 7-2-2-22
13-Nyasia Davis 5-0-5-15
30-Felicia Claiborne 2-1-4-11
10-Shan-Tasia Padgett 5-0-3-13
32-Sabery White 1-0-1-5
11-Johanna Jaramillo 0-0-1-1
Totals: 20-3-16-65.
Starters: Duggans, Claiborne, Padgett, White, Jaramillo
SECOND QUARTERFINAL AT ROSELLE CATHOLIC
7-WESTFIELD (13-7, 8 in a row) 15 11
7 14 -
47
2-SUMMIT (18-3) 10 9
2 24 - 45
WESTFIELD (47):
2-Katie Ponce 1-0-2-4
4-Danielle Miller 1-0-0-2
10-Nicole Bilica 0-0-0-0
12-Anne Knisely 0-0-0-0
15-Diana Venezia 7-1-11-28
20-Charlotte Lorentzen 1-0-0-2
22-Amanda Markowski 3-0-5-11
12-Anne Knisely 0-0-0-0
Totals: 13-1-18-47.
Starters: Lorentzen, Venezia, Miller, Ponce, Markowski
SUMMIT (45):
11-Kate Martino 4-0-0-8
5-Emily Cristaldi 3-3-4-19
30-Cassie Hall 1-0-0-2
20-Kelly Osmulski 5-0-3-13
21-Michelle Burian 1-0-0-2
10-Amanda Murphy 0-0-1-1
24-Olivia Galuppo 0-0-0-0
Totals: 14-3-8-45.
Starters: Cristaldi, Martino, Osmulski, Burian, Hall
35th ANNUAL FRANK J. CICARELL
GIRLS’ BASKETBALL UNION COUNTY TOURNAMENT
SEEDS: 1-Roselle Catholic. 2-Summit. 3-Roselle. 4-Cranford.
5-Oak Knoll. 6-New Providence. 7-Westfield. 8-Linden.
9-Dayton. 10-Gov. Livingston. 11-Johnson. 12-Union Catholic.
13-Union. 14-Plainfield. 15-Hillside. 16-Rahway.
17-Scotch Plains. 18-Elizabeth. 19-Kent Place. 20-St. Patrick.
PRELIMINARY ROUND:
Friday, Feb. 12
At Johnson
Scotch Plains 52, Rahway 34
Saturday, Feb. 13
At Rahway
Union 75, St. Patrick 14
Plainfield 50, Kent Place 40
Hillside 58, Elizabeth 37
FIRST ROUND:
Monday, Feb. 15
At Johnson
Linden 60, Dayton 57
Roselle Catholic 63, Scotch Plains 31
At RoselleCatholic
Oak Knoll 34, Union Catholic 28
Cranford 50, Union 43
At Rahway
Johnson 35, New Providence 34
Roselle 70, Plainfield 53
At Union Catholic
Westfield 49, Gov. Livingston 41
Summit 63, Hillside 44
QUARTERFINALS
Thursday, Feb. 18
At Rahway(top side of the bracket)
Cranford 57, Oak Knoll 44
Roselle Catholic 63, Linden 43
At RoselleCatholic (bottom side of the bracket)
Roselle 65, Johnson 58 (OT)
Westfield 47, Summit 45
SEMIFINALS
(the higher seeded teams wear home uniforms)
Tuesday, Feb. 23
At RoselleCatholic
7-Westfield vs. 3-Roselle, 6 p.m.
4-Cranford vs. 1-Roselle Catholic, 7:30 p.m.
FINALS
(the higher seeded teams wear home uniforms)
Friday, Feb. 26
At RoselleCatholic
Junior varsity: 5:30 p.m.
Varsity: 7:30 p.m.
VARSITY UCT CHAMPIONS
GOING BACK TO 1992:
2009 – Roselle Catholic
2008 – Westfield, first time
2007 – Scotch Plains
2006 – Cranford, first time
2005 – Scotch Plains
2004 – Scotch Plains, first time
2003 – Roselle Catholic, first time
2002 – Roselle, first time
2001 – Union Catholic
2000 – Union, first time
1999 – Summit, first time
1998 – Union Catholic
1997 – Elizabeth
1996 – Elizabeth
1995 – Elizabeth, first time
1994 – Linden
1993 – Linden
1992 – Union Catholic
No comments:
Post a Comment