By Gregg Lerner
Allison Skrec is both a contributor and the primary benefactor of an unselfishness that flows through Roselle Catholic’s rhythmic halfcourt offense.
The cohesion of all five components is evident on every pass that is synchronized to each cut toward the basket.
Skrec exemplified that offensive unity, finishing off a number of crisp feeds en route to a game-high 25 points that stamped a milestone evening for the senior guard and enabled top-seeded and defending champion Roselle Catholic, No. 15 in The Star-Ledger Top 20, to post a 75-50 triumph over fourth-seeded Cranford last night in the semifinals of the 35th Frank J. Cicarell Union County Tournament in Roselle.
Skrec ran her career point total to 1,270 and became the all-time leading scorer at Roselle Catholic, boy or girl, surpassing 1999 graduate Schrene Isadora, who finished with 1,267.
``I’m so fortunate to have the teammates that I have,’’ Skrec said. ``There is no way I would be able to break that record without all of them. (Point guard) Jenny Malone finds me time after time, as do the other three players on the floor. It’s special to share it with them. This about all of us, not just me.’’
Roselle Catholic advanced to the UCT final on Friday at 7:30 at Roselle Catholic, where it will meet third-seeded Roselle, which got 26 points from Jakoya Duggans and used a late spurt at the end of the second quarter to pull away to a 73-46 decision over seventh-seeded Westfield in the first semifinal.
It will mark the fourth meeting with Roselle this season for Roselle Catholic, which has won the previous three encounters.
Roselle Catholic opened the contest on fire by hitting 8 of 11 shots from the field, fueled by Skrec, who converted five of her first six shots to pace a 21-15 start.
Complementing Skrec’s scoring touch was the sharp distribution of Malone, who had six assists to go with 17 points, and the all-around play of Melissa Tobie, who collected 18 points, three rebounds, three assists and five steals.
Malone hit two of her four 3-pointers during a 13-2 tear midway through the second quarter and Tobie capped it with a putback to give Roselle Catholic a 35-14 cushion 32 seconds shy of halftime.
Jamie Webb led Cranford with 12 points and Morgan Miller added 10.
In the first contest, Roselle held a precarious 29-24 lead before Felicia Claiborne ripped down a defensive rebound and took it the length of the court for a strong finish. The layup touched off an 11-2 surge over the final 2:33 of the second quarter and provided Roselle with a 40-26 cushion.
``We get a vibe in situations like that and it keeps going,’’ Duggans said of the game-breaking burst, one she punctuated with a powerful baseline drive and 3-pointer off a dish from Claiborne. ``We pulled it together in that spot.’’
Bianca Partlow contributed 18 points and seven rebounds for Roselle, which also received 10 points, eight boards, five assists and four steals from Shan-Tasia Padgett. Diana Venezia topped Westfield with 18 points and seven rebounds.
Cranford 50
Name 2-pt. 3-pt. FT Total
Taylor D'Antico 1 1 0 5
Jenna Goeller 0 0 0 0
Danielle Gross 3 0 3 9
Sara Gugliuci 1 1 0 5
Jessica McCoy 2 0 2 6
Kaitlin McGovern 1 0 0 2
Morgan Miller 3 1 2 11
Jamie Webb 3 1 3 12
Totals: 14 4 10
Roselle Catholic 75
Name 2-pt. 3-pt. FT Total
Anthonia Ajumobi 1 0 0 2
Chika Dunga 1 0 0 2
Meghan Faughnan 1 1 1 6
Niovanni Grant 1 0 0 2
Jenny Malone 2 4 1 17
Betina Petit 0 0 0 0
Marcia Senatus 1 0 1 3
Allison Skrec 10 0 5 25
Melissa Tobie 6 0 6 18
Totals: 23 5 14
Roselle Catholic (21-2) 19 16 16 24 75
Cranford (17-7) 10 6 15 19 50
Rebounds:
Assists:
Blocks:
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