Cranford led Pascack Valley 9-7 after the first quarter when sophomore Morgan Miller made a 3-pointer and Jamie Webb ended the period with a free throw.
Although Cranford didn’t score until there was 2:10 left in the second quarter – freshman Jessica McCoy hit a shot in the lane – the Cougars hung tough and were only trailing 15-13 at
the half. Webb’s first field goal tied the game for the third time at 13-13
before an inside basket following an offensive rebound by senior Dana Amato
gave the Indians back the lead.
“She (Amato) was very strong and we knew she was a big presence on the floor,” Cranford head coach Jackie Huber said.
Amato had five of her nine rebounds in the first half, with her stocky build a tough one for Cranford players to get around at times.
“She has, maybe, the best boxing-out skills I’ve seen all season,” Huber said. “She pushed you underneath the basket and you were not getting around her.
“They’re a very good team and in the beginning our offense just wasn’t there and we had a hard time with that. They play very good defense and it’s hard, even if you
are running your offenses, to get through the screens.”
Cranford shot 5-of-16 from the floor in the first half and made one of two free throws. However, Pascack Valley wasn’t much better, shooting 6-of-22 and making only
three of eight from the line.
Webb’s second field goal and what turned out to be her final points tied the game for the fourth and last time at 15-15 to open the third quarter.
Then Ely took over.
Ely, who had just three points at the half on three free throws, hit her first field goal to give Pascack Valley what would be the lead for good at 17-15. That began
a 6-0 run, with Ely scoring all of the points.
Webb contained Ely in the first half, which was huge because Cranford’s shots were not falling. Had Ely had a big first half, Cranford would not have been in the game in the second half.
“I think Jamie did a very good job,” Huber said. “Jamie shut her down, but she’s a good player and she’s going to score her points. She’s good off the dribble,
good driving to the basket, a good pull-up shooter, so we knew she was going to
score her points. It was just when she was going to.”
Despite Webb getting into foul trouble, Cranford continued to hang in there and was only outscored 10-8 in the third quarter and trailed only 25-21 going into the fourth.
Ely began the fourth quarter with a layup, but Miller answered with two free throws to keep it a four-point game at 27-23.
Then the Indians took over.
Pascack Valley made 7-of-14 free throws during first three quarters, but was much better from the charity stripe in the fourth.
McCoy picked up her fourth foul with 6:11 left, giving Cranford five to PV’s one at the time. Ely went to the line
and made both, which began a 14-0 Indian run that included Pascack Valley making 6-of-6 free throws in that stretch.
A free throw by Cranford freshman Kaitlin McGovern halted the run. McGovern ended up scoring Cranford’s final five points and finished with seven.
Players such as McGovern, Miller, McCoy, freshman Jenna Goeller and junior Sara Gugliuci will return next season with a lot of valuable varsity experience
under their belts.
“I was really impressed by how Kaitlin played down the stretch,” Huber said.
Pascack Valley took advantage of Cranford’s fouls in the final quarter by making 9-of-10 free throws in the period.
“We had little nit-pick fouls and some other issues and it was hard to bounce back from,” Huber said. “We got into some foul trouble and I think, mentally, that
took us out of the game.”
Despite the setback, Cranford had quite a season. The Cougars won 21 games for the first time in four years, managed to defeat the best team in the county –
Roselle Catholic – on its home court and then captured a sectional championship
after reaching the Union County Tournament semifinals for the first time in
four years.
“I’m really proud of us,” Webb said. “We made the semifinals of counties, which is good. We had a huge letdown there, but we stuck through it and won the section,
so that’s great.
“Our coach said every time we come watch the young girls play next year we’ll see our year up on the banner, so that’s something we’ll remember.”
“Losing does not feel good and it’s not something everyone likes doing, but they have to understand that they accomplished something people dream about doing,” Huber
said. “In high school I never went to a state sectional final and everyone
talks about it.”
Huber is a 2001 Union Catholic graduate who helped the Vikings win the UCT her senior season after they also won it when she was a freshman.
“The fact that they won it (the sectional final) and when they go into the school and see their year on the banner, they’re going to be remembered and that’s
important,” Huber said.
Seniors Webb, Taylor D’Antico – who finished with five points – and Danielle Gross provided leadership for the younger players while they grew as performers
themselves this season.
“They really did a good job of taking the younger girls underneath their wing and showing that they wanted it this year,” Huber said. “As seniors they wanted to
be leaders, they wanted to win a championship and that’s what they did.
“Our team was very young this year and I think we’ll be all right next year.”
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