Jakoya Duggans returned to the Roselle lineup at just the right time.
Duggans, a senior guard, scored a game-high 25 points - including the 1,000th of her career - to help Roselle snap a three-game losing streak with a 60-48 victory over Cranford yesterday in Cranford.
Duggans, who missed the last four games with a knee injury, entered the game with 979 points. She reached the milestone when she scored on a running layup with 2:15 remaining in the third quarter.
"It was a shock to me. I really didn't know I was that close," said Duggans, who also brought down 13 rebounds. "It was tough being on the bench and watching us lose three straight. And it was good to get the win today."
Roselle had defeated Cranford, 52-50, in the only other meeting between the schools in Roselle on Jan. 8.
Against Cranford, Duggans struck for 17 first half points as Roselle built a 32-24 lead. Senior guard Shan-Tasia Padgett, who finished with 15 points and 10 rebounds, scored six points in the first quarter and had eight at the break.
"It feels good to get the win and its great to have Jakoya back," said Padgett, who transferred from Elizabeth this season. "We know that if we're at full strength, we're tough to beat."
Cranford, which was led by Morgan Miller, who had 20 points, and Jamie Webb, who added 13, was also coming off a 38-28 setback to Union Catholic on Thursday.
"The losses yesterday and today really opened our eyes about what we have to work on and one of things is rebounding," said Cranford coach Jackie Huber, the Union County Coach of the Year last winter. "Roselle did a really good job out-rebounding us today."
A basket by Duggans and four points from Felicia Claiborne just 1:15 into the second half gave Roselle a 39-24 lead.
But Cranford mounted its own run, outscoring Roselle, 11-4, to close within 45-35 with just over 20 seconds left in the third quarter. Webb had seven points in the spree.
A basket by Webb with 3:23 remaining in the fourth and two free throws by Miller with 2:50 left cut Roselle's lead to 49-45, but Duggans and Partlow responded with back-to-back buckets to push the lead back to eight points. Partlow finished with seven points, six steals and four assists and Nyasia Davis added 10 rebounds for Roselle.
Duggans, whose putback on a missed free throw by Partlow with 58 seconds left gave Roselle a 56-48 lead, played sparingly as a freshman before becoming a pivotal player the next season.
"I really wasn't a key player until my sophomore year," Duggans said. "I just play as hard as I can. Hopefully, we can go all the way this year."
Roselle 60
Name 2-pt. 3-pt. FT Total
Felicia Claiborne 1 2 2 10
Nyasia Davis 1 0 1 3
Jakoya Duggans 7 3 2 25
Sandra Jaramillo 0 0 0 0
Shan-Tasia Padgett 5 0 5 15
Bianca Partlow 2 0 3 7
Totals: 16 5 13
Cranford 48
Name 2-pt. 3-pt. FT Total
Taylor D'Antico 0 1 1 4
Jenna Goeller 0 1 0 3
Sara Gugliuci 0 0 0 0
Jessica McCoy 3 0 0 6
Kaitlin McGovern 1 0 0 2
Morgan Miller 6 2 2 20
Jamie Webb 4 1 2 13
Totals: 14 5 5
Cranford (12-4) 11 13 11 13 48
Roselle (14-5) 16 16 13 15 60
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