January
3, 2007
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| C.C. Cousins led Fair Lawn with 22 points as the Cutters handeded New Milford its first loss of the season, 64-33, on Tuesday night. | |
FAIR LAWN – Playing in the rugged NBIL, Fair Lawn needs to scrape every non-league victory to qualify for the Bergen County and state tournaments. So when they lost a one-point heartbreaker in their own Holiday tournament last week, the Cutters knew it was an opportunity wasted. However, the beauty of high school basketball is where one opportunity fades away another is right around the corner.
Fair Lawn faced another non-league opponent last night in undefeated New Milford with a chance to not only get back on track, but to make a statement.
Mission accomplished.
The Cutters broke away early in the first quarter with a 13-0 run and dominated the interior. C.C. Cousins led the charge with 22 points as Fair Lawn scored 46 points in the paint en route to a surprisingly easy 64-33 victory.
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| Kristy Victory led New Milford with 9 points, all of them in the first half. |
“We knew how important this game would be later on in the season,” said Cousins. “We’re an underdog team and we knew we were playing an undefeated team. Coach really wanted me to try and be more aggressive tonight. He wanted us to dominate in the paint and we were really focused on doing that. Once we got on a roll, we just didn’t stop.”
Fair Lawn’s quick start was fueled by a pair of players who would not score a point in the entire contest. Amanda Bogins was rock solid defensively and Joeli O’Leary dished out four assists in a 13-0 run, putting the Cutters ahead for good, 15-4.
New Milford answered back with seven straight points, capped by a three-pointer from Kristy Victory to cut the lead to 15-11, but the Knights never got any closer and the combination of Cousins and Nicole Bisco proved to be too much to handle inside. Fair Lawn shot a blistering 61 percent in the first half in taking a 31-16 halftime lead.
New Milford trimmed the lead to 12 early in the third quarter and had three possessions to cut it down even further, but those opportunities were squandered on turnovers and the Cutters cashed in. Cousins scored on a conventional three-point play, Carly Montag hit a three-pointer and Nicole Bisco clicked on a lay-up to push the lead up to 19 by the end of the third quarter; which essentially put the game away.
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| Fair Lawn's Nicole Sisco (24) finished with 13 points, eight rebounds, and three blocks. |
“Give Fair Lawn credit, they were well-coached and they executed time and time again,” said New Milford head coach Tony Albro. “They were patient, they got good shots and they made them. It’s not a league game, so it doesn’t hurt is in that regard. We will just chalk this up to being a good learning experience, one that can only help us down the road.”
Cousins hit 10 of her 14 shots from the field, finishing with a game-high 22 points for Fair Lawn (4-3), which got contributions from all five of its starters. Sisco had 13 points, eight rebounds, and three blocks. Montag added 11 points, including 3-5 from behind the arc. O’Leary broke the Knights’ press consistently and had seven assists against just one turnover. Bogins was the defensive stopper, with four steals and three blocks. More importantly, she held the Knights’ leading scorer and rebounder, Victory, to just one rebound and without a point in the second half.
Victory’s nine points were a team-high for New Milford (5-1). Merlyn Jacob led the team in three statistical categories with eight rebounds, four blocks, and three steals, to go along with her eight points. Freshman Cassidy Holowach chipped in with six points, three assists, and two steals.
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| New Milford freshman Cassidy Holowach chipped in with six points, three assists, and two steals. |
Playing well after a loss is something Fair Lawn head coach Alan Clements is not particularly used to. But he feels this team is different and can achieve new heights; and that starts with handling adversity and bouncing back from a loss quickly.
“Last year we probably would not have been as ready for this game mentally as we are this year and it showed tonight,” said Clements. “With the league schedule that we play, we have to win these non-league games. We not only want to just make the counties and the states, we want to win a game and make an impact when we get there. This is a big win for our confidence and one that could help us towards getting a seed in the counties. Now we can build from this and continue to play well.”
FOR MORE PHOTOS OF THE EVENT OR TO BUY A COLLECTOR'S PRINT OF THIS GAME STORY, PLEASE VISIT 4FeetGrafix.com.
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