Saturday, January 23, 2010

By Rich Barton
NJS.com Staff Writer

Shaquanna Marshall scored all 9 of her points in the second half and led Paterson Catholic to a 52-45 win at Glen Rock.

GLEN ROCK – Although Paterson Catholic has dominated the B-PSL for the better part of a decade, senior guard Shaquanna Marshall knew this particular game against Glen Rock was going to be no cakewalk. While the Lady Cougars needed a late turnover to survive against Eastern Christian, Glen Rock beat the same team a week later by 16 points. True to Marshall’s premonition, the game was nip-and-tuck the entire way.

With the stingy Glen Rock defense keying on PC stars Briana Cook and Leah Johnson, Marshall knew if her team was going to come out victorious that she had to make some big shots in crunch time, which is exactly what she did.

Marshall scored all nine of her points in the second half and eight of them came at crucial times. She kept her team afloat with two big three-pointers in the final minute of the third quarter. Then she hit two free-throws with 25 seconds left as Paterson Catholic stayed unbeaten in league play with a gritty 52-45 win at Glen Rock Middle School.

Jessie Maitner scored 9 points, tops for Glen Rock, which had 9 players score in the game.

“Glen rock always plays us tough and they did again tonight,” said PC’s Leah Johnson. “We had to be as mentally prepared as we were physically prepared for this type of game. Even when we were down early, we stayed calm and focused on playing better defense.”

Glen Rock came out pumped up and took control early by efficiently running its motion offense to get good looks at the basket. Senior Lauren Gamio’s only basket, a jumper just inside the three-point line, gave Glen Rock its biggest lead late in the first quarter, 16-7.

The Cougars responded behind the opportunistic defense of Cook. She had three steals in the quarter and they all led to easy layups as Paterson Catholic battled back to grab a 25-24 halftime lead.

“I thought we had a chance in the second quarter to pad our lead, but we kept turning the ball over,” said Glen Rock head coach Dave Mosconi. “We had four straight turnovers and that allowed them to get back into what they like to do.”

Glen Rock got back to getting the ball inside in the third quarter with Jaclyn Corasotto scoring a pair of baskets and Alexa Hunko added another with Glen Rock taking a 36-31 with less than two minutes to play. But that lead never got any larger due to the long-range shooting of Marshall.

Briana Cook finished with game-highs of 18 points and eight steals for Paterson Catholic (13-1)

After a scoreless first half, she nailed a pair of huge three-pointers from the almost the exact same spot in the final minute to slice Glen Rock’s lead down to one heading into the fourth quarter, 38-37.

“Even though we had the lead, I think we knew we missed another opportunity there,” added Mosconi. “Give (Marshall) credit. She stepped up and hit some huge shots when their team needed them. We definitely had our chances today. They just made a few more big plays then we did.”

Less than a minute into the final stanza, Cook’s steal and layup gave Paterson Catholic the lead for good. The Cougars had a three-point lead and the ball with just over a minute to play when Glen Rock was the beneficiary of a controversial call. An intentional foul was called on Paterson Catholic, giving Glen Rock two foul shots and the ball. Christie Jones hit the first shot and the second kissed every part of the rim before bouncing out.

The Panthers were down 47-45 with the ball, but never got off a tying or go-ahead shot off. An errant pass was scooped up by Marshall, and she eventually went to the foul line for a one-and-one with 25 seconds left and the game on the line.

Christie Jones and Glen Rock now stand at 11-2 for the season.

“I wasn’t nervous or anything, I just had to step up and make two free-throws,” said Marshall. “This was a really tough game for us and it was what we expected. I just focused on making those shots and nothing else.”

Marshall swished both of them to make it a two-possession game. Paterson Catholic made 5 of 6 free-throws in the final 25 seconds to put the game away.

Cook finished with game-highs of 18 points and eight steals for Paterson Catholic (13-1). Johnson also had a solid game with 16 points, 11 rebounds, and five blocked shots.

Glen Rock (11-2) had a balanced offensive attack. Nine players cracked the scoring column, led by Jessie Maitner with nine. Corasotto and Jen Berland each had eight points, while Hunko chipped in with seven.

This was the latest in several tests Paterson Catholic has had this year. But with each passing test, the Cougars feel better about their chances in both the county and state tournaments.

“You have to win games like this to know you can get it done in the fourth quarter,” added Johnson, who will play next year at the University of Richmond. “We really played together as a team in the fourth quarter and that is when we were most successful. Shaquanna (Marshall) hit some big threes and that gave us a lot of confidence going into the fourth quarter. Now we want to build on this and become an even better team.”

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