Friday, February 11, 2011

By Rich Barton
NJS.com Staff Writer

Alyssa Lyngholm made three key 3-pointers for Secaucus, which overcame injury, foul trouble and Kearny in a 72-59 win the Hudson County Tournament quarterfinals.

SECAUCUS – Everybody deserves to be a star.

But on the basketball court, it is a team game with generally only one or two leaders that take the majority of a team’s shots and provide most of its offense. For everyone else who sees the court, their job entails all the dirty work. Boxing out, diving on the floor for loose balls, setting screens and playing defense without much fanfare or shots on the offensive end of the floor, a role player’s work is never easy.

So when the opportunity arises to step into the limelight, some role players might shy away from the spotlight due the added pressure that it brings. But there are others who relish the chance for that one moment in that one game; the moment where they are recognized for being a difference-maker in crunch time.

That moment came on Thursday for Secaucus’ Alyssa Lyngholm.

Lyngholm drilled consecutive 3-pointers in the first quarter, then hit another early in the fourth to step out of the shadow of standout teammates Andrea Innis and Shannon Waters and help third-seeded Secaucus earn a berth in the Hudson County Tournament semifinals with a 72-59 quarterfinal victory over sixth-seeded Kearny at Secaucus High School.

Kearny's Janitza Aquino led all scorers with 27 points.

“With teams keying in on Andrea (Innis) and Shannon (Waters) and one of our starters, Ariana Simon, out, our role players really needed to raise their level of play today,” said Secaucus head coach John Sterling. “Alyssa Lyngholm really gave us big lift by hitting some outside shots and stretching out their defense. We needed someone to do that and she rose to the occasion.”

Secaucus ran off the first seven points of the game only to see Kearny quickly cut it down in a fast-paced first quarter. Kearny’s Stefanie Gomes nailed a three-pointer to trim the lead down two, 17-15. Lyngholm answered by swishing back-to-back threes from the corner to bump the lead back up to eight by the end of the first quarter.

“I’m always so nervous when I get on the court and I usually get the chills just thinking about it, but today I was really confident and I never hesitated to shoot the few times I was open,” said Lyngholm. “Without Ariana (Simon) in the lineup, everyone else had to play just a little bit better. It was basically about stepping up and executing. Once I hit my first shot, I felt like I was going to have a pretty good game.”

An already thin Patriots’ lineup took another big hit when Innis picked up her third foul with 4:16 to play in the second quarter. But the Patriots only lost two points off of their eight-point lead at the time and led 37-31 at the half.

Secaucus' Andrea Innis tied for team-high honors with 24 points.

“That was a point where we could have cut into the lead and helped ourselves out a lot,” said Kearny head coach Jody Hill. “We had the lead down to five and had two wide-open layups to get it to three, only to miss those and have them score on the other end. Give Secaucus credit, they had some of their lesser-known players step up and hit some big threes when they needed them.”

A game-changing moment came early in the third quarter with Secaucus clinging to a six-point lead. Innis should have picked up her fourth foul with 5:28 to play in the third, but it was given to Lyngholm, which allowed the talented point guard to stay on the court. Lyngholm followed with another 3-pointer from the corner and Innis scored on a layup before Waters converted a rare four-point play to give the Patriots their largest lead, 49-35.

However, the Kardinals played hard throughout and refused to give in. Janitza Aquino nailed a 25-footer to end the third quarter, then an elbow jumper to start the final stanza to trim the lead back down to single-digits.

With Waters saddled with four fouls and Innis already in foul trouble, seldom-used Brittney Mitchell come off the bench to play some big minutes down the stretch. Her only basket was a three-pointer with six minutes to play that pushed the lead back up to double-digits, which is where it remained the rest of the way.

Mercedes Lois grabbing a rebound for Kearny, which fell to 11-8 on the season.

“We really got some great contributions from everyone and that’s what we need if we want to contend for a county title,” said Sterling. “Alyssa hit some big shots, Brittney hit a big one in the fourth quarter, and Lauren Guillen handled the ball a lot and played some tough defense. This is an exciting time for us being a Group 1 school and getting a shot at some Group 4 schools with a chance to win a county title.”

Waters and Innis both finished with 24 points for Secaucus (15-2), which notched its 13th consecutive victory. Lyngholm was one point off of her career-high with 15 points.

Aquino led all scorers with 27 points, along with five steals and four assists for sixth-seeded Kearny (11-8). Gomes netted 17 of her 20 points in the first half and Angel Conde added eight points and six rebounds.

With the win being on Thursday, (as opposed to the other three quarterfinals which are played tomorrow) Secaucus also receives some extra rest and will get Simon back for next week’s Hudson County Tournament semifinal game. They will face the winner of second-seeded North Bergen and seventh-seeded St. Dominic Academy at St. Peter’s College.

Shannon Waters and Secaucus will play North Bergen in the semifinals.

But make no mistake, the Patriots want another shot at North Bergen, which was the last team to beat the Patriots back in the Holiday Hoop Jam Holiday Tournament at River Dell on December 30th. Since then, both teams are on 13-game winning streaks.

Yesterday’s outcome was exactly what the doctor ordered for Secaucus. It was finally tested (having won their last 12 games by at least 14 points) and players like Lyngholm showed that this is far from a two-person team.

“To be a small school like us to make the county semifinals, that’s a big deal,” added Lyngholm. “I love playing in games like this that are competitive because that’s when your true colors show. We knew Kearny was not going to give up and they would make some runs. I’m just glad we got the win and I could help in doing that. I am more focused on just playing on a winning team with my friends, but it’s nice to get the spotlight once in awhile.”

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