Friday,
February 21, 2014
By Rich Barton
NJS.com Staff Writer
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Kristina Ulrich and Secaucus used a 13-1 run that spanned the first and second quarters to take control on the way to a 78-51 win over Marist in the quarterfinals of the Hudson County Tournament. |
SECAUCUS – After opening any game on a big run, the natural reaction is to take the foot off the gas knowing that there is plenty of margin for error. However, if that team plans on winning championships then it must also learn how to deliver the knockout blow when the opportunity presents itself. Such was the case for Secaucus, which opened Thursday’s Hudson County Tournament quarterfinal against Marist on a 16-0 run and seemed to have the game well in hand just four minutes in.
But when Marist cut the lead to four, the senses of the Patriots heightened knowing that everything they worked so hard to do early was slipping away. Luckily for the Patriots a bevy of 3-pointers helped swing the momentum back in their direction, this time for good.
Kendall Caruso hit a 3-pointer to end the first quarter and in the process started the game-clinching 13-1 run. Caruso capped the spurt with another 3-pointer and recent 1,000-point scorer Julia McClure pumped in a season-high 25 points as No. 4 seed Secaucus advanced to the Hudson County semifinals with a 78-51 win over No. 5 seed Marist at Secaucus High School.
“It was big for us to get off to a good start,” said Secaucus guard Kristina Ulrich. “We had some lapses on defense, but we moved the ball around well on offense and hit open shots so we never let them get on another big run like they had in the first quarter.”
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Jasmine Reese scored a team-high 15 points for Marist. |
The Patriots started off red hot, clicking on their first three shots and 6 of their first 8 in grabbing a 16-0 lead. The Royal Knights were not giving up the ship just yet as they stormed back with 12 consecutive points of their own, all coming from Jasmine Reese and Emely Rossario, to cut the lead all the way down to four. But with the chance to hold for the last shot, the Royal Knights took a deep 3, missed and allowed Secaucus a chance for the last shot. Caruso took advantage by swishing a 3-pointer near the top of the key to make it 19-12 at the end of one.
“If we cut it even further there, then maybe we keep that momentum going in the second quarter,” said Marist head coach Reggie Quinn. “We showed our inexperience and put our heads down. Before we knew it, they were back up 16 and it’s hard to fight back from being that much against a team like them. We battled hard, but we couldn’t match them run for run when you’re down double-digits.”
Secaucus led by 19 at the half, but the Royal Knights had one last run in them to cut it down to 13 on a 3-point play by Reese. The Patriots answered back one last time to put the game away with McClure scoring on a driving layup at the buzzer to cap the quarter on a 7-0 spurt for a 60-40 lead.
“We didn’t play that well defensively, but we made shots we had to make to prevent them from going on a run,” said McClure. “We know if we’re going to beat Bayonne that we’re going to play both a lot better than we did tonight and a lot better than we did the first time we played them. We can’t afford to be lazy or slack off in any way. This is the game we’ve been waiting for all year and every possession matters.”
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Julia McClure scored a game-high 25 points for Secaucus, which will play top-seeded Bayonne in the semifinals. |
Alyson Toman has quietly become a consistent scoring threat inside for Secaucus (17-5) this season and had 18 points yesterday. Junior point guard Andie Lennon, who also recently cracked the 1,000-point barrier, had 15 points, five assists, five steals, and a block. All of Caruso’s 12 points came on four of Secaucus’ seven first-half 3-pointers.
Reese had 15 points, Rossario had 13, and Denesia Mitchell added 10 for Marist (17-7)
Secaucus heads into the Hudson County semifinals next Wednesday night at Union City High School, where they will face top-seeded Bayonne, a 58-26 winner over No.9 seed Hudson Catholic. It will be a rematch of a meeting last month won by Bayonne, 51-43. While Secaucus is as hot as any team in the county with nine straight wins, head coach John Sterling knows that his team needs to elevate its game a notch if they are going to knock off the Lady Bees.
“Bayonne is an excellent, athletic team that can beat you in a bunch of different ways,” said Sterling. “Today we let Marist get into the paint all game and we can’t afford to do that against Bayonne or it will be a long night. I thought we moved the ball well and shot it well today. Bayonne is a tough defensive team though and we can’t rely on three-point shooting to get it done. It’s going to come down to the little things like setting good screens, boxing out, dictating the tempo and being consistent. We can’t play four minutes on, two minutes off like we did tonight or we’ll be in trouble.”
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