Saturday,
February 28, 2015
By Rich Barton
NJS.com Staff Writer
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After three years worth of near misses, Secaucus won its first Hudson County title with a 54-34 win over three-time defending champion Lincoln on Friday in Jersey City. |
JERSEY CITY – For a Group 1 team to get through the rigors of the Hudson County Tournament and reach in the championship against a three-time defending champion, the consensus would be that all the pressure was off. But when that Group 1 team is undefeated, led by a trio of four-year starters, and has Secaucus on the front of its jerseys, the pressure is intense. The Patriots knew all of their 25 wins without a loss coming into Friday night’s Hudson County final would have meant nothing without a trophy.
For seniors Andie Lennon, Julia McClure and Kendall Caruso, every ounce of sweat and tears were poured into 32 minutes because they knew the harsh reality that their high school basketball careers would be defined by this moment.
All three played major roles in entirely different ways. Lennon was a nightmare off the dribble all night long, McClure played outstanding defense on Hudson County’s premier post player, and Caruso hit the biggest shot of her career at the most crucial time.
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Zhan'e Williams scored a team-high 12 points for Lincoln. |
Caruso's buzzer-beating three-pointer to end the first half turned out to be the backbreaker as top-seeded Secaucus finally got over the hump and won the program’s first-ever Hudson County title with a 54-34 victory in the championship game over second-seeded Lincoln at the Yanitelli Center on the campus of Saint Peter’s University in Jersey City.
“I thought we played a great game on both ends and I couldn’t be more proud of our effort and execution tonight,” said Secaucus head coach John Sterling. “We felt like if we executed that we matched up well against them. Our goal was to space them out and get them in a place where they felt uncomfortable. We’ve come agonizingly close to a county title in the past three years and I’m really happy for them to get it done tonight.”
If the Patriots came into the game with any nerves, they did not show them at all in the first quarter. Lennon hit a step-back 3 and McClure followed with a basket inside to cap a game- opening 12-2 run.
Lincoln, winner of three straight Hudson County titles, including a double-overtime win over Secaucus in 2013, closed the gap quickly in the second quarter. Zhan’e Williams canned a 3-pointer from the wing to whittle the Lady Lions' deficit down to two, 15-13. For all of the Patriots’ senior leadership, it was a freshman who hit perhaps the biggest shot of the game. Just 20 seconds after Williams’ 3, southpaw Lindsey Mack answered with a 3-pointer of her own to get Secaucus back on track.
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Secaucus' Kristina Ulrich finished with 10 points and four steals. |
“Lindsey’s 3 was huge and when Kendall hit that 3 to end the half, I felt like it was a wrap,” said McClure, who will play at Wagner College next year. “We really seemed to settle down after the 3 from Lindsey and we had to close this out. We’ve had that bad taste in our mouth one too many times over the years. This time it was our turn to do that to someone else.”
Lennon took over late in the first half with seven straight points before the Patriots took advantage of their last possession. It did not go exactly as planned but the end result was exactly what they wanted. Caruso got the ball in the corner with just over a second left and let fly a line-drive 3-pointer that had an incredible twist of irony to it.
Two years ago in the Hudson County final against Lincoln, with the Patriots up one and 24 seconds remaining, Caruso hoisted up a 3-pointer that was off the mark. The Lions eventually tied the game and won in double-overtime.
Fast forward to last night: Caruso received the ball in the exact same spot with a Lincoln defender in her face, only this time there was no hesitation. Her l3-pointer from the corner went in as the buzzer sounded. Both Caruso and Secaucus’ title hopes came full circle in grabbing a 30-17 halftime lead.
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Kiante Johnson and Lincoln will try to regroup in the North 2, Group 2 state sectional playoffs. |
“Coach told me to just try and create some space, if I get the ball there to shoot it and it went in,” said Caruso. “I think both teams were anxious and nervous before the game. Getting off to a fast start definitely settled us down. We’ve been working hard since day one and it has paid off so far. In a game like this, you really feel how much it’s paid off. We were prepared for anything and we wanted this so bad.”
Lincoln got no closer than 12 in the second half and standout center Kiante Johnson picked up her third foul with 4:24 to go in the third quarter. Mack and Lennon responded with back-to-back threes to start what was essentially a clock watch from there. As the final seconds ticked down, the mixture of emotions all came together at the final buzzer.
Pure elation and relief and just about every other positive emotion all joined together as the Patriot seniors finally did what they set out to do as freshman...Secaucus won a Hudson County title.
Lennon earned Tournament MVP honors with a virtuoso performance. She had a game-high 23 points to go with five rebounds, three assists, and two steals for Secaucus (26-0). Kristina Ulrich finished with 10 points and a game-high four steals. McClure held Johnson to single-digits (6 points) for the first time since her sophomore year. Caruso and Mack each hit a pair of 3-pointers for six points and Julia Peschetti did her usual solid job of ball-hawking perimeter defense.
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Andie Lennon, Secaucus' senior point guard, was named Tournament MVP. |
Williams was the only player in double-figures in the scoring column for Lincoln (19-5) with 12 points. The Lions will look to regroup in the North 2, Group 2 state tournament where they are the top seed.
While Secaucus' season is far from over, its quest for a county title is. With the elusive title of best team in Hudson County now in their pocket, the Patriots can finally relax and enjoy the ride that has taken place and the one that is still in front of them.
“We’ve been waiting for another shot at this game ever since we lost here as sophomores and it’s really exciting to make the most of our second chance,” said Lennon, a 5-foot-3 point guard who will play next year at Caldwell College. “We couldn’t think about the pressure, we had to go out and play the game we’ve been playing all year. I believed in all of my teammates and we all feel that way about each other. For the seniors, we knew this was our last chance. We couldn’t take anything for granted because this was it. It’s amazing to know that we finally got it done with a total team effort.”
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