Tuesday,
March 3, 2015
By Rich Barton
NJS.com Staff Writer
|
Tara Szawalak scored five points in 14 seconds to help put Glen Rock over the top in a 35-30 win over Lakeland in the opening round of the North 1, Group 2 state sectional tournament. |
GLEN ROCK – For the better part of three quarters, Glen Rock senior Lee Maitner was faced with the harsh reality that her scholastic basketball career may end on her home floor. The Panthers could not get anything going offensively and it did not look that would change against a senior-led Lakeland team also looking to keep its season alive. That was until a freshman stepped to the forefront and changed the course of the game in a matter of seconds.
Tara Szawalak scored five points in 14 seconds as sixth-seeded Glen Rock survived a defensive struggle to pull out a 35-30 win over No. 11 seed Lakeland last night at Glen Rock High School.
“Tara came up big for us with that three and that got us going for the rest of the game,” said Maitner. “We needed that little push and it got us in the lead. I went to our assistant coach in the fourth quarter and told her that this isn't going to be my last high school game. We've played some really tough teams this year and had a lot of close games. That helped out a lot because we were really relaxed and just kept our focus on the next play.”
To say the first half was a tough one for both teams would be quite the understatement. They combined for more turnovers than they did points in the first two quarters. Lakeland was the team that took the lead going into halftime as Kiley Gormley rattled home a catch-and-shoot 3 from the top of the key with 27 seconds left to put the Lady Lancers ahead at halftime, 11-10. Although his team had only 10 points and 12 turnovers during the first half, Glen Rock head coach Dave Mosconi still had confidence in his team.
|
Lakeland's Annie Yost scored all 6 of her points in the third quarter. |
“I told the girls that we couldn't play much worse offensively and we were only down by one,” said Mosconi. “We had to step it up and start putting the ball in the basket. It didn't start happening until the fourth quarter, but we got it when it really counted.”
Both teams scored more points in the third quarter than they did in the entire first half combined. Lakeland still held the lead thanks to Annie Yost scoring all of her six points during the period. But a missed layup and a steal by Maitner turned into consecutive layups to close out the quarter and pull the Lady Panthers within two, 23-21.
The lead was three when Kelly Lohr pulled down an offensive rebounds to keep a possession alive and Maitner found Szawalak alone in the corner. The freshman calmly knocked down the key 3-pointer to tie the game. Just seconds later, Maitner picked off a pass near mid-court and fed Szawalak for a breakaway layup for a 27-25 lead with 4:10 to play. Those were Szawalak's only five points of the game, but they came at a crucial time when the Panthers desperately needed offensive production.
“It wasn't the prettiest win, but at this time of the season you'll take a win any way you can get it,” said Mosconi, who just passed 300 wins for his career last week.
|
Senior Lee Maitner and Glen Rock will continue their season in the quarterfinals against Ramsey. |
The Lancers had a golden opportunity when they nearly perfectly executed an inbounds play underneath the Panthers' basket with less than two minutes to play. Unfortunately, they missed a wide-open layup and Glen Rock's Elizabeth Alba was eventually fouled. She twice hit both ends of a one-and-one and did the same thing with 1:06 to play to give Glen Rock a 33-27 lead.
Gormley hit another 3-pointer with 41 seconds left to make it a one-possession game. Lohr and Maitner each hit free-throws to ice the game and send Glen Rock into the section quarterfinal round. Lohr finished with 11 points and 11 rebounds for Glen Rock (21-6). Maitner (10) and Alba (8) combined for 18 points, 16 of them coming in the second half.
Allie Yoffee had eight points for Lakeland, which finished the season with a 12-12 record. Yost, Gormley, and Jen Stoll each had six points.
Glen Rock will hit the road on Wednesday for a North 1, Group 2 quarterfinal showdown with third-seeded Ramsey, a 57-39 winner over Dwight Morrow last night. With the pressure now completely off the Panthers, Mosconi feels that will be a big advantage.
“We got through this one and now we can put this game behind us,” said Mosconi. “I think we had some first state game jitters just like (Lakeland) had. Hopefully we can concentrate better than we did tonight and put it all together.”
CLICK HERE FOR MORE PHOTOS FROM THIS GAME. TO BUY A COLLECTOR'S PRINT
OF THIS STORY, PLEASE VISIT 4FeetGrafix.com. |