Tuesday,
February 23, 2016
By Rich Barton
NJS.com Staff Writer
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Jasmine Erickson made a free throw with 3.6 seconds left in the game to give Hoboken the point it needed to beat
St. Dominic Academy, 40-39, on Senior Night in Hoboken. |
HOBOKEN – As Hoboken’s Jasmine Erickson stepped to the foul line late in a tie game she knew that the outcome was on her shoulders. Never in her basketball life had she been put in a position with the game on the line and just seconds remaining. But with it being Senior Night at Hoboken and her teammates cheering her on, Erickson had to block out everything and focus on getting the job done for those seniors.
Erickson knocked down the first free throw with 3.6 seconds remaining to make Senior Night a successful one for Hoboken with a 40-39 victory over St. Dominic Academy on Monday at Hoboken High School.
“This was a really close game and we really wanted to win this for our seniors,” said Erickson. “We’re a team that has won close games so we knew we could do it. I wanted to help the seniors make this a night to remember and I’m really happy we got this win for them.”
Hoboken was expected to have an easy time with St. Dom’s, which had come into the game on a five-game losing streak. Senior guard Gabby Fortune had other ideas though, hitting 4 of her 6 first quarter shots to give the Blue Devils a 13-8 lead after one quarter of play.
Nyassia Mixson gave Hoboken a much-needed spark off the bench in the second quarter with consecutive 3-pointers from the corner followed by a runner off the glass from Jaida Henriquez as the Red Wings grabbed the lead back by halftime, 22-20.
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St. Dominc's Gabby Fortune finished with a double-double of 20 points and 13 rebounds. |
The third quarter was all Hoboken with the back court of Dianne Nieves and Erickson leading the way. Nieves had two straight steals early in the period. One she took in for a breakaway layup and then a second steal led to a 3-pointer by Erickson that seemingly put the Red Wings in control heading into the fourth quarter with a nine-point lead.
In a span of 30 seconds that lead was significantly cut by the long-range efforts of St. Dom’s Mary Kate Cannito. On back-to-back possessions, the senior scored her only points of the game by swishing rainbow 3-pointers from the exact same spot to trim the lead down to three, which set up a wild finish.
St. Dom’s took its only lead in the second half on a floater by Alli Duran (8 points) with 1:37 to play. Hoboken then got a big break as a deep 3-pointer by Henriquez from the wing went off the glass and in to put the Red Wings back in front by two with 1:15 to play. The Blue Devils showed no quit especially from Fortune, who was their most consistent offensive threat throughout the game. Her putback with 15 seconds left tied the game at 39.
Hoboken had one last possession that did not go exactly as planned, but ended with the result it wanted. The possession was a frantic run and with time winding down, Erickson knew she had to get to the basket. She went for a scoop layup but was fouled in the process with 3.6 seconds left and went to the line for two. She made the first that gave Hoboken the one-point lead. The second shot missed, but Erickson hustled in and the ball went off of a St. Dom’s player and out of bounds. That secured the win.
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Dianne Nieves had 10 points, 3 rebounds and 3 steals for Hoboken, which improved to 16-6 on the season. |
“I knew when I got to the foul line that there was a lot of pressure on me but I had to block it out,” added Erickson. “As soon as I got the ball to take the first free-throw I just got in my stance and went up with the shot. I didn’t want to wait or I might start thinking about what would happen if I missed. I knew I only had to make one of them to put us ahead so that helped me relax.”
Erickson led Hoboken (16-6) with 13 points, eight rebounds, and three assists. Nieves had 10 points, three rebounds, and three steals. Henriquez chipped in off the bench with eight points and five rebounds.Fortune led all players with 20 points and 13 rebounds for St. Dominic (4-18).
Having reach their goal of a 15-win season, winning a Hudson County Tournament game, and having won on Senior night, the Red Wings head into the North 2, Group 1 state sectional tournament as the No. 5 seed with absolutely no pressure.
“It’s great that we achieved the goals we set at the beginning of the season,” said Hoboken head coach Ryan Sorafine. “This senior class is a great group of kids who are also good students. I think we got caught up with the event of it being Senior Night as opposed to the task at hand. We had to overcome a lot of mistakes and keep fighting to earn this win tonight. I’m happy that we got it done to get momentum heading into the state tournament.”
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