The 17-6 Cranford High School girls basketball team made it two out of three by outlasting the 15-6 Roselle Catholic Lady Lions, 50-48, in the semifinal round of the Union County Tournament held atAL Johnson High School in Clark on February 14. The Cougars held a slim two-point lead at the half, added two more points to their lead in the third quarter then held off the Lions for the win.
Bella Curanovic led all scorers with 23 points to go with eight rebounds, three assists, three blocks and two steals. Sophia DeMarco put in eight points, including a pair of 3-pointers, and added six rebounds and an assist. Kristina Lowe scored seven points, pulled four rebounds and added two assists. Courtney Toy had six points, four rebounds and an assist. Lily Costello finished with four points, six rebounds, three assists and a steal. Maddy DeLong had four rebounds, two points and an assist.
Jasmin McKay led the Lady Lions with 18 points. Brianna Patterson scored 13 points, including trip 3pointers. Gabby Brown pumped in three 3-pointers, Jordyn Batts scored eight points and Laila Jasper-Ferrar scored two points.
The victory pitted the Cougars with the fourth-seeded 15-9 Elizabeth Minuteman, who shocked the topseeded New Providence Pioneers, 6456, in the other UCT semifinal. The Cougars had beaten the Lady Minutemen in their two previous meetings, 46-43, on January 6 and 47-45 on January 30, so a fierce battle could be expected for the UCT title.
In the Lady Minutemen’s game with the 22-4 Pioneers both teams had wild scoring runs. Elizabeth seized an 18-6, first-quarter lead only to witness the Pioneers respond with a 23-6 run to take a 29-24 halftime lead. Elizabeth knotted the score, 4141, entering the final quarter then took over control of the game.
Alexa Koon had a double-double (15 points, 10 rebounds) for Elizabeth. Jah’nae Lembrick scored 23 points and had four assists. Alani Gordon finished with 12 points. Dynasty Chandler had two points, 10 rebounds, six assists and four steals. Ashanti Dewalt had 10 points, four rebounds, two assists and a steal. Samiya Bryant had two points.
