http://cranford.patch.com/articles/cranford-succumbs-to-second-half-rally-at-oak-knoll
Cranford succumbs to second-half rally at Oak Knoll
Cougars halftime advantage disappears with Oak Knoll's defensive pressure, fast-paced offense.
A comfortable halftime advantage and the first two baskets of the second half were not enough cushion Friday in the Cranford girl's basketball team's season opener.
Oak Knoll overcame a halftime deficit to win, 43-38, at its home gym, where it outscored Cranford, 25-12, in the second half.
"We've been struggling a little bit with our defense and that's something we have to continue to work on," said Cranford head coach Jackie Huber. "Our defense has been a little bit inconsistent, so that hurt us a little bit."
Junior guard Morgan Miller did step up on defense with a pair of blocked shots on consecutive Oak Knoll possessions in the fourth quarter that led to three Cranford points to extend its advantage to 38-34 in the final minutes.
But that was it for Cranford, as Oak Knoll scored the final nine points.
Turnovers and missed shots allowed Oak Knoll to up the tempo and push the ball for easy baskets as the home crowd got more and more behind its team.
"I think we got really pressured by them," said Miller, who led Cranford with 13 points. "We were confident and playing our game at the beginning but then their defense just rattled us."
Miller had an opportunity to tie the game late, but her 3-point effort was blocked and Oak Knoll sealed the game at the foul line, where Cranford struggled.
The Cougars shot just 7-for-14 from the charity stripe, but Huber was just as disappointed with her squad's finishing on field goals in the second half.
"Our foul shots were in and out and we missed some easy layups rolling off the rim," Huber said. "It was a combination of not just foul shots, but a bunch of things."
Miller split point guard duties with sophomore Jess McCoy, and the duo paced the scoring effort, combining for 24 points, but both missed field goals late in the game.
McCoy started the scoring in the second half, when she made a eight-point halftime lead a double-digit advantage with a deep jumper out of the gate.
The sophomore was also active in the lane rebounding, although Oak Knoll took control of the glass in the final minutes.
Sophomore Kaitlin McGovern got into foul trouble for the Cougars, hurting the post game and forcing Cranford to rely on a long-range shooting attack.
"We've been working on getting the ball in the post," Huber said. "Kaitlin got into foul trouble and that hurt us a little bit because our other post players are very young and still kind of getting into the swing of things.
"I think defensively we had a hard time. They were outrebounding us and we didn't get back on defense."
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