Cranford girls' basketball holds on to bounce visiting Linden 45-37; McCoy nets game-high 14 to lift Cougars to 6th straight

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 Cranford girls' basketball holds on to bounce visiting Linden 45-37; McCoy nets game-high 14 to lift Cougars to 6th straight

By JR Parachini
Union County Sports Editor

CRANFORD – Two of the top girls’ basketball teams in Union County met in a non-league game Friday afternoon, both riding emerging winning streaks.
Although the final outcome was a difference of less than 10 points, it took one heck of an effort by the visiting team to make the game somewhat close in the final period.
After building a lead of more than 20 points, host Cranford held off a furious rally by visiting Linden and took the Union County Conference-interdivision clash at Martin Gymnasium by the final count of 45-37.
The Cougars, sparked by a steady defensive performance which helped them build a game-high lead of 24 points at 37-13 near the end of the third quarter, won their sixth straight to improve to 7-2 overall. Cranford is 2-2 in the UCC’s Mountain Division, with a two-game league winning streak.
Linden had a six-game winning streak snapped and is now also 7-2 overall. The Tigers are 4-1 in the UCC’s Watchung Division, with a three-game league winning streak.
Despite both teams turning the ball over seven times in the first quarter, Cranford was able to drive to the basket with a lot more success en route to a 13-2 lead after the first eight minutes. Linden made only one of its first seven shots.
It was pretty much more of the same in the second quarter as the Cougars built a 24-8 advantage by halftime, despite turning the ball over 13 times in the first 16 minutes.
A 13-1 run in the third quarter gave Cranford its 37-13 advantage with less than two minutes to go in the period. Sophomore guard-forward Jessica McCoy scored three field goals in that stretch.
McCoy finished with a game-high 14 points, despite not scoring in the fourth quarter. She was also a force on the glass, coming down with 12 rebounds, with seven of them on defense and five on offense. McCoy also had two blocks and one steal.
“We prepared hard for this game,” McCoy said. “We want to have an even better season than we had last year.”
At that point, it seemed as if the Cougars were on their way to a rather decisive victory.
However, Linden fought back, beginning by scoring the final five points of the third quarter to make it 37-18. Sophomore forward Jada Lewis, who paced the Tigers with 13 points and 10 rebounds (six on defense and four on offense), scored two field goals in that stretch.
After the first of two 3-pointers Lewis made in the fourth quarter and a layup by Cranford senior Sara Gugliucci, Linden went on an 11-0 run to get the game to 39-32. Five Tiger players scored in the surge, including sophomore Maya Hall and senior Brielle Lewis with two free throws each, Jada Lewis with her second 3-pointer and final 2-pointer of the game and junior guard Shannon Wheeler with three points on one field goal and one free throw for a conventional three-point play.
A free throw by Cranford sophomore forward Kaitlin McGovern halted the run and put the Cougars up 40-32. Cranford freshman Mairead McKeary, off an assist from junior guard Morgan Miller, scored inside to make it 42-34 with less than two minutes to go.
Wheeler and Miller – both trying to dribble past each other while bringing the ball up - finished with 12 points apiece.
Cranford sophomore guard Jenna Goeller connected on her first two free throws to make it 44-34 before the only 3-pointer made by Hall pulled Linden back to with seven at 44-37 with 40 seconds left.
After she was fouled once more, Goeller went back to the line and made one of two free throws for the final score of 45-37.
At 37-13, everything was going right for Cranford. The Cougars took advantage of 15 Linden turnovers up to that point.
“We were coming up with steals in transition and crashing the boards,” McCoy said. “Our defense (which is man all the time) was the key for us in this game.”
“We work on our defense 90 percent of the time in practice,” said Cranford fourth-year head coach Jackie Dyer. “What you do with the turnover after you get it makes the difference.”
A modest Linden run at the end of the third quarter led to a bigger one for the Tigers in the fourth.
“We got a little ahead of ourselves,” McCoy said. “We slowed down, but came back enough at the end.”
“You have to remember that we have a young team,” Dyer explained. Cranford started two freshmen and two sophomores against Linden.
“We have to continue to control the tempo for all four quarters,” Dyer added. “That’s what we’re learning to do.”
Linden was coming off a convincing 48-37 Watchung Division home win over Roselle Tuesday and two days before that defeated a 7-0 Somerville squad 53-50 in overtime at home.
“We had no intensity in the first quarter and gave up a lot turnovers that led to easy Cranford baskets,” Linden first-year head coach Paul Gorski said. “In the second half we picked up our intensity. We knew we had to stop Nos. 20 (McCoy) and 3 (Miller) and limit their touches.
“When we made our move we were able to do that. We just didn’t do it enough.”
Jada Lewis scored 11 of her 13 points in the second half, showing an ability to hit a big, long-range shot and also grab an offensive rebound and put the ball right back in.
“She’s only a sophomore and there are some inconsistencies,” Gorski said. “However, when she wants to play, she can play.”
Since this is the only regular season meeting between the two conference rivals and since Linden is in Group 4 and Cranford Group 3, the only other possible meeting would be in next month’s Union County Tournament.
In the 12-5 first round UCT game at Roselle Park in 2009, lower-seeded Cranford upset Linden 43-38. In the 10-2 quarterfinal UCT game at Rahway in 2007, lower-seeded Linden upset Cranford 33-32.
“There’s the possibility of seeing them again in the counties,” Gorski said. “With a good team like Cranford, we can’t afford to spot them a 20-point lead in their own gym and expect to come out on top.”
NOTES: Linden will continue on the road with a non-conference game at Immaculata Tuesday at 5:30 p.m., followed by a conference game at Union Jan. 22 at 1 p.m.
Cranford has games scheduled next week at non-league opponent Brearley Tuesday at 4 p.m. and vs. Mountain Division foes Gov. Livingston Thursday at 7 p.m. in Berkeley Heights and Friday at 4 p.m. at home vs. Elizabeth.


UNION COUNTY CONFERENCE-INTERDIVISION
GIRLS’ BASKETBALL AT MARTIN GYMNASIUM
LINDEN (7-2)                              2        6      10     19 - 37
CRANFORD (7-2)                      13      11      13       8 - 45


LINDEN TIGERS:
3-Shannon Wheeler 4-0-4-12
23-Jada Lewis 3-2-1-13
20-Brielle Lewis 0-0-4-4
22-Tamara Todd 1-0-1-3
32-Deja Best 0-0-0-0
4-Maya Hall 0-1-2-5
Starters: Wheeler, Jada Lewis,
Brielle Lewis, Todd, Best.
Totals: 8-3-12-37.

CRANFORD COUGARS:
4-Jenna Goeller 0-1-3-6
13-Mairead McKeary 2-0-0-4
22-Kaitlin McGovern 2-0-1-5
24-Sara Gugliucci 2-0-0-4
3-Morgan Miller 1-2-4-12
20-Jessica McCoy 7-0-0-14
Starters: Miller, Goeller,
McKeary, McCoy, McGovern.
Totals: 14-3-8-45.