http://cranford.patch.com/articles/cranford-stuns-chatham
Cranford Stuns Chatham
McKeary three-pointer silences opposing team. Girls' basketball team wins 53-49.
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CHATHAM - Cranford freshman Mairead McKeary heard the crowd screaming 3-2-1 in the second overtime battle Saturday night at Chatham High School and fired up a three-point shot.
But as it turned out there were still 23 seconds remaining in the second overtime and it was just a bunch of Chatham fans pulling one of the oldest tricks in the book in basketball.
"I heard 5-4-3-2-1 so I shot it," said McKeary who was befuddled after she hit the basket and admitted that if she knew there were 23 seconds on the clock. "I probably would not have shot it."
After hitting the three-point bucket, McKeary looked around to the Cranford bench wondering why everybody was going the other way – finally realizing that there were 23 seconds remaining in the second overtime.
Chatham came running back, but could not put the ball in basket, fouling Cranford's Jenna Goeller. With the clock at 7.7 seconds in the second overtime, Goeller hit both free-throw attempts and sealed the game with a four-point lead, 53-49, in beating the top-seeded Chatham Cougars on Saturday night.
Jessica McCoy led Cranford with 14 points while Goeller and Morgan Miller added 13 and 12 points each. Chatham was led by Amanda Berntsen with a game-high 17 points.
The game was a battle of defending state sectional champs, Cranford from Group 3 North 2 and Chatham Group 2 North 2 who moved up to Group 3 this season.
McKeary and Goeller's heroics would not have been possible if not for the defense of Carly Maucione and a three-point basket and bucket from senior Sara Gugliucci, hitting a jumper in the paint with 17 seconds left in the fourth quarter to send the game into overtime.
After Gugliucci's basket that tied the game at 39, Chatham's Amanda Berntsen bucked another shot in what appeared to give the Chatham Cougars a 41-39 lead.
But the referees ruled that Berntsen was fouled before she took the shot. Berntsen missed both the free throw shots with 14.5 seconds remaining in regulation.
Cranford took the ball down court, but could not get a decent shot off and the contest was sent to the first overtime.
In the first overtime Goeller hit one of two free throws with 47 seconds left in the first overtime to give Cranford a 43-41 lead.
But Chatham’s Kelsey Davies hit a pair of free throws with 23 seconds left in the second overtime to tie the game at 23. Neither team could get the game-winning basket in the last seconds of the second overtime.
In the final overtime Chatham led most of the way, but again Goeller came through again on the free throw line to give Cranford a 48-47 lead with a minute left in the second overtime.
During the timeouts through all six quarters, Cranford head coach Jackie Dyer kept reminding her team that they were the defending state sectional champions.
"I kept telling them that it’s your title until somebody has taken it away from you," said Dyer.
McKeary said that winning contests at the end of the game is just typical of the Cranford girls' basketball team. "We always seem to come on at the right time," McKeary said.
The fourth-seeded Cranford Cougars (22-5) move on Tuesday night where they will travel to third-seeded West Morris at 7 p.m. in the hopes of making it back-to-back state titles.
But as it turned out there were still 23 seconds remaining in the second overtime and it was just a bunch of Chatham fans pulling one of the oldest tricks in the book in basketball.
"I heard 5-4-3-2-1 so I shot it," said McKeary who was befuddled after she hit the basket and admitted that if she knew there were 23 seconds on the clock. "I probably would not have shot it."
After hitting the three-point bucket, McKeary looked around to the Cranford bench wondering why everybody was going the other way – finally realizing that there were 23 seconds remaining in the second overtime.
Chatham came running back, but could not put the ball in basket, fouling Cranford's Jenna Goeller. With the clock at 7.7 seconds in the second overtime, Goeller hit both free-throw attempts and sealed the game with a four-point lead, 53-49, in beating the top-seeded Chatham Cougars on Saturday night.
Jessica McCoy led Cranford with 14 points while Goeller and Morgan Miller added 13 and 12 points each. Chatham was led by Amanda Berntsen with a game-high 17 points.
The game was a battle of defending state sectional champs, Cranford from Group 3 North 2 and Chatham Group 2 North 2 who moved up to Group 3 this season.
McKeary and Goeller's heroics would not have been possible if not for the defense of Carly Maucione and a three-point basket and bucket from senior Sara Gugliucci, hitting a jumper in the paint with 17 seconds left in the fourth quarter to send the game into overtime.
After Gugliucci's basket that tied the game at 39, Chatham's Amanda Berntsen bucked another shot in what appeared to give the Chatham Cougars a 41-39 lead.
But the referees ruled that Berntsen was fouled before she took the shot. Berntsen missed both the free throw shots with 14.5 seconds remaining in regulation.
Cranford took the ball down court, but could not get a decent shot off and the contest was sent to the first overtime.
In the first overtime Goeller hit one of two free throws with 47 seconds left in the first overtime to give Cranford a 43-41 lead.
But Chatham’s Kelsey Davies hit a pair of free throws with 23 seconds left in the second overtime to tie the game at 23. Neither team could get the game-winning basket in the last seconds of the second overtime.
In the final overtime Chatham led most of the way, but again Goeller came through again on the free throw line to give Cranford a 48-47 lead with a minute left in the second overtime.
During the timeouts through all six quarters, Cranford head coach Jackie Dyer kept reminding her team that they were the defending state sectional champions.
"I kept telling them that it’s your title until somebody has taken it away from you," said Dyer.
McKeary said that winning contests at the end of the game is just typical of the Cranford girls' basketball team. "We always seem to come on at the right time," McKeary said.
The fourth-seeded Cranford Cougars (22-5) move on Tuesday night where they will travel to third-seeded West Morris at 7 p.m. in the hopes of making it back-to-back state titles.
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