Friday, January 22, 2010
RUTHERFORD — Advantage, St. Mary.
The Gaels, ranked No. 8 in the North Jersey Top 25, confirmed that they are indeed still the team to beat in the BCSL National Division, beating No. 13 Secaucus, 70-43, Thursday night in the first meeting of the season between the two top contenders.
"It was big because we played a very good second half," said St. Mary coach Lou Bonora, whose Gaels (9-3) have won seven straight. "If we can put two halves like that together, we’ll make some noise at
the end of the year. That’s what we’re working for right now."
St. Mary senior forward Martina Ellerbe had a huge game, dominating inside. She scored the Gaels’ first 11 points of the game, finishing with 26 points, 23 rebounds and six blocked shots.
"Secaucus is our biggest rival," said Ellerbe, who will be going to Ohio State in the fall. "They beat us in my very first game in my freshman year, and that was the only league loss for the seniors. We didn’t want to lose to them again."
The Patriots (10-2) played this one tough, but their approach changed in the second quarter when their star guards, Shannon Waters and Andrea Innis, both picked up their third foul.
Waters and Innis are the most productive backcourt duo in North Jersey, but with them on the bench, the young Patriots struggled to cope. They tried to play a more up-tempo game, and wound up playing right into the Gaels’ hands.
"We need those two on the floor all four quarters," said Secaucus coach John Sterling. "Even when they came back after that, they weren’t as aggressive."
St. Mary led, 26-23, at the half, but began to pull away in the third quarter. Led by Ellerbe, the Gaels went on a 21-7 run to take control.
"It’s weird, though, because that final score doesn’t show how hard this game was," Ellerbe said. "We had to work really, really hard for that lead."
"Martina is getting it together," Bonora said. "This was one of her better games."
The Gaels should get a relatively high seed when the field for the Bergen County tournament is set next week, and they have the offensive firepower to go deep into their bracket. The key becomes their ability to play defense when they struggle from the field as they did in the first half against the Patriots.
"I told the kids in the first half that when the shots don’t go, they have to play better defense and rebound," Bonora said. "They did, and that’s important in the scheme of things."
While Ellerbe was the attention-grabber, the Gaels also got a big effort from freshman Koryn Lawrence. She scored 20 points, giving her 41 in two games this week.
Innis, who had eight points and eight rebounds, fouled out 1:02 into the fourth quarter. Waters, playing on a sore ankle, turned in a gritty effort, scoring 11 points.
Freshman Arian Simon held her own for a while matched up against Ellerbe, scoring 11 points and grabbing nine rebounds.
"We worked hard," Sterling said. "That’s a good team."