Following a win in the first round of the Union County Tournament versus Linden, another Westfield-Scotch Plains-Fanwood rivalry matchup was set with a UCT semifinal spot on the line. The Blue Devils were able to crush the Raiders 49-25 for their third head-to-head victory this season.
Similar to their last game the team found themselves with a big lead after the first quarter. Despite the offensive success, head coach Liz McKeon said, “It all starts with defense.”
Defense became the name of this game in the second quarter with both teams starting to shut each other down. However, Westfield was able to find ways to get points on the board with big buckets from juniors Megan Logan and Darby Hubner including a buzzer beater three from Hubner to make it 37-11 Westfield.
Westfield found offensive success by continuing to share the ball. Sophomore Mairin Fowler said, “We were moving the ball really well and getting open layups from it.”
Agreeing with Fowler, McKeon said, “We did such a great job of sharing the basketball and spreading the ball around.”
The team came out in the second half looking to maintain their lead and move on to the tournament semifinals.
Westfield made sure they were closing out on shooters and they also were able to protect the paint which had SPF continuously passing trying to find an open shot. “Our biggest focus was closing out on the shooters,” Fowler said, “We had tons of blocks from Megan and Catie [Carayannopoulos] and they were crucial during the game.”
SPF looked to speed Westfield up coming into the second half. Senior co-captain Catie Carayannopoulos said, “We just need to remember that we are ahead and we were the better team, so we just need to slow down and take our time.”
Matching up with SPF for the third time this season McKeon said, “It’s very hard to not only play a team three times but to beat a team three times. They get to know you more.”
This third matchup’s implications added to the game and atmosphere and was felt on the court. “The atmosphere of beating the team that our school is rivals with made it more competitive,” Carayannopoulos said.
Westfield now shifts their focus to the semifinals where they plan to continue their dominant success. “We’re going to stay and watch the next game to see who we’re going to play,” McKeon said. “It all starts with defense and rebounding and then we’ll go from there.”
The team will be back in action on Feb. 19 for their semifinal match against Plainfield at ALJ.
