With 0.6 seconds left in the fourth quarter in the Union County Tournament final, Westfield had an inbound play and an opportunity to tie the game with a three-pointer. Westfield takes the opportunity but can’t find an open player for the needed three, leading New Providence to win the UCT Final 38-35.
New Providence stood strong this season, holding a record of 24-1, while Westfield held a record of 18-7. The teams have been rivals for years and have always fought hard in their games against one another. Earlier this season, New Providence took Westfield down 48-34 and then again 41-33.
This game, which took place at Kean University, started heatedly with both crowds riled up. Both teams seemed nervous going into the game, with multiple turnovers on both sides. With the score sticking to 0-0 in most of the first quarter, the New Providence fans took the opportunity of a single airball from junior Mairin Fowler and made it their primary chat for the majority of the game. Each time the ball was passed to Fowler, the chant would begin; when passed to another player, it would stop.
Even with this background noise, Fowler continued her stellar play and finished with 14 points. Fowler said, “Their commentary could have affected me a lot more than I let it. It was very frustrating to hear them screaming every time I got the ball, but I tried to tune it out and, when I heard them, it only reminded me about how much I wanted the county championship and how I wasn’t going to let anything get in the way of that, especially a group of teenage fans.”
The first quarter ended with Westfield up by one point, and the second quarter kept the score close. With two minutes left in the half, senior tri-captain Darby Hubner steals the ball and gets it to Fowler to put them up 14-11. Hubner said, “I never wanted to take my foot off the gas until the game was over. I made sure not to get too confident at any given moment or get too upset at any single instance. I made it a goal to stay level-headed and focused.”
The game continued with lots of fouls and forced turnovers on both sides. Both teams scored a few points in the third quarter, which quickly led to a 19-19 tie after Fowler’s three-pointer. Westfield still pulled through on top and ended the third 24-19 with freshman Gella Hollins’ insane three-pointer.
When the fourth quarter began, Westfield stayed on top with a layup from Hollins and free throws from senior tri-captain Megan Logan. New Providence quickly found a way to get back up 30-29 with four minutes remaining in the game. The clock quickly dwindled down, and New Providence kept their lead only slightly. Fowler said, “We went into the game knowing we could beat them, and I think we all expected to, honestly. But, as a whole, we weren’t ready to play under that much pressure and I don’t think we executed in the end very well.” Head coach Liz McKeon added to that, saying, “The game plan was simple. Win. We almost had them at their place, and we had them in the final. We just needed to finish. Unfortunately, we didn’t.”
The Blue Devils will be back in action on Tuesday against J.P Stevens at 5 p.m. at home for the first round of the state tournament.
