The fever mounted in this clash between Union County juggernauts, the game driving to the brink. The ball in Westfield’s hands, 10 seconds to play, a 2-point deficit. A furious second-half comeback begging for its grand conclusion.
But Sutton Factor lofted the ball toward the rim. And the rim brushed the ball off and dropped it to the floor.
Westfield’s indomitable spirit, which had carried it to within a breath of victory after an early 14-point deficit, proved not quite enough. New Providence sealed the game with two free throws at the other end, and the Pioneers (2-0) escaped with a 48–44 win against conference rival Westfield (1-1).
It was Westfield’s sixth consecutive loss to New Providence. Even during Westfield’s magical Group 4 championship season last year, the Pioneers won all three meetings, including in the Union County Tournament championship.
The Pioneers, a thorn in Westfield’s side, outscored the Blue Devils 13–4 in the first quarter, blazing out in transition and benefitting from Westfield turnovers. The gap stretched to 22–8 midway through the second quarter.
Then Westfield staged its comeback.
“The guts and the heart in this team—I couldn’t be more proud of them,” head coach Liz McKeon said. “They could have really mailed it in after the first quarter. We came out rough, and they clawed their way back against one of the best teams in the state and the best team in the county.”
Westfield outscored New Providence 12–5 in the third quarter, ratcheting up its defensive intensity and scoring tough buckets. The Pioneers stalled offensively. The window, sealed shut in the first quarter, opened ever so slightly, as Westfield shaved the barrier to 3 points by quarter’s end.
Frenetic action ruled the fourth quarter. Midway through, the teams traded 3-pointers. New Providence’s Meghan Lamanna drilled one. Then Westfield’s Megan Logan popped one off the dribble. Then it was New Providence’s Grace Kinum. Then Westfield’s Paige Gorczyca. It was a storm, a bout of the breathless play that matchups of this caliber produce.
The game tore on, arriving at the final minute with the teams separated by a thread. There was a controversial traveling call on senior co-captain Factor with 20 seconds left, a New Providence offensive rebound moments later after a missed free throw.
Then came the last possession, and the shot that hung limply in the air and fell short.
“I’m actually very proud of our team, the way they handled New Prov,” senior co-captain Gorczyca said. “They’re one of the best teams in the state, and we weren’t full strength today, but a lot of underclassmen stepped up and we played our hearts out.”
The Blue Devils have played their first two games of the season without senior co-captain Annie Ryan, who is dealing with injury. Ryan participated in warmups against the Pioneers but never shed her long-sleeve warmup shirt. She’s expected to return to the court for Tuesday’s game against Roselle Catholic.
But Westfield found plenty of firepower from its available nine players.
“The other teams can’t prepare for us because they don’t know who’s going to step up,” McKeon said. “When someone’s out, someone else is gonna step up.”
Gorcyzca drilled back-to-back threes to jolt Westfield late in the second quarter on her way to a team-high 13 points. Factor manufactured a massive 3-point play late in the third quarter, part of her 9 points. Megan Logan and Catie Carayannopolous each scored 8 points, and Sara Rooney tacked on 6 points. McKeon also praised Cara Van Allen for providing important minutes off the bench.
Lamanna and Kinum led New Providence with 14 points each. Jasmine Miller added 12.
But it was the Blue Devils’ sluggish start that cost them. New Providence’s relentless full-court pressure squeezed Westfield. The Blue Devils struggled to settle in.
“New Providence is a good team, of course. One-thousand percent,” McKeon said. “But they weren’t the problem. We were the problem.” McKeon cited unforced turnovers and a lack of offensive cutting and moving.
“Our heads were down the whole [first] quarter,” Gorcyzca said. Then, “at half, we lit a fire under us.”
That fire burned for the rest of the game, through the evenly-fought second quarter, through the vicious third quarter, through the tight fourth quarter. Westfield plans to let it burn into the next game, into the rest of the season.
By Michael Liebermann
Live Tweeting by Emily Weinstein
