Annie Ryan did not understand.
Did not understand what had just happened. Did not understand—as she gazed, startled, at her teammates cavorting on the bench—what could possibly have warranted such a joyous eruption during such a blowout, a Union County Tournament first-round game in which No. 2 seed Westfield suffocated No. 18 seed Rahway, 70–22.
Ryan had just sunk a 3-pointer—a mundane act, for her—and now she was jogging back on defense, twisting around again to stare at the bench, perplexion scribbled across her face.
“I had no idea why they were screaming,” she said. “I shot it and I made it, and I was like, what just happened?”
What had just happened was that Ryan had drilled the 134th 3-pointer of her illustrious Westfield career, bringing her one higher than Lil Scott’s mark of 133. Scott, a 2015 graduate, had, until Wednesday evening, held the school record for career 3-pointers.
All season, Ryan had, unwittingly, been reeling in the record. On Wednesday, she caught it.
There were balloons.
Ryan’s achievement was especially remarkable because COVID-19 intruded into her Westfield career, shortening her sophomore season and curtailing the number of games she could play.
“She earned it, and I’m extremely proud of her,” head coach Liz McKeon said. “She deserves this honor. Standing alone at the top.”
Ryan also is approaching another milestone: 1,000 points. Her 21-point performance left her with 950 career points. Barring a shock early exit in the UCT, Ryan is in good position to surpass the 1,000-point mark.
That, of course, is secondary to Westfield’s pursuit of hardware. And with Wednesday’s dominant performance, the Blue Devils successfully navigated the first obstacle—if an unassuming one—between them and a county title.
Picture Westfield as a cloud, at first white and pearly and unthreatening. Now picture that cloud slowly beginning to swirl, to darken. In a flash, the soft cloud turns to an angry stormy one, and the sky opens up, and Westfield rains down.
So it went on Wednesday.
Westfield started in lukewarm fashion, and Rahway tied the game with a couple minutes left in the first quarter. “We came out really slow on defense,” Ryan said. “So we didn’t get as many steals and deflections as we wanted.”
McKeon’s frustrated yells pierced the mellow atmosphere, and Westfield flustered Rahway into turnovers. The Blue Devils embarked on a 12–0 run, which fattened into a 31–6 run to close the first half.
“Once we started pressuring the ball immediately when it got in, they kind of panicked and they started turning it over,” said Cara Van Allen, who laced together 9 points, 8 rebounds and 3 assists. Erin Doherty led the defensive brigade with 6 steals.
The second half was mostly ceremonial. Westfield outscored Rahway 22–3 in the third quarter and coasted to victory. All 10 Westfield players scored.
The Blue Devils will advance to play No. 7 seed Governor Livingston in Friday’s UCT quarterfinals, after the Highlanders beat No. 10 Oak Knoll, 50–42.
At the end of the UCT tunnel looms New Providence, the No. 1 seed and Westfield’s girls basketball nemesis. The pair split regular-season meetings this year, each winning on the other’s home court. The possibility of them colliding at Kean University in the UCT championship is a tantalizing prospect, one that likely will materialize. But Westfield must clear a pair of small hurdles before then.
“We’re trying to take it one game at a time,” Van Allen said.
Article by Michael Liebermann
Live Tweeting by Emily Weinstein
