Westfield head coach Liz McKeon walked into the postgame locker room to a confusing sight. Her players were staring at her, “awkwardly,” she said. “And I was like, what? And then they attacked and started screaming, jumping up and down.”
Water flew. McKeon’s hair and clothes suffered the effects of the impromptu celebration.
She didn’t seem to mind.
That’s what you get when you beat New Providence, 61–48, on the road. That’s what you get when you dethrone the No. 9 team in New Jersey. That’s what you get when you break a six-game losing streak against your perennial conference rival.
“Every single year we come out so prepared, or we think so prepared, and we have so much heart,” Paige Gorczyca said. “And we can never beat them. And today, this is such a monumental day for us seniors, but as a program [too] because we finally pulled through.”
The WNBA commissioner, Cathy Engelbert, watched on as Westfield rode a 24-point third quarter to a resounding victory. The Blue Devils (7-3, 6-2 UCC Watchung) buried the Pioneers (8-3, 6-1 UCC Watchung) beneath a third-quarter 3-point barrage. Outside the gym it rained—inside the gym there erupted a flash flood.
Westfield had trailed at halftime, 29–23. By the time the frenzied burst of scoring subsided, the Blue Devils led, 47–39. They outscored the Pioneers 24–10 in the third quarter.
Mania germinated in the Westfield section as victory dangled before hungry eyes. Since February 15, 2020, Westfield has known naught but desolation against New Providence. Six games. Six losses. Victory was elusive.
On Thursday, in a throwback gym with dark-paneled floors and chipped banisters, it finally arrived.
“It feels amazing,” Annie Ryan said. “We wanted it so bad, and we just played our hearts out.”
Westfield maintained its lead through the fourth quarter, denying New Providence the latitude it needed to stage a comeback. And with that, the Blue Devils won, the conference title race reignited—and the locker room endured a bath.
“It’s just been this rivalry that has evolved over the years because it’s been so back and forth,” McKeon said. “Hopefully now we can make it a rivalry, New Prov’s owned us for a couple years now. We knew that we had nothing to lose going into this game, and we still want to fight for the conference, and our seniors were not going down without a fight.”
Ryan led Westfield with a career-high 24 points, hitting 4 threes in the process. Gorczyca followed with a career-high 21 points, 10 rebounds and 4 steals, and Sutton Factor added 10 points.
For the Pioneers, Meghan Lamanna dazzled in the first half. The McDonald’s All-American nominee totaled 23 points, impelled by her dominant early play and her 5 threes.
But Westfield largely silenced Lamanna in the second half. Gorczyca, tasked with guarding Lamanna, said she face guarded her opponent because of how ruthless the New Prov guard was from deep.
“[Lamanna] was unconscious from three,” McKeon said. “That was probably the best shooting game she’s had all year. She’s a great player, but Paige made some adjustments” in the second half.
Queried about those and other adjustments, McKeon laughed. “Those will remain secret,” she said, her voice taking on a humorous air of mystery, “as we will be playing them a third time.”
In the Union County Tournament championship?
“That’s the plan.”
Things on Thursday weren’t always so sunny. New Providence pushed to a 9–0 lead, stifling Westfield’s offense and otherwise appearing dominant. Westfield hung in, though, and inched back throughout the second quarter.
“They dug deep,” McKeon said. “We were in quite a hole in the first half, and they didn’t let up.”
Then came the monstrous third quarter. Euphoria set in late in the quarter, when a flurry of action ended in another Ryan three.
The ball careening out of bounds around midcourt, Factor slapped a hand to it, steering it back in play. Gorczyca stepped hard to it, defender on her back, and fired to Ryan in one smooth motion. Ryan caught it. Ryan shot it.
Bang. Like clockwork. The Westfield fans went bonkers.
And not for the only time.
By Michael Liebermann
Live tweeting by Alyssa Martinez
