New Providence called a timeout with a few minutes remaining in the third quarter. Westfield was leading, 23–21, and the Pioneer coach had presumably seen enough of his team’s slow offensive start in the quarter. Immediately after the timeout, New Providence hit a 3-pointer. Then another. And then a layup, capping off an 8-0 run to close the quarter for the Pioneers.
When asked what sparked the run, New Providence head coach Cap Pazdera said, “[The run] was all based on our defense. We talked about just playing good defense. We thought we did an okay job in the first half.” He added, “[At halftime], we talked about not giving them open layups, not giving them easy baskets, fighting through screens, and I think we did a really good job of that [in the second half].”
The Pioneers transitioned their stifling defense into quick offense that led to open jump shots around the perimeter. New Providence was not only getting these open looks but sinking them at a high rate, scoring 8 points in the final 3 minutes of the quarter. This New Providence momentum would carry over to the fourth quarter and give the Pioneers the boost they needed to close out the game.
The Blue Devils enjoyed more success in the first half, controlling the pace and leading for a majority of the half. In the first quarter, Annie Ryan opened the scoring for the Blue Devils with an opening basket. She converted on all four of her free throws in the first half and gave the Blue Devils rhythm on offense. A 3-pointer by Sara Rooney, followed by a steal and fast-break layup from Sutton Factor, gave fans much to cheer about. The team would use these plays to ride momentum into halftime.
The Blue Devils struggled offensively coming out of halftime, scoring only 2 points in the third quarter. Westfield was able to get open looks throughout most of the quarter, however the Blue Devils were unable to convert these chances into points. Following the end of the third quarter, the Blue Devils faced a 6-point deficit. Although the morale was seemingly low, head coach Liz McKeon urged the team, “It’s not over until the final buzzer, keep fighting.”
As much as the Blue Devils tried to compete in the fourth quarter, the stout New Providence defense became too much. Causing turnovers, forcing missed shots and hitting dagger threes became the recipe for New Providence in the fourth. Pazdera said, “We talked about girls trying to do too much within our offense. We have to be five girls, connected, on the floor, in order to beat a team like Westfield, and today we executed that.”
The Blue Devils know there is still much to play for this season, as their state championship run last year also came on the heels of a Union County Tournament championship loss to the Pioneers. McKeon noted that this would be all the team needs in terms of motivation. “[We have to] learn how much it hurts,” said McKeon. “This feeling sucks. We don’t want this feeling again. That’s gonna be our motivation moving forward.”
Westfield’s next game is Tuesday, at home against Phillipsburg in the first round of the North 2, Group 4 sectional tournament.
Written by Drew Kornfeld and Alex Duncan
Live tweeting and additional reporting by Alyssa Martinez
