With 30 seconds remaining in the state sectional finals, the Westfield fans rose to their feet for a standing ovation as the clock ticked down to zero, signaling a Westfield victory over Bayonne in the Sectional Final.
The score remained close for the entire first half of the game. Westfield managed to pull ahead as the first half came to a close, leading 19-14. At this point, the game was getting rowdy with the large student section for Bayonne taking any chance they could to distract, anger and frustrate the Westfield players. Junior Mairin Fowler said, “We knew the atmosphere was going to be really loud and distracting and it would be easy to slip out of our game. We were here last year and knew what we were getting ourselves into. So we just had to play our way and keep going despite the chants.”
In the third quarter, Westfield kept their lead and widened the gap on the scoreboard. Senior Darby Hubner knocked down a three to open the half. Fouls were made on both sides of the court with the refs seemingly picking and choosing the ones to call and not call. Fowler said, “We have been used to awful officiating the whole season, so coach [Liz McKeon] always just tells us not to let the refs control the game. Whatever happens is going to happen. We can’t control the refs but we can control how we are going to respond and act going forward, and that’s what’s most important.”
The Blue Devils offense played a crucial part in their win. Senior Sophie Lane broke the single-season scoring record and is currently sitting at fourth on the all-time scoring list. Although it was a great team win, McKeon pointed out sophomore Kate Cymbor’s performance, saying, “Kate played like a madwoman today and I could not be prouder. She knew she needed to play her best and that’s exactly what she did. I am so proud of all the girls, they played a great game.”
What really brought Westfield to victory was their strong defense. The main goals were to slow down Bayonne’s star, freshman Sophia Feeney and get their rebounds. This is exactly what the team did. Senior Megan Logan stole the show with 10 rebounds and 5 blocks, stopping Bayonne from scoring. Logan said, “In the beginning of the game our offense was very stagnant and we weren’t getting the looks we wanted so we knew we could step it up on defense by winning all the 50-50 balls and rebounding. Our defense definitely helped propel our win in the second half leading to our run in the 3rd quarter.
Hubner said, “For our next game, we will keep doing what we have been doing, getting to know our opponents’ strengths and weaknesses. We prepare for every team differently but for every team we play our best.”
The Blue Devils will be back in action on Tuesday against West Orange at home for the NJSIAA State Semi-Finals.
