The Blue Devils had one thing on their minds: victory. Westfield faced rival Scotch Plains-Fanwood in SPF Thursday night. When first entering the crowded gym, you were instantly greeted with tense energy, built up by the competitiveness of such a historic rivalry. However, the Blue Devils had the favor with a 14-5 record compared to the Raiders’ 13-7 record. Nevertheless, it was destined to be a good game.
Westfield started off hot. Junior Sara Rooney ignited the Blue Devils, drilling a bucket in the first two minutes of the game. Westfield’s defense wasn’t playing around either, quickly forcing the ball out of bounds for a turnover, showing clear Blue Devil potential.
Like a lighted match, senior Annie Ryan was burning. Ryan for 3, bang. Westfield had a steady lead only 4 minutes into the game, a theme that would carry it to victory.
However, the Raiders had their own plan in mind. Inside bucket after inside bucket. The Raiders reduced the Westfield lead to 12–7, playing tougher and more fierce. An intense ball game to say the least, and senior Paige Gorczyca didn’t let this slide. A quick Gorczyca 3-pointer from the corner changed the tempo.
“We come out with high energy,” Gorczyca said. “We are always clapping, cheering each other on, because the energy we give to each other reflects our gameplay which can change the tempo of the whole game.”
For the rest of the first quarter, the Blue Devils were dominant, securing difficult rebounds and putting up good shots. By the end of the first quarter, Westfield built up a healthy lead with the score at 17-12.
A common sight throughout the second quarter was Ryan proudly dribbling the ball down on offense after the Blue Devils made huge defensive plays. This stride would be topped off with a basket from Rooney, who was down low, awaiting such a routine play.
Gorczyca made sure the Raiders knew her talent, putting up many shots including an impressive turnaround jumpshot three minutes into the second quarter putting Westfield up 24–12.
Senior Sutton Factor, a huge defensive threat, showed her offensive talent, knocking down a clutch 3-pointer to put the Blue Devils up by 13 points. A Ryan 3-ball followed. It was evident that the Raiders were falling apart fast, and their defense slowed down. As the second quarter wrapped up, Westfield led 34–22.
While the Raider cheer team took the floor at halftime, there was a sense of worry in the air from the SPF crowd. The Blue Devils were hungry and wanted more.
Although the Blue Devils suffered an early struggle partly because of the effort from SPF star Amanda Baylock, Westfield got back on track. A steal by Factor set Gorczyca up with an easy layup toward the middle of the third quarter. Determined to keep up this energy, Factor drew a foul, hitting one of her shots before putting up a stolen pass for another easy layup.
With the score in Westfield’s favor, 42–30, with only a minute to go in the third quarter, the Raiders went into panic mode, taking deep shots and playing slowly. Westfield took advantage of this, getting its own rebounds including a Ryan and-1. Westfield continued to swallow any hope of a third-quarter comeback, finishing out the remaining time and going into the fourth quarter with a 47–32 lead.
A similar fate awaited the Raiders in the fourth quarter. Another and-1 by Ryan put the Blue Devils up 49–32 early in the fourth quarter. “Marcie, our assistant coach, always emphasizes to follow your shot,” Ryan said, crediting her aggressiveness in the paint. “So when I shot the ball and I saw it wasn’t going in I followed it and then I was there to get the easy layup.”
The Westfield defense was incredible to say the least. Sophomore Catie Carayannopoulos made a huge block, sending the ball ricocheting into the Raiders’ blue-shaded wall.
Following a Westfield jump ball, the Blue Devils drew yet another foul with Rooney sinking both shots. It was 51–32 Blue Devils late in the fourth quarter, an almost impossible comeback. Westfield knew this, relaxing its offensive aggression and settling on defense. However, the Blue Devils still wanted to leave a mark on their classic Raider rivals. Senior Cara Van Allen put up a beautiful reverse layup followed by a Gorczyca jumper. The Blue Devils did not plan on stopping and weren’t going to be stopped.
The Raiders had completely lost hope, repeatedly glancing at the clock, praying for the game to come to a close. After a few more grueling minutes of Westfield dominance, the clock wound down to zero and the Blue Devils marched off the court, heads high, and the score at a glaring 61–42 Westfield victory.
Head coach Liz McKeon was extremely proud of the team’s performance, making sure to credit her seniors for the team’s success. “[Ryan, Gorczyca and Factor] have been a part of this program for four years and we’re all a big family and especially when your seniors are doing well, you always love to see it,” McKeon said. “We want to keep building momentum and hit our stride and take playing well to the next level into counties and states.”
The win also vaulted McKeon into legendary status as the winningest girls basketball coach in WHS history.
The Blue Devils hope to keep up such fierce energy on Saturday, when they face Gill St. Bernard’s at 12:30 p.m. at home.
