Defense. That’s it. After Thursday evening’s dominant 65–27 victory over Edison, Westfield’s stout defense has held its opponents to under 50 points in its last six games. The Blue Devils have a 5-1 record in that span and just picked up their 20th win of the season, a remarkable feat that has been accomplished three of the last four seasons.
“We’ve struggled in some games offensively,” head coach Liz McKeon said. “In order to bounce back, we’ve relied on the defense. Defense and rebounding leads to all.”
That spectacular defensive effort was prevalent from tip-off. Exactly like Westfield’s previous game against Phillipsburg, the Blue Devils got off to a hot start and forced numerous turnovers, forcing Phillipsburg to burn an early timeout. Today: Same. Exact. Story.
Westfield had 25 steals and 20 assists.
This sectional quarterfinal matchup between the No. 4 seeded Blue Devils and the No. 5 seeded Eagles was the first meeting between both teams since the 2019-20 season. To prepare for an unfamiliar opponent, Westfield focused on watching “a lot of film. Breaking down the tape and getting our matchups,” said McKeon.
The Blue Devils came out with a bang. They controlled Edison throughout the first quarter, finding themselves up 20–7. Their lead would only grow from there.
In the second quarter the Blue Devils jumped out to an 11–0 run. Thanks to precise passing and the brute defense of the Blue Devils, they turned defense into offense. With several fastbreaks at the hands of Cara Van Allen and steals from Paige Gorczyca, the Blue Devils were out and running.
Westfield also managed to control the boards, led by Catie Carayannopoulos with her 13-rebound performance. Westfield never seemed to walk away from a possession empty handed.
“Sharing the ball was so key in breaking down their defense,” explained Carayannopoulos.
By the time halftime came around it was clear to everyone in the gym that the game was over. The Blue Devils led 40–11. The rest of the game continued with much of the same story. The Blue Devils continued to run Edison off the court.
The narrative will be different on Saturday. Westfield’s next matchup is against a familiar foe, No. 1 seeded Bayonne.
“Bayonne’s certainly a different team, more difficult. The way we played today—the way we shared the ball will really help us,” said Carayannopoulos.
Last year in the sectional semifinals, the Blue Devils defeated Bayonne, 64–48. This year, the two teams will square off Saturday at 1 p.m in the same matchup, however, this time the game will be played in Bayonne.
