RUTHERFORD, N.J. – This one was close. Close and filled with the proverbial ‘what ifs’. Weehawken girls completed a season sweep, defeating St. Mary 40-34 at the Gaels Gymnasium on Thursday evening. The two-possession final saw the host Gaels squander a number of opportunities. A game the host team could have captured with another possession, or few, ending a different way.
After one period the visiting Indians led 11-4. A game is far from decided after just one fourth of the playing time completed. In many ways this proved to be just the case. St. Mary responded,yet on a number of occasions but could never take a lead, nor draw even for that matter.
“We dug ourselves a hole,” said St. Mary coach Jamie Lobue .”We just weren’t able to get out of it.” A seven point deficit after one period is far from insurmountable. Against a team the quality of Weehawken, and the offense finding its way, it proved ultimately to be the difference.
The game evolved as a coaching chess match. St. Mary utilized a 1-3-1 zone. Weehawken countered with a four out one post alignment on the offensive end. The Indians passed and reversed the ball quickly on the perimeter as the host Gaels reacted to close out on the outside shooters. On the other end Weehawken was in a 2-3 zone as the Gaels relied on ball and player movement to find openings in the defense. Occasionally each team would counter with full court pressure for an element of surprise.
The halftime score saw Weehawken ahead 18-11. Seven points separation is not huge. The way the game was progressing it felt like a significantly larger difference. In the third period the visitors expanded the lead to double digits-threatening to pull away. Resiliency, a trait of this St. Mary team was evident as they maintained poise and battled back. Whether through forcing a turnover, getting a defensive stop or converting off an offensive rebound. “Thought we played hard,” Lobue said. “I am proud of our effort, we played well overall.”
The Gaels continued to force turnovers and turning them into transition opportunities. There were a few fast break baskets. On the flip side, a succession of those open court chances failed to meet fruition.
Entering the final period the Gaels were within eight points. They got it to two possessions. The final twenty seconds Weehawken shot 2 of 5 from the line as the Gaels fouled to extend the game. On their offensive end, St. Mary was unable to take advantage of those missed free throws at crunch time. “We got a lot of stops, forced turnovers but struggled to score,” Lobue lamented. “There were times we just couldn’t make a basket.”
A difficult way, for the Gaels, to see the game to play out. There were numerous chances that ultimately fell to the wayside. Despite coming up short there were positives. “Defense played hard and we adjusted,” Lobue observed. “This is a young team. They are still learning about what it takes to close out games like this.”
Alyssa Whalen of St. Mary led all scorers with 11 points. Weehawken did not place an individual in double figures. The attack was balanced though with Viviana Mendez leading the way with 9 points- Zionna Loftin and Sofia Mendez (game high 13 rebounds) added 8 while Marie Eid chipped in 7.
Weehawken improved to 14-6 (12-2 NJIC Meadowlands). St. Mary is also 14-6 but a game back of the Indians in the NJIC at 11-3. As the season starts to wind down the Gaels will visit first place Saddle Brook on Tuesday before returning home to host a strong Wood Ridge club two days after.
