Carly Cerone was queen of the court, as she owned the free throw line and ruled in the paint.
The Cougar cashed in her frequent flyer miles, making 10 trips to the free throw line, carrying the team at times.
She scored 24 points to lead her team to a 42-40 win over Dwight-Englewood, which clinched the BCSL Olympic League title.
"Carly had one of the best games of anyone I’ve ever seen play the game," said Cresskill coach Jennifer Rilli. "She rebounded well, and offensively, single-handedly took over."
The Modell’s Sports Complex in Englewood was packed with pumped-up fans ready to scream and cheer, as the game was extremely meaningful. The Cougars had defeated the Bulldogs earlier this season on a buzzer beater on their home court.
The highly anticipated event began with the two teams exchanging turnovers, caused by relentless defensive efforts. It was the pressuring Cresskill man-to-man defense against the suffocating Dwight-Englewood zone.
"We played awesome defense because it was a team contribution," said Cerone. "We were prepared to box out and get rebounds, since we practiced doing both all week long."
It was evenly matched throughout the first quarter, as the teams tried to get a feel for their counterparts. Both teams struggled out of the gate on the offensive side.
There was no one reason for the misfires. Guard Stephanie Durakis thought her Cougars just "came out cold."
Borova was benched for the first half after she was whistled for a technical foul, which only added to Cresskill’s troubles. Cerone was the only Cougar that managed to score in the first quarter tallying six points.
Anna Kaminsky snapped the D-E cold spell, closing the quarter with a three-pointer and layup. This created some breathing room for the home team and gave the Bulldogs an 11-6 first quarter lead.
Cresskill again missed its outside shots, but began working the inside. Colleen Ahearn helped Cerone to set up chances inside. The Cougars continuously connected with long passes to an open offensive player down the court.
"We’re always looking ahead to push the ball for that fast break opportunity and open layup," said Durakis.
Cerone had a monster quarter, scoring the bulk of her points. The Cougar worked the inside to perfection with 12 points, eight of which came from the free throw line, as she was continually fouled in the act of shooting point-blank layups.
"They (D-E) had small girls on me and luckily I was able to make most of the foul shots," said Cerone. "I wanted the ball inside, as I kept going and going."
The away team not only controlled the tempo on offense, but also stiffened on defense holding the Bulldogs under double-digits in the quarter.
"We know they had good players and we wanted to create a strong presence on the inside," said Rilli. "We did a good job on our inside defense and had them flustered."
The Cougars ended the second quarter on a 10-3 run to take a 21-19 lead at the half.
"We had a two point lead and I wanted to build their enthusiasm," said Rilli. "We worked hard and I wanted them to realize that they were the better team."
Those words inspired the Cougars, as Durakis immediately opened the third quarter swiping the ball in the D-E end of the court before chucking a pass to an open Cerone for the layup.
The Bulldogs hung tough and came alive at the 4:30 mark by hitting jumpers. Sara Brescia and Julia Schneider led the charge with a combined seven points in the quarter.
Cresskill countered by sending out Nikki Hernandez, as she has been a spark off the bench all year. The guard made key contributions both offensively and defensively in the effort to stifle any D-E comeback.
"People say I’m really fast and I try and use that to my advantage," said Hernandez. "The energy of the crowd was amazing with parents and students both cheering."
A couple more inside shots were exchanged and the Cougars led 29-28 heading into the final quarter.
The Bulldogs tied the game at 29 with 7:09 to go and Schneider gave D-E the lead by knocking down a medium range jumper. Cresskill refused to fade and Borova led the charge.
"We knew we played bad earlier in the game and we had to step it up," said Borova. "We did that by taking control of the ball by boxing out in the second half."
The game was tied again at 33 with 4:00 left in the game. It was back and forth again with Borova dribbling passed the D-E defense for a layup. Schneider one-upped the Cougar, draining a circus shot while falling down.
In the next possession Cerone worked the paint and drew the foul. The foul was charged to Amina Lawrence, which was significant, as she fouled out.
The Cougars licked their chops as the tallest girl and key inside presence for the Bulldogs had to watch the rest of the game from the bench.
"The inside game really picked up once Lawrence fouled out," said Cerone.
The Bulldogs kept it interesting, going stride for stride with the Cougars, as baskets were again back and forth.
"I thought we played well for the most part and worked really hard," said D-E coach Rich Muller. "They never gave up and that’s all I could ask for."
In the final minute with Cresskill leading by one point, Cerone sensed she had a mismatch on opposing guard Nicole Long’s coverage. The forward exploited this advantage and not only scored the bucket, but also drew the foul. Cerone missed the shot, but the Cougars led by three.
With 14.4 seconds left on the clock Schneider penetrated the defense and was fouled in the process of shooting. She threw up the ball and, on the continuation, it found the bottom of the net.
Schneider toed the free throw line with ice in her veins and she nailed the foul shot to tie the game at 40 with 10 seconds left and the crowd booming.
The pass was inbounded and Ahearn sneaked passed the Bulldog defenders. A pass was airmailed to her as she waited underneath the basket.
Ahearn laid it up and in to put the Cougars ahead by two with little time left on the clock.
"I was open and I started running as fast as I could down the court," said Ahearn. "I received the pass and made the layup. I was so nervous."
The Bulldogs had a chance to tie or win, but after the inbound pass to Kaminsky her hurried shot attempt was blocked and the buzzer sounded.
The Cougars ran onto the court, smiling and hugging each other in disbelief.
"There are no words to describe how happy I am right now," said Ahearn.
"It’s a huge win and everyone’s so excited," said Cerone.
"We knew it was going to take a team effort and that’s what we got."
E-mail: cheung@northjersey.com or call 201-894-6709
