By Tyler Morello
Staff Writer
The College’s women’s basketball team’s magical season came to an end in the New Jersey Athletic Conference Championship game against Montclair State this past weekend, losing 72-63. They were able to get past Kean University in the semifinals, winning 79-56, but fell short in the final round for the second season in a row.
In the semifinal, after a close game through the first quarter, the Lions took control from then on out, outscoring the Cougars 62-43. In the first quarter, it was junior Katie Fricker who led the way for the Lions.
She got the Lions on the board after a steal and assist from senior Nina Branchizio, the NJAC Player of the Year, followed by back-to-back converted and-ones to put her at eight points for the quarter.
Junior Myah Hourigan-Hutton strung together some smooth plays to start the second quarter, making a sweet reverse layup and throwing a backdoor pass to Fricker that caused Kean to call a timeout.
The Cougars hit a three out of the timeout to cut the score to 21-18, but the Lions got the momentum back a few possessions later after senior Arianna McCleod went coast to coast fighting off the defense for an and-one circus layup high off the glass.
The College led 34-25 at the half and was in control throughout the second half. They led by 14 before Branchizio got fouled shooting a three-pointer with two seconds left in the third quarter, knocking down two of three foul shots.
Sophomore Grace Kowalski added the exclamation point in the fourth quarter, hitting from a couple feet beyond the three-point line and later banking in a three to put the Lions up 20.
Fricker was the high scorer for the Lions with 20 points on the night, followed by Kowalski with 18 and McCleod with 15.
The College hosted Montclair State at Packer Hall for the championship game since they secured the top seed in the tournament by defeating the Red Hawks in the final regular season game. Despite being the lower seed, the Red Hawks came to play.
They got out to a 9-0 lead before the Lions could even blink. Fifth-year Jaclyn Feit was the first to answer the call and got the Lions on the board with a layup.
Freshman Amanda Baylock provided a much needed spark off the bench for the College, as she came in and had an immediate impact. She had six points in the first quarter, including two straight buckets to end the quarter and keep the Lions within striking distance trailing 20-10.
The Lions’ crowd got to their feet after a Kowalski layup out of the break and a McCleod three to cut the lead to five. The senior then got fouled shooting a three and converted on all three free throws putting the score at 22-18.
McCleod subbed out after the charity stripe visit, which caused the offense to seemingly stall for a bit before she checked back in and scored two buckets and dished to Feit for an and-one to make it a one-point game with about two and a half minutes to play in the second.
The Lions trailed 33-29 at the half but were able to grab some much needed momentum. Yet, every time they would make a move to get in the lead, the Red Hawks seemed to have a counter.
The College was putting together great defensive possessions for 25 out of the 30 seconds in the shot clock until giving up a demoralizing three-pointer. Shannon Hughes of Montclair State had what felt like 10 of these, scoring 13 off the bench and hitting three late clock threes.
The Red Hawks were playing extremely out of body compared to what they were accustomed to as a team. They shot over 40% from three compared to their 26.9% they had on the season. They had even banked in multiple three pointers.
It was a quiet day for Branchizio who was held scoreless until she connected on a long range three as time expired in the third to put the score at 54-44, Red Hawks.
Montclair State’s defensive game plan worked very well on the NJAC Player of the Year. Their tricky full-court pressure was causing fits for the Lions all game, forcing it out of Branchizio’s hands and making their bigs bring up the ball.
Once again, when it would seem like the Lions were clawing back, the Red Hawks would answer with a timely bucket. They got it to a two possession game and were forcing the Red Hawks to scramble on offense late in the shot clock before they drained a three from about five feet beyond the three-point line.
Those types of outcomes were the story of the game and ultimately lost the Lions their second straight championship game. They shot 15% from three, their lowest in any game this season, and lost 72-63. Kowalski, Feit and McCleod each had 15 points while Baylock put up a career high 13.
This Lions team has a lot to be proud of this year, and with only three players leaving following the season, they are set up for another exciting season next year.
