NEW MILFORD – The battle unfolded as expected.
Physical play on the court. Momentum-shifting baskets. Ongoing lead changes. Emotion on the benches.
Secaucus traveled to New Milford knowing this would be a tough but important game. The Patriots ultimately earned the result they wanted, though it wasn’t easy.
“I think each team had a chance to take control at times,” Secaucus coach John Sterling said. “We were fortunate to come out on top. It could’ve gone either way.”
In a back-and-forth game, the Patriots emerged with a 61-56 victory in a matchup of the top two NJIC Liberty Division teams on Tuesday.
Secaucus got a balanced scoring effort.
Amanda Ulrich finished with 18 points, including two three-pointers, while Damaris Rodriguez finished with 15 points and nine assists. Lindsey Mack had 11 points – with one three – and seven rebounds, while Natalie Kashian scored 10 points, including three huge second-quarter threes.
Vianca Soriano was strong in the paint for New Milford, finishing with 19 points. Natalie Miller scored 12 points for the Knights, while Katrina Toledo had 11.
Both teams were aggressive from the opening tip.
“This was a fun game to play, and it was an exciting game,” Sterling said. “It wasn’t certainly an aesthetic game. I think that comes from the physicality. People are playing hard, throwing their bodies around. When that happens, when you’re playing that hard, it’s going to look sloppy at times. I think both teams are comfortable playing at that pace.”
Secaucus held a 33-29 lead at halftime, and its lead swelled to eight points on a bucket from Ulrich about two minutes into the third quarter.
But the Knights went on a 9-0 run, beginning with a big three-pointer from Bionca Chambers, to take a 50-47 lead early in the fourth quarter.
A bucket from Ulrich and jumper from Rodriguez pushed the Patriots back ahead, 51-50. After Soriano scored at the other end, Rodriguez, a freshman guard, was fouled while shooting a three and made all three foul shots to give Secaucus a 54-52 lead.
New Milford trailed by two with just less than two minutes remaining, but the Patriots managed to hold on for the win.
“It was a game of big swings like that,” Sterling said. “We’re happy to get out on top.”
New Milford, though, made that difficult.
The Knights, who were without Chambers for most of the first half because of foul trouble, took a four-point lead midway through the second quarter on a basket from Soriano.
But Kashian, a freshman guard, was stellar from the arc and knocked down three triples to keep the Patriots’ deficit from getting any larger going into halftime.
“They were beating our press, and they were getting a lot of steals so it was getting us out of our rhythm,” Kashian said. “In the second half, we adjusted.”
Email: iseman@northjersey.com
