Whenever Secaucus head coach John Sterling talks about the play of his top offensive performers, he’s quick to follow with an acknowledgement of the importance of those whose assignments focus more on boxing out, interior defense or setting screens.
And on a night where shots rarely fell and points were at premium, those little things loomed that much larger. Combined with a handful of well-time baskets, those normally invisible contributions from someone like junior forward Katie Schneider were on display for everyone to see.
“She was gigantic. Katie’s had a fantastic season, but she set the tempo for us early,” said Sterling. “She got a million offensive rebounds again, she got a couple of baskets, played great defense inside. She was just wonderful from the beginning of the game until the end.”
On a night when Secaucus hit just two 3-pointers, Schneider’s six points, 10 rebounds (five of them offensive rebounds) and three steals proved especially pivotal as it held off Jefferson, 40-33, in the NJSIAA Group 2 semifinals in Bloomfield.
“I’m not really a big scorer,” Schneider said. “But I love doing everything else.”
“It’s team against team, not individual vs. individual. So if one person is not having their normal shooting day, you hope someone is able to pick up the slack,” Sterling said. “Katie was able to pick up the slack for us today.”
Alyssa Craigwell led all scorers with 21 points for Secaucus (29-3), which will play for its first ever state title on Saturday when it faces New Providence, No. 9 in the NJ.com Top 20, in the Group 2 final in Toms River.
Emily Poulas scored 13 of her team-high 17 points for Jefferson (22-8), which was without standout center Amanda Nwankwo due to a knee injury suffered in Monday’s North Jersey, Section 1, Group 2 final.
“We just don’t make excuses. We’ve never been one to look at who’s there and who’s not there and use that a reason as to why we shouldn’t play well,” Jefferson coach James MacDermid said. “We believed that we had a group that was good enough to win today. If we had knocked down a few more shots, I think we would have been playing on Saturday.”
Secaucus never trailed, opening the game with a 12-4 run capped off by a Schneider lay-up, but never really pulled away.
Jefferson, which trailed by as many as 14 points, trimmed the deficit to six at 36-30 on a Poulas 3-pointer. Secaucus’ defense stepped up from there. Despite going five-plus minutes without a point, the Patriots didn’t let the lead dwindle any further before Craigwell snapped the scoring drought with a bank shot with 1:40 remaining.
Poulas’ fourth 3-pointer of the night made it 38-33, but Secaucus forced a turnover on the next Falcons possession, then a Gabriella Torrillo rebound and Daniela Peschetti block kept the lead at five before Mia Cruz made two foul shots with 7.4 seconds left.
“We were sloppy and didn’t play our best, but to come out on top which is a heck of an accomplishment.,” Sterling said. “Jefferson’s a quality program, they’re a two-time sectional champs and they have a winning pedigree and they’re girls know how to win. For our girls to dig in and hold the lead and make plays down stretch, I’m thrilled.”
“We just had to continue playing, not give up and work harder on defense since our shots weren’t falling,” said Peschetti, who had seven assists to go with four points and four rebounds.
Secaucus’ only two 3-pointers came early in the third quarter when Peschetti found Gabriella Torrillo and Craigwell on consecutive possessions to make it 30-18. Layups from Schneider and Peschetti pushed the lead to 34-20, but Jefferson then held Secaucus without a point for five-plus minutes as the Falcons scored seven-straight points, capped off by a Kiley Shatzel offensive rebound and put-back.
Shatzel finished with five points and 11 rebounds.
