Group 1 semifinal
CRESSKILL 38, NEW PROVIDENCE 30
Leading scorers: (C) Colleen McQuillen 28, Annie Mioli 5, Angelina Doto 3.
FRANKLIN LAKES — Cresskill played with no fans and no fear.
Due to concerns about the spread of the coronavirus, the NJSIAA mandated that Thursday’s state girls basketball semifinals be held in near-empty venues.
Cresskill kept up business as usual. As it did in Tuesday’s sectional final, the North 1 champion rallied from a third-quarter deficit to defeat New Providence, 38-30, in the Group 1 semis at Ramapo High School.
Colleen McQuillen scored 21 straight Cresskill points, many during a game-ending, 13-0 run. She finished with 28. (Watch the moment she put Cresskill ahead for good in the video above.)
The Cougars (23-6) were slated to face Bound Brook in the Group 1 title game Sunday in Toms River.
However, late Thursday night, the NJSIAA announced that the boys and girls basketball tournaments will not continue due to concerns about coronavirus.
What it means
Cresskill would have played in its first state final since 1997 after being knocked out in its last seven trips to the state semis.
New Providence (27-4) had parlayed its past three North 2 sectional titles into state championships, and the 2010 run included a Group 1 semifinal win over Cresskill. That game also took place at Ramapo and capped Mike McCourt’s first season as Cougars coach.
“[New Providence’s Cap Pazdera] was coaching then, too, he remembers,” McCourt said. “We had two 1,000-point scorers that year.”
This time, it was a career 2,000-point scorer that made the difference.
Key sequence
The Pioneers took a 22-15 lead with 2:07 to go in the third quarter on one of numerous, well-executed layups off backdoor cuts.
As if flashing back to the North 1, Group 1 final, when it trailed by 10 points in the third, Cresskill got back in the game with a flurry to close out the third.
”They want to give me heart attack,” McCourt joked.
Annie Mioli dished to McQuillen for a layup-and-one to spark a 10-3 run, which ended with a McQuillen three five seconds before the horn.
Grace Kelly’s layup with 2:05 left in the game made it 30-25 New Providence, and the Cougars rose up again. They took the lead for good when McQuillen stole an inbounds pass under the Pioneer basket and laid it in.
”I was like, alright, I’ll take it,” McQuillen said.
By the numbers
► Cresskill must wait another year to try to erase an 0-2 record in the Group 1 final, where it fell to Wildwood in 1991 and Burlington Township in 1997.
► Bound Brook, which defeated Woodbury in the other semifinal, qualified for the Group 1 title game for the fifth year in a row. The Crusaders won their lone state title in 2017.
Game balls
► In scoring 28, McQuillen went 6-for-6 at the foul line and made two threes. She added six rebounds, three steals and three blocks.
► Cresskill forward Niamh Tobin collected a team-high seven rebounds and closed the scoring — and the North Jersey girls basketball season — with a pair of free throws.
► Guard Amy Maurer had 12 points to lead the Pioneers.
They said it
“Before we got on the bus [to go to Ramapo], coach sat us down and talked to us and said he didn’t know what was going to happen. We can only control what we can control, and that was taking care of business [Thursday].” — McQuillen on the uncertainty of the state tournament continuing
“You know what? If there’s no [state finals], these kids end on a win, and that’s great for them. I don’t have to go back to the school and talk to everybody in the locker room and have them in tears… I don’t have to do that today, so it’s a good thing.” — McCourt
Greg Tartaglia is a high school sports reporter for NorthJersey.com. For full access to live scores, breaking news and analysis from our Varsity Aces team, subscribe today. To get breaking news directly to your inbox, sign up for our newsletter and download our app.
Email: tartaglia@northjersey.com Twitter: @njtags13
