CURANOVIC SCORES 23 PTS, DeMARCO PUMPS IN 13 PTS
Dominance under the defensive boards and a good offensive jump in the first half put the fifth-seeded Cranford High School girls basketball team in good position to control the tempo against the 12th-seeded West Morris Central Wolfpack in the quarterfinal round of the North Jersey, Section 2, Group 3 Tournament at Cranford High School on February 27. After leading 34-18, at halftime, the 19-7 Cougars held down the 1413 Wolfpack, 53-44.
The Wolfpack came into the game with a 47-32 victory over the fifthseeded North Plainfield Canucks in the first round, while the Cougars defeated the Governor Livingston Highlanders, 33-21.
“To your point, I thought we did a nice job on the defensive boards, as well as the O boards at times,” Cougar Head Coach Allison Skrec said.
The Cougars also got a very nice inside-outside 1-2 punch from junior Bella Curanovic and senior Sophia DeMarco, along with several fine assists from sophomore Lily Costello, who finished with five assists. Curanovic (2 assists) was effective under the boards and finished with a game-high 23 points, which included sinking five of seven from the free throw line. DeMarco (2 assists, steal) was deadly from the perimeter and nailed three 3-pointers, while finish- ing with 13 points.
Additionally, the Cougars spread the wealth when it came to rebounds. Senior Kristina Lowe (4 points, 2 assists, block, steal) pulled seven boards, while Curanovic and senior Maddy DeLong (5 points – 1-for-2 free throws – 2 assists) each grabbed six rebounds. Costello (4 points, 2 steals), DeMarco and sophomore Courtney Toy (2 assists, block) each had four rebounds. Senior Molly Devlin (2 points) and sophomore Brooke Bentrewicz (2 points) each grabbed one rebound.
Brooke Cubbage led the Wolfpack with 11 points, including trip 3-pointers). Tori Wehmeyer put in nine points, including a 3-pointer. Alana Vieira (2-for-2 free throws), Aislin Howell and Zoe Kratochvil (3-pointer) each finished with eight points.
Within the first three minutes of the first quarter Lowe and Costello each sank two points and Curanovic sank one of two free throws, while Kratochvil sank one of two free throws to make the score 5-1. DeMarco added another two points with 3:35 showing, Curanovic sank another free throw then Cubbage banged her first 3-pointer to cut the score to 8-4 with 2:24 left in the quarter. Twelve seconds later a great feed from Lowe to Curanovic made the score 10-4. With 23 seconds on the clock, Bentrewicz scored then with :02.8 remaining, Curanovic sank a pair of free throws to give the Cougars a 14-4 lead.
Early in the second quarter, Costello set up DeMarco for her first 3-pointer but Wehmeyer answered with a 3pointer. Within 25 seconds, Curanovic flicked outside to DeMarco, who nailed her second 3-pointer. Just 14 seconds later, DeLong rolled in a layup, was fouled and sank the free throw to up the lead to 23-7. Howell put in two points then DeMarco did it again with her third 3-pointer to stretch the lead to 26-9. Curanovic rolled in another two points then in the later part of the second quarter, Howell scored two and Cubbage nailed a 3-pointer to make the halftime score 28-14.
From that point onward, the Cougars continued to play control ball until the final buzzer.
“I was really happy with how well we moved the ball and how unselfish we were, and obviously the offense looks a lot better when shots are going in. Soph (DeMarco) gave us a big boost in the second quarter,” Coach Skrec expressed.
Next on the list for the Cranford Cougars would be a trip to do battle with the top-seeded, 25-3 Chatham Cougars on February 29. Chatham beat eighth-seeded Summit, 45-24, in the other quarterfinal. The Chatham Cougars, whose only losses were to Morris Catholic, 73-41, (Morris County finals), Trinity Hall, 56-49 (Winter Classic) and Rumson-Fair Haven, 59-44, (Urban Legends of NJ), had defeated Cranford, 52-36, during the Chatham Tournament in late December.
Coach Skrec commented, “We look forward to the opportunity we have tomorrow night!”
