March
22, 2004
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Jania Sims took a turn guarding Eastside's Essence Carson in the box-and-1 defense that held the Ghosts to just 11 of 56 shooting in the T of C final. |
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EAST RUTHERFORD - For the majority of her four-year varsity career, Essence Carson has been able to make her own opportunities on the court. Rarely has any opponent been able to take her out of a game for more than a few minutes.
But in the first half of the Tournament of Champions final on Sunday night at the Continental Airlines Arena, the senior got a very strong dose of what to expect when she dons the Scarlett and White of Rutgers next fall.
Smothered
in a box-and-one by a pair of Shabazz defenders, Carson was rendered all but
insignificant in the offensive zone, and with the Bulldogs applying full-court
pressure that resulted in a handful of early turnovers, it spelled a long
night for the Ghosts.
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| Eastside's Essence Carson closed her brilliant career with 10 points. |
Shabazz successfully defended its Tournament of Champions crown with a 55-34 win, becoming the first girls team to win back-to-back TOC championships. They finished the year at 31-1 while Eastside closed out at 27-5.
"I think we finally will get the recognition we deserve," Shabazz head coach Vanessa Watson said. "After last year, it was, 'Nice, but let's see if you can do it again.' Now, we've done what no one else has, and we'll get our just due."
The Bulldogs seemed very comfortable with their surroundings, something that Eastside head coach Ed Black was aware of, saying that, "you could tell that they had been here before, while our team looked as though they were in awe of the surroundings."
Carson
was 0 for 3 from the floor in the first half as Shahida Williams and Jania
Sims took turns playing the intense defense on her. She did manage four free
throws for four points, but without its big gun, Eastside struggled for points.
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| Ajavon Matee helped Shabazz became the first girls team to go back-to-back as T of C champs. |
The Bulldogs opened the game scoring the first six points, but a three-point field goal by freshman Asia Rollins and two Carson free throws had the Ghosts within one with 3:19 remaining in the opening period.
Over the next 4:55, Shabazz went on a 12-0 run with its defense forcing three turnovers and Eastside missing four shots. Sims and Williams shared nine of the points, many in transition. That pushed the Bulldogs to a 25-15 halftime lead, and they put the game away with an 11-0 third period start.
Sims (5 points) and Williams (4 points) showed their offensive abilities in the streak that built a 36-15 advantage.
"Ten points down at halftime, I felt we still were in the game," Black remarked, "but they came out and took it right to us."
Carson
would finally score a field goal with 2:17 left in the third after missing
her first seven shots, and she finished 3 of 16 from the floor, scoring 10
points. She added seven rebounds and three blocked shots in her final high
school game.
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| Sadasia Green is part of Eastside crew of talented underclassmen that hope to guide the Ghosts back to the T of C. |
"Teams have played us box and one all year," Carson said of the Shabazz defense, "and we've even faced a triangle where both girls were on me. I had some looks, but they weren't falling, and that happens sometimes."
"How many layups did we miss," Black added. "When we ran set plays, I thought we executed them, but we got away from our game and played out of control, and that is too good a team to do that against."
Williams, voted the Shabazz Most Valuable Player, had 13 points, 17 rebounds and 2 blocked shots, while Sims added 13 points. Kellindra Zackery teamed inside with Williams to score 19 points and grab 11 rebounds.
"We felt
we had an advantage inside," Watson explained, "so we were looking to get
the ball down low."
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| Khiada Evans and Shabazz finished the season with a 31-1 record. |
Shabazz hit on 21 of 52 from the floor and 10 of 18 from the foul line. Matee Ajavon, who will be a teammate of Carson's at Rutgers next year, had five rebounds and three assists while running the offense.
Eastside could not match up, and suffered through an 11 of 56 shooting performance from the floor. The Ghosts were 11 of 16 at the line. Nasheema Johnson had 9 points and 9 rebounds, and Rollins was named the Eastside MVP after scoring seven points and recording three steals while playing as steady as a senior.
"I'm proud of my team," Carson said. "For the underclassmen, to be able to get to this game and still have a chance to get back (next year) is great. It took me four years, but my time came, and I want to be here when they come back."
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