Wednesday, January 9, 2008

By Rich Barton
NJS.com Staff Writer

GARFIELD – This was finally supposed to be the season where the Garfield girls basketball team turned into one of the B-PSL’s top teams, one with plans on making the county and the state tournaments. But through eight games, the Boilermakers found themselves sitting at two games below .500, which made yesterday’s game against a rejuvenated Lodi squad the first of several must-win games that Garfield would need to achieve its preseason goals.

The game was not a pretty one to watch, but the end result was one Garfield would gladly take in this particular instance. Regina Kelly hit two free throws with 4.4 seconds left to provide the final margin as Garfield held on for a 36-32 victory.

“We didn’t play well, but the good thing is that we won,” said Kelly, a four-year starter at the point. “We’re a good team, but we’re not playing well right now. Right now, we’re just not consistent enough. We need to wake up and become more consistent before it’s too late.”

Garfield struggled to get into an offense rhythm all game long, but made up for it in the first half by crashing the boards and making the most of second chances. Brittany Coleman scored all four of her field goals in the first half, three of them on offensive rebounds, as the Boilermakers grabbed a nine-point halftime lead, 22-13.

Lodi made a surge midway through the third quarter to pull within a point. Freshman Tia Cangelosi hit two straight 17-foot jumpers to slice the lead to 25-24, but the Lady Rams never were able to grab the lead. They had three possessions down by a point late in the third quarter, but could not get a basket on any of those trips.

That loomed larger shortly afterwards as Kelly scored on a conventional three-point play to put Garfield back up by four, 28-24.

“I think if we took the lead going into the fourth quarter, we had a good chance to get out of here with a win,” said Lodi head coach John Way. “We had our opportunities, but we just missed too many lay-ups. Overall, we dug ourselves too deep of a hole by playing poorly in the first half and we never got out of it.”

The lead was five in the waning seconds until Lindsay Newarski’s NBA-range three-pointer cut the lead to a basket, 34-32, with seven seconds left.

Kelly was immediately fouled on the inbounds pass and went to the line for a one-and-one. She calmly swished both ends of it with 4.4 seconds left to ice the game as the Boilermakers escaped with the win.

“I’m a senior and I want the ball in my hands in that situation,” said Kelly. “I’ve worked really hard on my free throws and this was why I worked on them. To be in the situation and have the confidence to make the shots.”

Kelly was the game’s high scorer with 12 points for Garfield (4-5). Coleman and Anna Zielinska each chipped in with nine points.

Junior center Cori Santana finished with 12 rebounds, eight points, and seven blocked shots for Lodi (6-3). Newarski added 10 points and four assists.

The win was one Garfield desperately needed. However, head coach Chris Caiazzo knows that his team still has a long way to go.

“We did not play smart basketball and that’s something we need to correct,” said Caiazzo. “I thought the key for us is that we rebounded very well today. Outside of that, we didn’t play well at all. It was an ugly win, but one I’ll take because we needed it to stay on track for the counties and the states.”

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