Friday, February 29, 2008

By Rich Barton
NJS.com Staff Writer

NORTH BERGEN – Both teams were playing at a high level, both of the team’s leading scorers were having great games, and the crowd was as live it has ever been at High Tech High School. Through 3-plus quarters, the North 2, Group 1 quarterfinal between High Tech and Weehawken had all the elements of a nip-and-tuck state tournament classic.

However with 5:31 to go, the entire complexion of the game changed when Weehawken standout Crystal Corredor fouled out. It was the break that the Lasercats needed to kick their game into high gear down the stretch.

Erika Thompson scored 20 of her game-high 25 points in the second half as High Tech closed the game on a 10-2 run over the final 5:31 as the third-seeded Lasercats hit 11 three-pointers and held on for a 54-45 victory over Weehawken, the No. 6 seed.

“The state tournament is about surviving and advancing,” said High Tech head coach Jose Gonzalez. “You know you aren’t going to get any easy games in the states. Weehawken is a tremendous team and they gave us all we could handle. It was a close game the whole way and we were able to hold on.”

The Lasercats got off to a good start from beyond the arc to set the tone. They hit four of five attempts from three-point range in the opening quarter. Stephanie Orozco hit consecutive threes as High Tech grabbed a five-point lead after one, 17-12.

Corredor was making plays all over the floor in the second quarter. She had her hand in seemingly every trip, almost single-handedly willing her team into a halftime lead. She had consecutive steals and layups, then fed Nadia Introna for a layup as Weehawken held a 27-25 lead at the break.

Thompson, a 5-10 senior center, showed that her game was not limited to inside the paint. She hit two straight threes to start the third quarter, putting High Tech back in front.

Gonzalez made a risky play to start the second half. He put in seldom-used Altheresa Foster to cover the athletic Corredor. The move worked out for two reasons. Corredor was limited to four points in the quarter and picked up her fourth foul with a minute left. On the ensuing possession, Thompson nailed another three, this time from NBA-range, with seconds to play as High Tech had a 41-37 lead going into the fourth quarter.

“I had a bad game against McNair in the (HCIAA-Seglio) final, and I had to make up for it,” said Thompson, who is High Tech’s all-time leading scorer with over 1,500 points. “I knew that if we lost this game, our season and my four years here were all over. Coach (Gonzalez) told me to stay confident and keep shooting, so that’s what I did.”

Corredor hit two free throws to pull the Indians to within one, 44-43. But just seconds later, her magnificent game would come to an end far too early. She picked up her fifth foul with 5:31 to go and the Indians had to try and go without their point guard and their leading scorer down the stretch.

“Crystal (Corredor) is the one who makes us go out there, without her we really struggled,” said Weehawken head coach Ed Torres. “She distributes the ball very well and gets open shots for other teammates because she draws so much attention from other teams. But without her in there, we couldn’t get the good looks we got over the first three quarters.”

High Tech went to a full-court press and the Indians had a hard time breaking it. Justine Mateo had two straight steals, both which led to point son the other end. The latter of which led to a layup by Monique Colon, which bumped the lead up to seven, 50-43, and put the game away.

“We know that we have shooters, but we needed to win this game on defense,” said Mateo. “Corredor is an extremely good player and she hurt us a couple of times. Once she fouled out, we had to put even more pressure on them defensively.”

Thompson hit five of seven three-point attempts in the second half and led High Tech (20-7) with 25 points and nine rebounds. Colon finished with 10 points, five rebounds, and five assists. The Lasercats also got a solid defensive effort from Kristina Rivera, who had eight rebounds and four steals.

Corredor had her usual loaded stat line for Weehawken (15-9). The junior guard had 15 points, eight rebounds, eight steals, and five assists. Nadia Introna added a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds.

High Tech will move on to the North 2 Group 1 semifinals for the second time in school history. They will travel to take on another Hudson County opponent, second-seeded Secaucus, on Saturday at 1:00 P.M.

“This was a great game and we’re looking forward to playing Secaucus,” added Thompson. “It’s great that we’re playing Secaucus, but it doesn’t matter who we’re playing. This is my last shot to do something in the states. We just want to keep going as far as we can.”

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