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.”
TO
BUY A COLLECTOR'S PRINT OF THIS GAME STORY, PLEASE VISIT 4FeetGrafix.com.
|