Wednesday, December 19, 2007

By Rich Barton
NJS.com Staff Writer

ELMWOOD PARK – After several sub-par seasons, it is safe to say that the Garfield girls basketball team is not adept in holding large leads. That is because in recent years, the Boilermakers have had little practice at it. However, with virtually the entire squad returning, the prospects look bright for a winning season and it looked like a statement win was a shoe-in on Tuesday against Elmwood Park.

Up by 23 points midway through the third quarter, Garfield was on its way to a second straight blowout win to start the season. Just six minutes later, the Boilermakers were facing a collapse that could have defined their season in a negative way.

But this Boilermaker team has refused to accept losing as an outcome. That attitude comes right from their leader, senior point guard Regina Kelly. Elmwood Park cut the lead to four in the final quarter, but Garfield finally put its foot down. Kelly hit three big free throws in the final minute on her way to a game-high 29 points as Garfield held on for a 52-48 win.

“Even when they got our lead down to four points I wasn’t nervous, I couldn’t afford to be,” said Kelly. “I’m a senior and I knew I had to make good decisions and not make freshman mistakes.”

After a 22-point win on opening night over Waldwick, Garfield kept its hot hand going early on. The outside-inside duo of Kelly and Kiara Denson did the damage in the first quarter. They combined for 17 of the team’s 19 points as Garfield grabbed a 19-5 lead after eight minutes.

That lead grew to 18 by halftime and 23 points, 32-9, midway through the third quarter on a Kelly lay-up. But Elmwood Park then switched to full-court pressure and immediately found success. The Lady Crusaders forced eight turnovers over the next five-and-a-half minutes and used that to get back on the right track.

The Crusaders got the lead down to 13 by the end of the third quarter and kept the pressure on. Freshman Tylee Sosa’s two free throws capped a 24-5 run, including the first nine points of the fourth quarter, as Elmwood Park trimmed the seemingly insurmountable lead down to four, 37-33, with 6:30 to play.

Elmwood Park stayed within striking distance the rest of the way and had the ball on four separate times down four points with a chance to cut the deficit even further, but could not put the ball in the basket on any of those possessions and were forced to foul.

“We seem to play better from behind and I’m very pleased that we didn’t quit,” said Elmwood Park head coach Artie Zilz. “We had our chances to get it to a one-possession game, but I think we just ran out of gas. In the end, we just dug ourselves a hole that was too deep to get out of.”

Kelly and Anna Zielinska combined to go 5 of 6 from the charity stripe over the final 1:14 as Garfield held on to remain unbeaten.

“The good thing is that we won, but this was a game we could have closed out earlier,” said Garfield head coach Chris Caiazzo. “We have Bergenfield on Thursday and they are going to press us. We are going to have to show that we can beat the press and then make smart decisions once we do. Regina (Kelly) is our leader and she came up big when we needed her to.”

Kelly finished with 29 points, nine rebounds, four assists, and four blocks for Garfield (2-0). Denson had 13 points, 13 rebounds, three assists, and three steals.

Gina Pettigano was the lone Crusader to reach double-figures with 13 points. Kathy Fernandez added 10 rebounds, nine points, four assists, and three steals for Elmwood Park (1-1). Natalie Sosa chipped in with eight points and six rebounds, all of which came in the second half.

The win puts the Boilermakers at 2-0 for the first time this decade and they are shooting for berths in both the Bergen County and state tournaments.

“To be honest, we’re just tired of being mediocre,” added Kelly, a four-year starter at the point. “We think this is the year where can make the counties and the states. We have worked really hard and we want to make it pay off.”

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