Monday, February 21, 2011

By Rich Barton
NJS.com Staff Writer

Luisa Montalvo scored 15 points and was one of four Bayonne players to finish in double digits in the Bees' 54-38 win over Holy Family in the Hudson County Tournament semifinals.

JERSEY CITY – When it comes to a team navigating its way through a county tournament, it is not always about peaking at the right time. It is also about finding a way to keep the ship afloat when things are not going nearly as planned. Bayonne has not had to worry much about that too much recently as it they ripped through the county tournament the past two years and had no trouble in each of its two Hudson County Tournament games this season.

But if the Bees were caught looking ahead to a potential rematch with a North Bergen team that beat them a few days ago or an action-packed game against Secaucus, they were quickly brought back to reality by a cross-town foe they handled easily in the regular-season.

Holy Family hung around well into the third quarter before Bayonne’s pace finally wore it down. Tara Flynn’s 3-pointer to close out the third quarter put the top-seeded Bees ahead by double-digits and they never looked back in a 54-38 win over Holy Family, the No. 5 seed, in Sunday’s HCT semifinal round at the Yanitelli Center on the campus of St. Peter’s College.

“It definitely wasn’t our best effort, but we woke up in the second half,” said Bayonne head coach Jaime Turner. “Holy Family was just beating us at our game for most of the first half. Forcing some turnovers before the half and getting some easy baskets gave us a lift, but I’m disappointed at the way we came out after a tough loss against North Bergen and we fortunately woke up in the second half.”

Holy Family hung tough for most of the game.

In their first meeting, Bayonne led wire-to-wire in a 72-44 romp. But Holy Family was without center Diane Forker, who was clearly a factor the second time around. She hit an elbow jumper late in the first quarter to give the Falcons their first lead and hit another to put them ahead with just over three minutes to go in the second quarter, 16-14.

But Bayonne responded with the most crucial run of the game with Luisa Montalvo hitting a pair of baskets during a 10-2 run to end the half and put Bayonne ahead to stay 24-18.

“I tried to be more aggressive in getting into their zone and getting to the basket,” said Bayonne guard Luisa Montalvo. “I think we were still getting over the North Bergen game, but we had to get over it quick. The second half, we were more like the Bayonne team we’ve been all season and things started clicking for us.”

Kerrie Kosakowski nailed a three-pointer on the first possession of the second half, and the Bees quickly moved ahead by 11. Holy Family got a big game from Dominique Gallo and she drilled a three-pointer to cut the lead down to five, 33-28. The Bees answered back emphatically by scoring on consecutive possessions. Lisa Rovatsos scored on a driving layup and then Flynn nailed a rainbow three-pointer to bump the lead back up to 10 by the end of the third quarter.

“We had a shot there, but we couldn’t get those key defensive stops,” said Holy Family head coach Pat Longo. “I thought we played well in the first half, we just couldn’t get anything going in the second half. We gave them a run for their money for a while, but we couldn’t sustain our level of play against their pressure in the second half and we eventually wore down.”

Kerrie Kosakowski and Bayonne will face North Bergen for the county title next Saturday.

Rovatsos finished with team-highs of 16 points and 11 rebounds for Bayonne (22-2), who had four players in double-figures. Montalvo had 15 points, Flynn 13, and Kosakowski 10.

Gallo had a game-high 15 rebounds to go with a season-high 13 points for Holy Family (14-7). Forker added 14 points and eight boards.

Bayonne will not have to wait long for its rematch with North Bergen. The two will meet for the Hudson County title next Saturday at 7:00, also at St. Peter’s College. A win there would give the Bees a three-peat and put them into a special place in the history of Hudson County basketball, something the Bayonne players understand all too well.

“Anytime you get to a county final, especially when you have a chance to do what we can, you have to be pretty excited,” said Bayonne guard Luisa Montalvo. “We’re really pumped up to get another shot at North Bergen with everything on the line. North Bergen is just like us and you have to give them credit because they just outplayed us the first time. We know even more what to expect now from them and no doubt we’re going to be ready.”

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