Wednesday,
January 27, 2016
By Rich Barton
NJS.com Staff Writer
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Samantha Tello (15) with her mother and head coach Joella Pounds, scored the 1,000th point of her career and had the game-winning assist in St. Mary's 57-56 overtime victory at Becton on Tuesday. |
EAST RUTHERFORD – Going into Tuesday night’s game against Becton, St. Mary’s Samantha Tello knew that she had the chance to do something special. Needing just 11 points to reach 1,000 for her career, Tello needed less than a half to achieve that milestone. But it was just the tip of the iceberg in a thrilling game that saw many twists and turns before Tello had the ball in her hands with time winding down in overtime and the game on the line.
Although she is known more for her scoring exploits, Tello also showed how dangerous she can be distributing the ball. She tossed a perfect lob pass to Nicole Lucainin for the go-ahead layup with 10 seconds remaining in overtime to give St. Mary a huge 57-56 triumph over Becton on the road in East Rutherford.
“We’re not the type of team that is going to blow out anyone so this is senior group is used to playing in close games,” said St. Mary’s head coach Joella Pounds. “They kept their composure on the floor better than I did on the sidelines today. When you have seniors like Samamtha and Makiela [Walker], who are great leaders, we feel confident that we can find a way to win at the end.”
Playing on its home floor, Becton got off to fast start. Skyla King scored all of her season-high seven points in the first three minutes of the game with her layup capping a 9-2 run to open the game. That proved to be the biggest lead of the game by either team.
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Becton's Sam Stallone was dominant in the paint, finishing with game-highs of 25 points and 16 rebounds. |
After a slow start, the Gaels on track due to a big spark off the bench from freshman guard Janea Kelty. She scored three straight baskets to get St. Mary within striking distance before Tello reached her milestone and gave her team the lead with one shot. Her deep 3-pointer from the wing put Tello at exactly 1,000 points for her career and got the St. Mary’s faithful on their feet for a standing ovation.
“It was great to score my 1,000th point in a big game like this, but getting the win was really all I was worried about,” said Tello. “There’s always pressure in a game like this. I think we kept our focus on getting a score and then a stop on defense.”
When the euphoria faded from the photo-op with her mom and Pounds, Tello had given her team its first lead, 29-27, with 2:30 to play in the half.
Becton regained a one-point lead by halftime. To show how close this game was, through the entire second half and overtime period it was a one-possession game for all but 10 seconds.
Tello and Walker carried the load for the Gaels, but Becton responded by using its size advantage inside to match them. Walker’s free throw put the Gaels in front, but the lead lasted only a few seconds. Senior forward Sam Stallone dominated the paint all game and scored on a putback of her own miss to give Becton a 47-46 lead with 2:56 left.
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Senior Makiela Walker had 15 points for
St. Mary, which improved to 9-3. |
“We have a few seniors and we tried to stay under control,” said Walker. “We want to stay close and compete for a league title so we knew we had to have this game. “Every possession was important and we stayed focused.”
Stephanie Mitarotonda’s lone field goal, a 3-pointer from the corner, bumped the Wildcats’ lead up to four, 50-46, with 1:35 to play. Ten seconds later Walker hit a pair of free throws, but the Gaels were still trailing. After two wild sequences with a pair of hustle plays by Kelty, the Gaels got the ball back with one last chance to force overtime. Tello did just that by splitting a pair of defenders and pulling up for an elbow jumper with 11 seconds remaining to tie the game at 50.
Stallone kept her torrid play going with a spinning layup with 1:35 to play in the extra session to give Becton a two-point lead. It lasted just 12 seconds with Walker answering on a 3-pointer from the top of the key to put the Gaels back in front, 55-54.
Once again, Stallone got position inside to grab a rebound and lay it back in with 21 seconds remaining for a 56-55 Becton lead. Tello knew that the next possession would likely be St. Mary’s last. With the defense focused on getting the ball out of her hands, she made sure to scan the floor and wait for the perfect opening.
With the Wildcats coming out in zone pressure, Lucainin snuck behind the defense and Tello lofted a perfect pass to the block for a left-handed layup with 10 seconds left and a 57-56 lead. Becton had one last chance but a turnaround jumper was off the mark and the Gaels survived with a win that kept them one game one out of first place in the NJIC-Meadowlands Division.
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Sam Frola finished 10 points, five rebounds, three blocks, and two steals for Becton, which fell to 8-4 on the season. |
“I know that Nicole always makes the left-handed layup from that block and I just got her the ball,” added Tello.
Tello led the way for St. Mary’s (9-3) with 18 points and eight assists. Walker finished with 15 points and Kelty added 13 points to go with four rebounds and two steals.
Stallone led all players with 25 points and 16 rebounds for Becton (8-4). Frontcourt mate Sam Frola added 10 points, five rebounds, three blocks, and two steals.
St. Mary’s is No. 4 seed in the inaugural NJIC Tournament that starts this weekend and Becton is seeded eighth, so the two teams could potentially meet in the semifinals. But for now the Gaels are focused on getting another shot at division-leading Hasbrouck Heights and keeping their winning ways going.
“It’s a huge win to keep pace in the league with Hasbrouck Heights coming up next week,” said Tello. “This was a pretty crazy game and it is definitely a game I’ll always remember.”
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