It was another typical well-played game for Chatham High School (N.J.) Girl’s basketball team, as junior guard Mia Semioli led the offensive charge with 19 points and Ella Kreuzer, another junior guard, followed with14 points.
What resulted was a 52-36 Cougar (5-1) victory over Cranford (2-4) Wednesday night at home in Day 2 of the Cougar Classic Tournament.
Chatham long time head coach Joe Gaba said that they were able to beat the zone due to quality and number of outside snipers they have on the hardwood on any given night. But he did say that the Cougars do have a tendency to make one too many passes at times.
“We’re just hard to team zone because of the amount of shooters we can put on the floor,” said Gaba, who recently picked up his 500th career high school win. “Our ball movement is really, really good, but there is a moment when we can over pass, too. We overpassed and overpassed into turnovers tonight. I rather see a missed shot than a live ball turnover.”
Chatham drained four three pointers, with junior Arden Alvarez hitting two, in the first quarter to help stake it to a 18-9 advantage.
The Cougars extended their lead to 26-11 after Semioli dropped in a basket with 5:07 remaining in the second period. But Cranford scored five unanswered points to cut the deficit to ten points with 3:17 to go in the first half.
However, Chatham finished the half with four points of its own and a 29-16 lead going into the locker rooms.
The Cougars outplayed Cranford in the third period, scoring 15 points to opposition’s six, building a 44-21 advantage by the period’s end.
Both teams traded threes to open up the fourth quarter, but Semioli poured in a three- pointer that gave the Cougars a 11-point advantage with 4:20 left in the final period.
With second stringers inserted into the contest with 3:09 to go in the tilt, Chatham had done more than enough to ultimately secure the win.
The Cougars return to action Friday at 5:15 p.m. against Madison at home in Day 3 of the Cougar Classic.
— Jerry Del Priore
NY NJ Sports World/Brooklyn Sports World 