Chatham Girls’ Basketball Survives Slugfest Against Morristown

It was a battle reminiscent of an Ali-Frazier bout, as Chatham High School (N.J.) Girl’s basketball team squared off against Morristown in a defensive clash. When the dust settled, the Cougars emerged victorious, 42-38, Friday at home.

There was not much offense to speak of in the first quarter, as both teams held each other to just four points.

But junior Ella Kreuzer opened up the second period by banging home a three pointer, that sparked an eventual 11-4 lead with 6:29 to go in the first half.

The Colonials (5-4), however, cut the advantage to 14-8 with 6:11 to go in the second quarter. But Chatham junior Arden Alvarez made it 16-8 midway through the second period. Not one to give up, Morristown kept fighting and tied the game at 16-16 with 1:32 left in the half.

But Kreuzer nailed one from downtown and junior Mia Semioli drained a buzzer-beater to end the half ahead by a score of 21-16.

Cougar head coach Joe Gaba said that Chatham (8-1) did not put fourth one of its better shooting performances in the first part of the tilt. But he did give credit to the Colonials’ defense for being disruptive all night long.

“We didn’t shoot the ball well in the first half,” Gaba said. “I felt we were a little bit rushed, but Morristown does that to you. One, they have incredible length. Two, they’re a defensive-minded team. They’re not going to score a lot, but they’re going to make you work on offense. And that’s what they did.”

Early in the second half, Colonial senior Maya Summerville scored a bucket and senior Anna Rivetti closed the gap at 21-20. But when the Cougars needed a basket, Semiloi converted a pretty reverse layup that gave Chatham a three-point lead with 5:20 left in the third period.

Ten seconds later, Summerville sliced the deficit to one point. Then Cougar senior Addison Barrett nailed a three-pointer to make it a four-point contest with a little more than four minutes to go in the third quarter.

Both teams traded baskets until the Colonials connected on one from behind the arc to trail by just one point with 3:33 remaining in the third.

Kreuzer sank both of her free throws to put Chatham up by three points. But Morristown sophomore Caroline Condon brough the game to a point again with 3:02 left in the third period.

But Cougar Junior McKenna Hogan hit one of two from the charity stripe and Kreuzer widen the gap at 33-29 with a bucket with 52.6 to go in the third quarter.

In a weird play, the refs, after a quick warning to get on the court during a timeout, let a play begin while Chatham was still on the sidelines. The Colonials proceeded to capitalize, as the Cougars’ lead was now reduced to just two points.

A veteran coach, that call left Gaba scratching his head, to say the least.

“In a game like this, you don’t do that,” Gaba incredulously said. “I’ve been coaching varsity basketball for 27 years, and in a big game, that has never happened. It was a bush league call. There was no explanation. She (the ref) wouldn’t talk to me about it.”

Not to be discouraged, though, Alvarez made good on two fouls shots for a four-point (35-31) advantage heading into the final period.

Morristown banged home a three, but Semioli answered right back with a bucket to make it a three-point tilt with 3:52 remain in the contest.

Again, Summerville kept the Colonials in the game with a basket of her own to make it 37-36 in favor Chatham.

Kreuzer connected on three of four from the foul line for a 40-36 lead with 1:03 left in the contest. But Morristown cut the advantage to two points with 34.5 ticks to go in the game.

Once again, Kreuzer drained two foul shots that eventually seal the deal for Chatham.

With the game on the line and foul shots to be made, Gaba said Kreuzer is one of two players on the squad, with Semiloi being the other, that he like to have in that situation.

“The kid has put the time in, you know? There are two (players) I want on the foul line at the end of the game,” he said, with conviction. “She’s one of them. She stepped up and made those foul shots.”

Kreuzer led all scorers with 17 points, while Semioli had 13 points and grabbed eight boards for the Cougars. Barrett contributed five points, four rebounds, two blocks and two steals.

Summerville enjoyed a double-double of 12 points and 13 boards for the Colonials.

— Jerry Del Priore