Knights Girls Basketball Falls to Weequahic

NORTH CALDWELL - The West Essex Knights were unable to overcome a 13-0 scoring run by the Weequahic Indians late in the second half Monday in North Caldwell. The Knights fell by a score of 65-52, and with the win the Indians clinched the Super Essex Conference Championship.

"They went to the glass a lot harder, they drove [the lane] better, they got it done and we didn’t,” said Knights Head Coach Tom Kenny.

“We’re a jump shooting offense, Natalie [Cafone], Amanda [Tiritilli] and Theresa [Carnevale] are our scorers who carried us most of the season,” said Kenny. 

The Knights started fast in the first quarter when Cafone and Tiritilli among others helped produce an 11-4 scoring run with both perimeter jump shots and foul shots. Cafone and Tiritilli finished with 13 and 11 points respectively.

“Unfortunately now teams are covering them a lot better than earlier in the season,” said Kenny.

As the game was slipping out of reach for the Indians, Weequahic knew they’d have to dig deep and go on a run of their own to keep the game close. They answered by tying the game up at 15 with a 10-2 run in the last 2:54 of the first.

“We were the better team in the first half and we showed that,” said Kenny.

As the second quarter began the Knights began to once again click as an offense. Carnevale showed she can not only score from the line, but from the field as well by opening up the scoring for the Knights with a big three-pointer on her way to five second-quarter points and a game high 14. Alyssa Balz also contributed with two of her eight points in the second on route to a 26-25 Knights halftime lead.

“They played a much better second half than we did, they showed how strong and athletic they are,” said Kenny.

The Knights struggled to deal with the inside-the-paint game from Weequahic who dominated the glass aiding in a 13-0 run late in the third quarter after exchanging early blows and gave them a 51-36 lead with around six minutes to go.

“If you score 50 points in your own house you should win,” said Kenny.

The Knights tried to will themselves back into the game with inside shots from Cafone and Balz, as well as a few three pointers from Tiritilli and Carnevale, but it was too little too late for the Knights.

The loss drops the Knights to 13-6 on the year as they play Bloomfield High School Tuesday. The loss is the Knights fourth in their last five games, which is not at optimal with state sectionals just around the corner.

“We need to find our way again and we don’t have much time,” said Kenny.