Hart Leads Chatham to First Round Victory in States

Chatham junior Kelsey Hart generally helps her team win with her well-balanced offensive and defensive attack. Tuesday night, she dominated all areas of the game, scoring 20 points and collecting seven rebounds, in the Lady Cougars' 58-37 first round state tournament win over Cliffside Park.

"We came out and we played strong right from the get go, which is what we wanted to do," said Chatham Head Coach Joe Gaba. "Fortunately, we were able to establish an early lead."

The 22-5 Cougars outscored the Raiders 14-2 in the first quarter, and Hart scored eight of her 20 points in the period.

"I thought we did good moving the ball in the first half, offensively," she said. "We had a very good transition game."

Cliffside Park senior Maria Suarez helped keep the Raiders in the game by putting up 10 points in the second quarter alone, but her effort wasn't enough to keep her team in the game. Chatham continued its offensive attack with quality passing and smart shooting by Hart, sophomore Amanda Berntsen and junior Kelsey Davies. The Cougars went into halftime up 29-13.

"We were a little intimidated in that first half and it was obvious by the score," said Cliffside Park Head Coach Larry Pinto.  "They are a fundamentally sound team, with a high basketball IQ."

In the third quarter, both Hart and Berntsen had big three-point plays, as each drove to the hoop, hit their shots, drew the foul and sunk subsequent free throws. Berntsen scored 16 points on the night.

Suarez scored all of her team's 12 third-quarter points.

"She was great," said Hart. "It was really hard to defend her. She was really good in backing up into you and getting the ball in the basket."

The Raiders played their toughest basketball in the fourth quarter, where they were only outscored 14-12. This was in part because a few other players contributed offensively besides just Suarez, who impressively scored 31 of her team's 37 points on the night. 

"[Suarez] is awesome," said Pinto. "I wish I had her next year and I wish everyone had her energy, toughness, and work ethic."

Chatham will play its next state tournament game this Thursday at home in the second round of the North Jersey, Section 2, Group 2 state tournament.

"I am really excited," said Hart. "Hopefully this win will give us momentum and we can go on a winning streak and do well in the tournament."