It's a Sectional Championship For Chatham's Girls

NORTH CALDWELL — For the second time in as many years, the Chatham girls basketball team knocked off West Essex for the North Jersey Section 2, Group II championship as the Cougars pulled out a 47-46 win Monday night.

This time it wasn't easy and didn't look possible until the final few seconds as junior Kelsey Davies penetrated into the paint and found sophomore Lauren Winschuh for the game-winning layup under the basket with just 17 seconds remaining.

West Essex had pushed its lead to 46-40 after junior Theresa Carnevale knocked down two free throws with 1:41 remaining.

After Windschuh drained a jumper from the corner to cut the lead to four with 1:07 left, the Cougars' full-court defense was put on full display.

The defense forced an errant pass as the Knights brought the ball up on their next possession and Chatham senior Caroline Murphy took advantage by spotting up from behind the arc to bury a three-pointer to pull the Cougars to within 46-45 with 1:07 remaining.

"Everybody was just trying to step up anyway they could," Murphy said. "I got open and someone hit me for the three and we were right back in it."

Following a timeout, the Cougars' stingy defense struck again, forcing a 10-second violation on the Knights.

The Cougars then drained the clock down by moving the ball around the perimeter. With her team needing a big play, Davies made the biggest pass of the game.

"We were battling and we were finally able to get a little full-court pressure," Chatham Head Coach Joe Gaba said. "Davies made a great pass and Winschuh with a terrific finish."

West Essex had one more chance, but senior Jennifer Weissbach's shot from beyond the arc rimmed and out and ended the Knights' chance for their first sectional title.

"I was watching and praying that the shot wouldn't go in," Chatham junior Kelsey Hart said. "When it bounced out, I was so happy."

Chatham will take on River Dell in the Group 2 semifinal on Wednesday night at Vernon Township High School at 7 p.m. River Dell won the North 1, Group II sectional title by defeating Glen Rock 34-25 on Monday night.  

The teams were originally scheduled to play Thursday at 5 p.m., but according to the Star-Ledger, a River Dell scheduling conflict caused the game to be moved up.

Chatham battled foul trouble all game long Monday. A few questionable foul calls on Hart put the senior on the bench with three of them in the middle of the second quarter. Hart would not re-enter the game until four minutes remained in the third.

Hart later fouled out with 2:03 remaining in the game. The senior was distraught by the foul calls, but felt her teammates could pull out the victory.

"I was so upset with the calls," Hart said. "I was so happy that my team was able to pull it through and win at the end. I was freaking out on the bench, but I believed in my team."

Murphy also got into early foul trouble as she missed a good chunk of the first half. Good defense and some of the other role players stepped up to allow the Cougars to remain in the game when they weren't at full strength.

Chatham trailed for most of the contest, but never fell behind by more than the six—the deficit it had to endure following free throws from Weissbach and Carnevale with just under two minutes remaining in he game.

The Cougars (25-5) trailed 20-19 at halftime after a basket by West Essex senior Jackie Branco put the Knights up by three with seven seconds remaining in the half, but sophomore Amanda Berntsen pushed the ball up the court and nailed a pull-up jumper at the buzzer to give her team some momentum heading into the break.

In the third quarter, the Cougars took a 23-22 lead after a bucket by Berntsen. That lead only lasted a few seconds as West Essex senior Jenna Sackman quickly scored at the other end.

Weissbach would go on a scoring tear for the Knights as she poured in 11 straight points to give her squad a 37-32 advantage heading into the final quarter.

That lead would bulge to 41-36 and 46-40 before the Cougars' feverish rally.

The Cougars were led by Berntsen, who scored 13. Hart chipped in with 12, while Murphy added 11 points. The consistent play of all three players was evident as each one of them registered at least one point in each quarter.

"It was a hard fought game tonight," Gaba said. "West Essex is a great program."

West Essex coach Tom Kenny was pleased with the way his team battled all game and wants his program to emulate the success that Chatham has accomplished.

"That was a great high school basketball game against the program we want to be year in and year out, challenging for a state sectional title," Kenny said.