St. John Vianney Ends Lady Pioneers' Season Again

After travelling along a nearly identical path as last season en route to a and , the New Providence girls’ varsity basketball team needed the re-occurrences to come to an end last night.

Unfortunately for the Lady Pioneers, the only thing that came to an end was their season.

St. John Vianney stopped the Lady Pioneers’ campaign with a 77-32 blowout win in the first round of the NJSIAA Tournament of Champions at the Poland Spring Arena in Toms River; the Lady Lancers were responsible for ending the Lady Pioneers season last year in the same round at the same location.

The Lady Pioneers won 24 games this season and like last year, they bounced back from a Union County tournament loss by winning the North Jersey, Section 2, Group 1 state sectional title and the Group 1 state championship, setting up a repeat showdown with St. John Vianney in the Tournament of Champions. But the Lady Lancers jumped out to a 13-0 lead to quickly smother any chance New Providence had to avenge last season’s crushing defeat.

“This is a very talented team,” New Providence coach Cap Pazdera said of St. John Vianney.  “Early on, I think we were hanging with them, we had opportunities we just missed.  I think it was four or five possessions in a row where we had either a seven-foot shot or a layup that just wouldn’t fall.  We make those shots, maybe it’s a little bit different of a game.”

After the loss, senior spoke very highly of the team that had ended her team’s season two years in a row and had also just ended her high school basketball career.

“They’re a great team, there’s no denying that,” Cresencia said.  “They shoot very well, they move the ball well, they’ve been playing together since I believe fifth [or] sixth grade.  Their defense is hard to handle, and when their offense doesn’t give you many opportunities to convert in transition, it becomes a difficult game.”

The Lady Lancers forced a Tournament of Champions-record 35 turnovers last year, and while the Lady Pioneers were more careful with the ball last night, that doesn’t mean they expertly handled St. John Vianney’s speedy defense.

The Lady Pioneers struggled to bring the ball up the court against a swarming press by the Lady Lancers, and then couldn't create open shots in the half-court set as the Lady Lancers quickly closed off the passing lanes.

All season, the Lady Pioneers relied on frequent passing to get the defense out of position, but without open alleys to pass through, they had to rely on ball handling and creating off the dribble, which are not two of their strong suits. 

“We really rely on a lot of motion, and when we can’t really get the drive and kick-off or post-entries, they outmatched us size-wise, and there was a lot of mismatches,” Cresencia said.  “Unfortunately, that kind of shut down our opportunities.”

Pazdera pointed to his team’s inexperience with passing out of double teams as a reason for the stagnant offense, which didn’t score its first points until hit a baseline jumper with 1:55 left in the first.   

“The run-and-jump [defense] that [the Lady Lancers] run to perfection, if [we’re] not quick with [our] passes, if [we] don’t recognize where the double team’s coming from and then where the helper is, it’s tough, [we] turn the ball over a lot,” Pazdera said. 

Senior , who led the Lady Pioneers with 12 points, scored the last basket of the first quarter and had two drives for scores in the first 1:25 of the second to keep New Providence in the game briefly. But the Lady Lancers closed the half with a 3-pointer, three scores in the paint, and four free throws to make it 39-16 at halftime.

Gregory said that the loss wouldn’t take anything away from all that the Lady Pioneers had achieved in her four years, a sentiment echoed by both Pazdera and Cresencia.

“All the reporters have been telling me how accomplished we are so I feel that way,” Gregory said.  “Not a lot of people can come back and say ‘oh yeah, we’re Group 1 state championships back-to-back, or three state sectional, four division titles, and so on.’  These schools [like St. John Vianney], they’re here every single year, they know they’re going to come here, they know they’re going to get that ring on their finger.  We have to fight for it.”

After the Lady Lancers hit the first two baskets of the third quarter to stretch their lead, Cresencia nailed a 3-pointer and Gregory scored off an inbounds pass to make it 43-21.

Cresencia and Gregory then both assisted sophomore in the paint, but St. John Vianney still led 53-25 at the end of the third.

Pazdera said he was “blessed” to not only have players like Cresencia and Gregory, but also that they were in the same grade and could play together for four years.

“You get players like [Cresencia] and Laura once in a blue moon, and I was lucky enough to have them both at the same time in the same four-year period,” Pazdera said.  “The things that they’ve accomplished over the last four years… you can’t beat that.”

Pazdera pulled his starters in the middle of the fourth so that they could get acclaim from the New Providence fans one last time this season; in the case of Cresencia and Gregory, it was the last standing ovation of their careers.

Gregory fought back tears as she said how much her teammates and Pazdera, who she referred to as her “second Dad,” meant to her, and Cresencia called it the “ideal senior year.”

“I couldn’t have asked for not only a better season but a better group of people to share it with,” Cresencia said.  “Especially the coaches, they’re the best coaching staff in my mind because… they kept us focused no matter what situation we were in all season, and it was a blast.”