Girls Basketball

February 20, 2010

Bayonne advances to HCT semifinals

Kerrie Kosakowski Bayonne

Junior forward Kerrie Kosakowski had 11 points and eight rebounds for the Bees.

Click Here for photos from St. Dominic Academy at Bayonne.

By Jason Bernstein
Editorial Director

BAYONNE – As winners of last year’s HCIAA Coviello championship and finalists in 2008, the Bees are used to the pressures of playoff basketball.

That experience proved pivotal for top-seeded Bayonne as they survived a second-half scare to knock off eighth-seeded St. Dominic Academy 49-33 yesterday in the quarterfinals of the Hudson County Tournament.

“Experience definitely helps because if you don’t have it then you’re going in there not knowing what to do,” said senior point guard Samantha Maggio.

“We always have to be the same team as last year because we have a target on our backs. We always have to come in with intensity and realize that no one’s going to step in and just let us go.”

“When you’ve got two good seniors in Connie Hayes and Maggio, who know how to play calm, that was the key to the game,” St. Dominic Academy coach Reggie Quinn said. “When we made our run at them, they settled them down”

The Bees (18-4) showed why they were the top seed in the tournament early on with a dominant opening half, but late in the third quarter their lead dwindled from 15 points to six after a 10-1 Blue Devil (11-9) run.

An old-fashioned 3-point play from Tavia Watkins in the opening minute of the fourth quarter made it 35-28 and with momentum clearly in their favor, the Blue Devils and their vocal faithful were thinking comeback.

But as the game was reaching a critical state, Bayonne showed why they are the defending champs. Connie Hayes delivered baskets on consecutive possessions, the second one coming on a steal and uncontested layup, to make it an 11-point lead. Lisa Rovatsos then responded to a SDA bucket with four straight points and preserve the Bees’ trip to the semifinals.

“Connie hit some big shots,” Turner said. “She had a couple of good steals. The pressure defense, she turned the girl (she was guarding) over twice in a row.”

“Playing from behind, it’s tough to catch up in these games,” Quinn said. “We came out in the second half strong, but we just couldn’t maintain it and they made big plays down the stretch.”

Hayes and Rovatsos had 15 points apiece to lead the way for a Bayonne team which took control from the opening tip.

Hayes opened with a trey from the left corner and would add another long-range dagger as the Bees scored the game’s first 12 points.

On defense Bayonne forced four turnovers in the opening quarter and held the Blue Devils scoreless until Bria Smith’s basket with seven second left in the period.

“It’s not that we weren’t ready for them,” Quinn said. “We knew what they were going to do and they knew what we were going to do. We couldn’t buy a basket.”

St. Dominic Academy, which missed its first 11 shots, was limited to just eight points in the opening half. Smith was the lone Blue Devil to score in double-figures, finishing with 11 points (seven in the second half) and 12 rebounds.

Junior Kerry Kosawkowski had 11 points and eight rebounds for Bayonne and Rovatsos added nine rebounds, just missing out on a double-double.

With the victory, the Bees will advance to face Tuesday’s semifinals to be held at St. Peter’s College. They will face the winner of tonight’s matchup between No. 4 seed Marist and No. 5 seed St. Anthony.

While Turner will “take an ugly win over a pretty win,” he knows that his team will need to show more consistency and handle the pressure situations to win the county tournament and make an impact in next month’s state playoffs.

“This is not the first or last time that we’ll see pressure like that,” Turner said. “The girls have to stay composed. We weathered the storm and we won by 16.”

Bria Smith St. Dominic Academy

Bria Smith (right) had 11 points for SDA. Lisa Rovatsos (left) scored 15 points.

  1 2 3 4 Total
St. Dominic Academy Blue Devils (11-9)
2
6
17
8
33
Bayonne Bees (18-4)
12
10
11
16
49
St. Dominic Academy   Bayonne
  2s 3s 1s Pts
Bria Smith
5
0
1
11
Ariana Nieves
0
0
0
0
Kierstyn Callahan
0
2
0
6
Kathryn Hussey
0
0
0
0
Alyssa Romano
3
0
0
6
Brianna Daly
0
0
0
0
Shannon Hood
0
0
0
0
Natalia Ortega
1
1
0
5
Tavia Watkins
2
0
1
5
Sarah Tapia
0
0
0
0
Sandra Montalvo
0
0
0
0
Total
11
3
2
33
 
  2s 3s 1s Pts
Samantha Maggio
0
0
0
0
Lisa Rovatsos
6
0
3
15
Kerrie Kosakowski
1
0
9
11
Connie Hayes
2
3
2
15
Tara Flynn
1
0
0
2
Kaitlin Gallagher
1
1
1
6
Luisa Montalvo
0
0
0
0
Total
11
4
15
49
 
 
 
 
     
Bayonne: Rovatsos 9 rebounds; Kosakowski 8 rebounds; Flynn 7 rebounds, 4 assists; Maggio 6 assists, 4 steals; Hayes 4 rebounds, 4 steals. St. Dominic Academy: Smith 12 rebounds; Romano 6 rebounds; Hood 5 rebounds; Daly 4 rebounds.