March 3, 2010
Gill carries short-handed Falcons
Holy Family's Christina Gill (right) scored 16 of her 35 points in the fourth quarter.
Click Here for photos from Marist at Holy Family.
By Jason Bernstein
Editorial Director
BAYONNE – All season long Holy Family has relied upon the one-two inside combination of Diane Forker and Christina Gill to do the heavy lifting on offense. With Forker and guard Kaydee Murphy sidelined with injuries, the Falcons would need Gill to take her game to a new level.
The senior forward responded with the biggest game of her career, finishing with 35 points and 18 rebounds as Holy Family outlasted Marist 71-61 in the first round of the NJSIAA Non-Public, North B tournament.
“(Christina) knew she had to be the go-to player,” head coach Pat Longo said. “She’s had a great season, but I think today she stepped up big with one of the best games I’ve ever seen her play.”
“There’s always a little bit of pressure to step up and lead by example,” said Gill. “But today there was a little bit extra.”
In a wild contest between the in-town rivals, Gill provided some much-needed stability for the sixth-seeded Falcons (18-3). With her team clinging to a two-point lead early in the fourth quarter, Gill scored nine unanswered points in a span of three minutes. Her three free throws with 4:38 left made it 60-49 and essentially put the game away.
She connected on 12-of-16 foul shots in a 16-point fourth-quarter performance. Gill also pulled down six rebounds in the final period.
“That was a big second half for me and the team as a whole,” Gill said. “I don’t think I’ve ever had a stretch like that, but I’m really glad I had the opportunity to do that.
“I knew I was on foul-shot wise, but other than that I was just playing my game. I’m really proud of the way everyone stepped up.”
Gill would have 26 points in the second half, but she was hardly the only player to step up for the Falcons. While big offensive numbers from Gill is a constant, the outbursts by Caroline Silva and Dominique Gallo came as a pleasant and much-needed surprise.
“They just had to step up,” Longo said about her team. “They knew they had to play. They knew these players were out and it was time for them to play big and they really did. They came together as a team and I’m really happy for them.”
Pressed into the starting lineup due to the injuries, Gallo and Silva provided an offensive boost early on. The duo combined for 11 points in the opening period as the Falcons raced out to a 20-12 lead.
The little-used Silva broke out with 15 points and six rebounds. Gallo, normally a source of defense and toughness off the bench, had seven first-half points (eight total) and seven rebounds.
“I was nervous going in,” said Silva. “But after the first shot, I kind of got my head into the game and I was okay.”
“It’s a matter of having confidence in them,” Longo said. “They practice hard all the time. It’s a matter of them stepping up. You wait, you’re patient, your time comes and their time came.”
The 11th-seeded Royal Knights (15-9) wouldn’t go down quietly. Trailing for virtually the entire game, Marist pulled to within one when point guard Ashley Vazquez scored six straight points in a span of 50 seconds midway through the third.
Desiree Denmark closed out the period with six points and a steal in the final minute. Denmark assisted on Vazquez’s layup which made it 51-49 early in the fourth.
It would be as close as Marist would get due to the toxic combination of Gill and foul trouble. Vazquez, who scored 11 of her team-high 20 points in the second half, fouled out with 5:43 left in the game.
“(Not only do) we lose a ball-handler, but we lose one of our better shooters as well,” Marist coach Damel Ling said. “That hurts us.”
It was a loss the Royal Knights would struggle to recover from as the next four offensive possessions ended with turnovers. Denmark (16 points, 11 rebounds, eight steals) and Antoinette Blake (18 points, 19 rebounds) would also foul out in the game’s final minute.
Beat up, but not beaten, Holy Family will travel to North Haledon to face third-seeded Eastern Christian in Thursday’s second round.
Ashley Vazquez scored nine of her 20 points in the third quarter for Marist.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marist Royal Knights (15-9) | 12 |
18 |
18 |
13 |
61 |
| Holy Family Falcons (18-3) | 20 |
13 |
18 |
20 |
71 |
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| Holy Family: Gill 18 rebounds, 4 assists; Gallo 7 rebounds; Silva 6 rebounds; Sysak 5 rebounds; Brummer 4 assists, 4 rebounds. Marist: Blake 19 rebounds; Denmark 11 rebounds, 8 steals, 4 assists, 4 blocks; Vazquez 5 steals, 4 assists. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||