February 23, 2012

Lincoln's Breana Bey (right) goes up for the second quarter shot. She finished with 20 points. (Photo: Jason Bernstein)

Lincoln vs Secaucus Girls Basketball Photo Gallery

JERSEY CITY – In a season where Breana Bey has averaged 24 points per game, you would think there'd be little left she could do to surprise her Lincoln teammates. But in the fourth quarter of the Lions' biggest game of the season, the junior forward would do just that.

Bey, one of the area's top scorers around the basket, hit a few critical mid-range shots in a 10-point fourth quarter to help lead Lincoln back from a 13-point deficit to defeat Secaucus 47-46 in the semifinals of the Hudson County Tournament last night at the Yanitelli Center.

"I had to start shooting jump shots," said Bey, who said she had never had a streak like that from the perimeter. "I had no other option."

Facing double teams most of the night and her team trailing by six entering the fourth, Bey started to take advantage of the openings away from the basket, opening the period with a pair of jumpers near the foul line to cut the deficit to two.

"Everybody thinks Breana is a low post player," head coach Tom Best said. "She carried us and she's a prime time player. They had a double-team on her. They didn't want Breana to beat us, but we ran something where she could move a little bit and she got open and hit those jump shots."

"I was really impressed, really impressed," teammate Chaniyah Swan said. "She normally doesn't take those shots."

Shekinah Suber drained a pair of long two-pointers from the wing to tie the game at 37- and 39-all. Bey then powered through a double team and find Kiante Johnson for a layup to give Lincoln (21-3) its first lead since the first quarter and would bury a baseline jumper to make to make it 43-39.

Third-seeded Secaucus (22-4) would regain the lead at 46-45 with a bank shot from Andie Lennon and a fastbreak layup  from Kendall Caruso, but Bey would have one last big shot in her. Swan found Bey on a cut for a layup and the deciding basket with 1:43 left. It was the 14th point of the second half and the 20th on the night for Bey.

"We did a great job on Bey in the first half. Then in the fourth quarter she decided to just take those shots when she had it," Secaucus head coach John Sterling said. "She's good so we didn't expect her not to score. She's obviously going to get her points."

The Patriots would have two late chances to tie or win the game, but missed a pair of free throws with 10.5 seconds left and a shot at the buzzer from Ariana Simon took an unfriendly bounce off the backboard, sending Lincoln to its second county final in three seasons.

"It shows that we have what it takes (to win)," Swan said about the comeback. "We have the potential, all we have to do is reach it."

"I don't know what to say," Bey added. "It's just a miracle."

At the half, it seemed the second-seeded Lions might need divine intervention to mount such a comeback. Lincoln had raced out to a 10-0 lead, but the third-seeded Patriots responded by scoring 30 of the next 36 points.

Caruso was lights out with five 3-pointers during the 10-minute surge, sending Secaucus into the half with a 30-18 lead and leaving the favorites from Jersey City reeling.

"Things didn't look good," Best said. "But we just said 'let's chip away at it.'"

Lincoln would do just that, thanks in large part to a pressure defense which forced 14 second half turnovers, including five on five-second violations.

"They couldn't get into their sets and it kind of rejuvenated us a little bit because we got a couple of five-second calls," Best said. "It was big."

"We did not handle their pressure well and we've handled pressure well all year long," Sterling said. "Give them the credit, their guards denied up front a caused a lot of havoc. We like a fast-paced game, but it became a hectic game for us and that was a bad situation."

Point guard Timiah Calamito scored all five her points and had six of her eight assists in the second half for Lincoln. Suber had eight points (six in the second half) and Johnson finished with nine points and eight rebounds.

Caruso finished with a career-high 17 points for Secaucus. Lennon also had 17 points and Julia McClure had seven rebounds and five assists.

With the win, Lincoln will get another shot at top-seeded Bayonne in Saturday's championship game at 5:30 p.m.

Secaucus freshman Kendall Caruso hit five 3-pointers and scored a career-high 17 points. (Photo: Jason Bernstein)

Lincoln vs Secaucus Girls Basketball Photo Gallery