February 26, 2012

Breana Bey (21) and her teammates celebrate their 2012 Hudson County championship. (Photo: Jason Bernstein)

Bayonne vs Lincoln Girls Basketball Photo Gallery

JERSEY CITY – There seemed to be little doubt who was No. 1 in Hudson County after Lincoln was dismantled by Bayonne back on Jan . 12.

But when those Lions boarded back on the bus home to Jersey City, they were confident they'd get a chance at redemption.

Lincoln would get that second opportunity and after a stunning 59-51 win over the three-time defending champions in the finals of the Hudson County Tournament, the Lions can now make their claim as being No. 1.

"When we lost to Bayonne that night we knew for a fact that we were going to face them again and next time we are going to be ready," junior guard Chaniyah Swan said. "(We felt mentally) we're going to win today. We spoke it into existence. There was no doubt in our mind that we could do it, none at all."

"We had a game that wasn't the Lincoln High School I had been familiar with," head coach Tom Best said. "It stuck in their heads for a long time and they wanted to redeem that loss."

In the first matchup between these teams a little more than six weeks ago, the Bees (22-4) scored 21 of the first 25 points to essentially end the game in the first quarter. So when top-seeded Bayonne opened last night's title game with a 16-5 lead in the first minute of the second quarter, there was a sense of history repeating itself.

Second-seeded Lincoln (22-3) had other ideas.

The Lions embarked on a 16-3 run to take its first lead of the night on an old-fashioned three-point play from Breana Bey and went into the half tied at 25-all.

"We went down again, we could have gave up," Best said. "Bayonne's stigma is they get you down and they don't let you back up. We came back and it was a total team effort."

"We were never worried," Timiah Calamito said. "We were never worried. We stayed together the entire game."

Lincoln would pull away with a 10-0 run midway through the third quarter. Calamito broke the 27-all deadlock with a drive to the hoop to jumpstart the surge, capped off with her assists on a Swan 3-pointer.

"We didn't come here with our minds' set to lose," said sophomore guard Shekinah Suber. "We came here to win and that's what we did."

Calamito, the lone Lions senior had been wilted under the heat of Bayonne's pressure defense in the first game, but overcame a shaky start and was nearly flawless at the point over the final three quarters.

"I handled their pressure," said Calamito, calling it the 'happiest day of my life.' "I stayed in the game. I stay focused and I didn't get frustrated."

With Calamito  six points, seven assists) playing mistake-free, fellow guards Swan (11 points, three 3-pointers) and Suber (12 points) hitting shots from the perimeter along with Bey (17 points, 15 rebounds) and freshman Kiante Johnson (13 points, eight rebounds) controlling the paint, Lincoln would never lose that lead.

"The first time we played them we played with our 'C' game," Calamito said. "Today we came with our 'A' game. We really wanted to win this."

Bayonne would cut the lead to three, but a baseline drive from Calamito and a transition layup from Suber with 51 seconds would put the game on ice.

The Bees were led by a game-high 24 points from Lisa Rovatsos, who hit four 3-pointers in the loss. Alex Fajardo added 14 points and nine rebounds.

Both teams will now move on to the state playoffs on Tuesday. Lincoln, the No. 2 seed in the North 2, Group II bracket, will host in-city rival Snyder. Bayonne, the No. 1 seed in the North 2, Group IV bracket, is home to face Sayerville.

Bayonne's Alex Fajardo (left) looks to pass around Lincoln's Kiante Johnson. (Photo: Jason Bernstein)

Bayonne vs Lincoln Girls Basketball Photo Gallery