ROSELLE, NJ — The two Union County Conference girls basketball teams that finished tied for second in last year’s Watchung Division standings battled right away in Roselle on Thursday night, Dec. 19, with each team seeking to dethrone New Providence High School from the mountain as the Pioneers have won the division the past four seasons.
Cranford High School already had one game under its belt, a 51-41 loss at West Morris Mendham High School on Saturday, Dec. 14, while this was the season-opener for host Roselle Catholic High School, coming off a 15-8 campaign last year with first-year head coach Danaejah Grant.
A big part of the game plan for the visiting Cougars was to somehow limit the production of standout Jasmin McKay, one of the top seniors in all of New Jersey.
Cranford led by three at the break and then by four going into the fourth quarter. However, as good teams do at home, the Lions took control of the all-important fourth quarter and came back to win the eight minutes by an 11-point margin.
It added up, of course sparked by a game-high 31 points from McKay, to a 51-46 triumph for Roselle Catholic against Cranford in the Watchung Division opener for both.
Roselle Catholic outscored Cranford, 22-11, in the final eight minutes to erase a four-point deficit and start the season 1-0.
Cranford was lifted offensively by its standout senior, Bella Curanovic, who paced the Cougars with 25 points. Also scoring in double-digits with 15 points each were Lily Costello for Cranford and Tyonnah Barnes for Roselle Catholic.
New Providence opened on Thursday, Dec. 19, with a 54-39 home win against Elizabeth High School.
Last year’s Union County Tournament Final Four was two-time defending champion New Providence, Elizabeth, Cranford and Roselle Catholic. Elizabeth, after being swept by New Providence in Watchung Division play, defeated the Pioneers to reach the final for the first time since 2001, while Cranford downed Roselle Catholic. Elizabeth then defeated Cranford, 59-57, in overtime in the final to claim the crown for the first time since 1997.
McKay scored at least 30 points for the fifth time in her four varsity seasons. She netted 32 in a game her freshman year and scored 31, 30 and a career-high 33 during her junior campaign a year ago.
The 33 points she scored came in Roselle Catholic’s final victory last year, a 58-40 win against Plainfield High School in a UCT quarterfinal-round game played at Rahway High School’s Earl H. Walter Gymnasium.
Cranford head coach Allison Skrec graduated from Roselle Catholic in 2010 as her school’s all-time leading girls scorer with 1,338 points. McKay is closing in on that mark.
With 419 points her freshman season, 444 her sophomore campaign and 402 last year, McKay entered her senior season this year with 1,265 points. The 31 she poured in against Cranford put her at 1,296.
Rosselle Catholic was scheduled to play at Elizabeth on Saturday, Dec. 21, before competing during the holiday break.
Roselle Catholics’s first game in January is Scotch Plains–Fanwood High School at home on Saturday, Jan. 4, at 1 p.m.
While McKay is approaching Skrec’s team mark, Curanovic, also a four-year varsity starter, is coming up on 1,000 points. She began her senior season this year with 816 points and had 39 through two games for a total of 855 after the Roselle Catholic contest.
Cranford was scheduled to play at Roselle, now coached by Ashley Washington, on Monday morning, Dec. 23, before three games in four days at High School: vs. Madison High School on Friday, Dec. 27, vs. Chatham on Saturday, Dec. 28, and vs. Oak Knoll School of the Holy Child on Monday, Dec. 30.
Cranford’s first scheduled game in January is Elizabeth at home on Friday, Jan. 3, at 5:30 p.m.
Cougar Classic at Chatham
Friday, Dec. 27: Cranford vs. Madison, 3:30 p.m.
Saturday, Dec. 28: Cranford vs. Chatham, 6:15 p.m.
Monday, Dec. 30: Cranford vs. Oak Knoll, 3:30 p.m.