Fight falls short

Salem CC women rally from 16 down in fourth quarter to get within one, but Lackawanna turns them away

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

CARNEYS POINT – Salem CC women’s coach Brian Marsh apologized in advance for bowing out of the post-game interview. He had to hustle out of the gym right after Saturday’s game to make a wedding in Wilkes-Barre.

The two-hour drive gave him time to digest the events of the previous two hours. While the 73-70 loss to Lackawanna might’ve made the ride feel like 100 miles of bad road, it would’ve been made smoother remembering the way the Mighty Oaks came back to make a game of it.

Salem rallied from 16 down with 7:09 to play to make it a one- or two-possession game in the final two and a half minutes and get within one with 4.4 seconds left on Caroline Zullo’s 3-pointer from the top of the key.

“I was proud of them,” assistant coach Kiara Eubanks said. “That’s all we ask of them is to fight hard. We just wish they could do it for four quarters instead of one quarter. We’re always fighting and will continue to fight.

“Sometimes they have a habit of giving up on themselves and they shouldn’t and then they find a spark again. I think if they didn’t give up at times they shouldn’t give up we could play a full 40 minutes of basketball.”

The rally began under some unfortunate circumstances. Freshman guard Geovanna Tjaden left the game with 7:09 left after slipping under the basket trying to grab a rebound. Lackawanna was leading 64-48 at the time, but the injury to one of their most active players seemed to get Salem going.

“That was a big influence,” Zullo said. “No one likes to see a player get hurt or go down. She’s a really good player, so seeing her go down we all had to step up, step into her shoes. She’s a 3-point shooter, so we all had to do that as well.”

“Everybody loves Gin,” Eubanks said. “She’s the type of player who pushes everybody. Frequently she gets upset with them because they don’t fight how we want them to but they love Gio. That probably could’ve (sparked) it. They wanted to fight for Gia the way she fights for them every day in practice and in the games.”

Tjaden, who had 10 points, four rebounds and three 3s when she got hurt, made her way out of the post-game locker room on crutches and said she’d be back next week.

The Mighty Oaks didn’t try to eat the elephant all at once, but rather took on the task a bite at a time.

They put together a 12-point run over the next four minutes to get within four. They cut it to two for the first time after Zullo’s steal and layup with 47.9 seconds left to play. The group on the floor making it happen were Zullo, Nyaijah Jackson, Maggie St. Clair and bigs Jakayla Jenkins and Akira Chambers.

“I think they started listening to us,” Eubanks said. “They started listening, they rebounded, they started playing together, they communicated with each other. That’s things we always ask of them, just communicate, fight for each other the way we fight for you guys. They gave more energy.”

The Falcons took the lead back to five, then Kathryn Laurence knocked down a 3 after a Zullo rebound to make it 69-67 with 12.4 left. It went back to four, then Zullo hit a 3 to make it 71-70 with 4.4 to go. It was just her fourth 3-pointer this season and sixth of her college career.

“I was very nervous because I thought they were about to steal the ball because she tipped it up,” Zullo said. “So I just grabbed it as fast as I could and I lined myself up and I shot it as fast as I could.”

Salote Franklin hit two free throws with 2.2 seconds left to make it a three-point game and Salem couldn’t get a final shot up.

Marsh has inserted Pennsville’s Zullo into the starting lineup the last two games because of the energy she brings. She had 13 points, eight rebounds, two assists and three steals against the Falcons. In her two starts she has scored 25 points on 11-of-19 shooting.

Jackson led Salem with 18 points. Lackawanna’s Franklin had a monster game with 28 points and 23 rebounds. She was 15 of 16 from the free throw line.

LACKAWANNA 73, SALEM CC 70
LACKAWANNA (9-4) – E’Ternity Aiken 1-2 3-6 5, Salote Franklin 6-17 15-16 28, Desiree White 3-10 2-2 8, Saraiah Franklin 1-7 1-2 4, Jayla South 4-13 2-3 10, Semaji Young 1-2 2-2 4, Diamond Wilson 2-4 1-2 7, Sophia Summa 0-0 0-2 0, Alania Ortiz 2-6 0-0 5, Ania Crocker 1-8 0-0 2, Kalea Ferguson 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 21-69 26-35 73.
SALEM (4-5) – Caroline Zullo 6-9 0-0 13, Maggie St. Clair 4-17 2-2 11, Geo Tjaden 3-6 1-2 10, Kathryn Laurence 5-15 0-0 12, Jakayla Jenkins 2-7 0-0 4, RayNescia King 0-3 0-0 0, Nyaijah Jackson 9-14 0-4 18, Dani Gustin 0-2 0-0 0, Akira Chambers 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 30-75 3-8 70.

Lackawanna	27	19	14	14-	73
Salem CC	19	11	16	24-	70

3-point goals: Lackawanna 5-29 (Sl. Franklin 1-5, White 0-4, Sr. Franklin 1-4, South 0-3, Young 0-1, Wilson 2-4, Ortiz 1-4, Crocker 0-4); Salem 7-21 (Zullo 1-2, St. Clair 1-6, Tjaden 3-3, Laurence 2-8, Jenkins 0-1, King 0-1). Rebounds: Lackawanna 51 (Sl. Franklin 23); Salem 36 (Zullo 8, Jenkins 7, Gustin 6). Technical fouls: Jackson. Fouled out: Jackson. Total fouls: Lackawanna 10, Salem 25.