St. Clair’s layup gives Salem CC women the lead, then they hold on as Essex had two chances to win but couldn’t beat the clock for the game-winner.
By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News
NEWARK – The Salem CC women’s basketball team kept its drive for a playoff berth on track Saturday thanks in part to one of the basic rules of the game. Good thing for the Mighty Oaks college games are 40 minutes long, not 40 minutes and one second.
The Mighty Oaks got back to .500 for the fourth time this season Saturday with a 76-75 win over Essex CC. The Wolverines played beat the clock and the Mighty Oaks won.
Sophomore guard Maggie St. Clair got a steal and layup with 30 seconds left to give Salem the lead and the Mighty Oaks held their collective breath as the Wolverines had an open look for the win but couldn’t get it off before the horn.
“Another second we would’ve lost,” Salem coach Brian Marsh said. “We’ve had some of those games where they went the other way, so it’s really nice to be on this end of it.”
The Mighty Oaks could never shake their hosts. They led by four at halftime and would go up eight to 10 points and the 3-9 Wolverines would keep coming back.
There was relatively speaking a lot of time left after St. Clair put the Mighty Oaks ahead. Essex brought it back down and missed a shot. The Mighty Oaks rebounded with five seconds left and called time to get the ball to midcourt. It looked like it was over there.
But Caroline Zullo got into the backcourt on the inbounds play giving Essex the ball at midcourt with one last chance. The Mighty Oaks trapped the shooter in the corner and forced her to take an off-balance 3-pointer that went long.
The Wolverines caught the rebound wide open on the other side, but horn went off before they could get off the putback.
St. Clair finished with 20 points. Kathryn Laurence erupted for a career-high 26 on the strength of dix 3-pointers, tying her career high a career-high. She had been 1-for-7 behind the arc in each of her previous two games.
“Kathryn was lights out,” Marsh said. “The last couple games she’s really struggled shooting. I told her before, you’re a shooter, you’re going to make it; you’re going to get hot.
“It’s just a confidence thing with her. We’ve been working with her. She hit the first one and it kind of got her going. She was just really looking for her shot. And the couple 2s she hit I think her foot was on the line. She was really going.”
The win brought the Mighty Oaks to 8-8 with eight games to play so they’ll have to go at least 4-4 down the stretch to make the playoffs. Teams either .500 overall or .500 in Region XIX make it to the postseason.
“We know what’s at stake here, but I am trying to take it one game at a time,” Marsh said. “You can’t make the playoffs all in one game. We’re just trying to take it one game at a time and this isa huge one on the road.
“As I told them, they came to our place and got a win, so now it’s our turn to go to their place and get a win, and that’s exactly what we did.”
Just in the nick of time.
SALEM CC 76, ESSEX CC 75
SALEM CC (8-8) – Kathryn Laurence 10 0-0 26, Jakayla Jenkins 1 5-7 7, Maggie St. Clair 9 0-0 20, Caroline Zullo 3 0-0 7, Nyaijah Jackson 4 1-2 9, Dani Gustin 1 0-0 2, Akira Chambers 2 1-4 5, RayNescia King 0 0-0 0, Alexa Hopkins 0 0-0 0. Totals 30 7-13 76.
ESSEX CC (3-9) – Natalie Fonseca 0 3-3 3, Kaheema McDonald 0 2-2 2, MiaMarie Thomas 1 0-0 2, Jakira Coar 11 0-0 26, Katherinne Avecillas 4 0-0 10, Basirat Animashaun 3 1-1 7, Michelle Hernandez 4 0-0 8, Mya Jackson 0 0-0 0, Kayley Lynch 4 9-9 17. Totals 27 15-15 75.
| Salem CC | 27 | 17 | 15 | 17- | 76 |
| Essex CC | 23 | 18 | 18 | 19- | 75 |
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