Girls basketball: Bound Brook falls to University in Group I final

TOMS RIVER – The Bound Brook High School girls basketball team knew exactly what it would be up against heading into Sunday’s NJSIAA Group I final in a University team that had lost just twice this year and was ranked in the Top 10 in the state. And though the Crusaders were able to stay with the Phoenix for most of the first half, in the end, University’s length, athleticism and hot hand from long range sent Bound Brook home with a 73-37 loss at RWJBarnabas Health Arena.

Sophomore Cameron Ward led the way for the Crusaders, tallying 20 points and eight rebounds, but with no other Bound Brook player scoring in double digits -- Julia Nilsen netted seven – there wasn’t much the Crusaders could do to stay with a club that shot 10-of-15 from beyond the 3-point arc.

“We figured if we could take them off the boards and making them make shots (we had a chance),” Bound Brook coach Jen Derevjanik said. “But they made a lot of shots today, which is unfortunate for us. But we had so much trouble scoring.”

READ: Rutgers Prep stunned by Saddle River Day in Non-Public B girls basketball final

“We were definitely really excited and we wanted it, but the atmosphere is just different every year,” said junior Cortlyn Morris, whose team fell to University in the 2016 final before avenging that setback last year. “We wanted it, but you could tell they really wanted it after them coming back last year as the defending champs and now us being (the defending champ). We knew it was going to be intense, which it definitely was. The first half was close, but it’s hard to keep that pace.”

Bound Brook was just 11-for-48 from the field, committing 29 turnovers, while shooting 4-of-15 from 3-point territory, but trailed just 16-12 after one quarter and remained in striking distance at halftime, down 33-22.

But University kicked into high gear after intermission, using a 14-2 third-quarter run to pull away, putting the finishing touches on it with a 9-1 run early in the fourth.

The loss marked Bound Brook’s lowest scoring output of the season, and though the Crusaders were heavy underdogs and the result wasn’t a surprise to most observers, there are still regrets for a team that always remains hungry, despite its success, and whose toughest critic is itself.

“I felt like we should have hustled more,” Ward said. “We didn’t play like we usually do. We could have done better on both sides of the court.”

“There’s always something you could have improved on,” Morris said. “A couple of lapses on defense where we left them open and they capitalized on it. It’s just things we need to work on to keep our game the best it can be, but I do think everyone worked hard today.”

The good news is Bound Brook returns most of its core next season. Point guard Jordan Todaro graduates, as does Vicki Triana, but there’s more than enough returning to again make the Crusaders the overwhelming favorite in the Skyland Conference Mountain Division and in their state section next year, as well as a contender in Group I.

For now, the Crusaders can reflect on a season that turned out better than most expected after it graduated the best player in program history last June in Janee’a Summers, who is now playing for the University of Maryland-Baltimore County. Bound Brook finishes 25-4 with all four of its losses coming to elite programs, winning its third straight conference and third consecutive sectional crown.

“I’m just so proud of these girls,” Derevjanik said. “I don’t know if anyone thought we’d be back here from last year after losing what we lost (to graduation). I’m probably going to be sad for a few days -- or maybe longer, because I like to win -- but when you look back at our season, how can I not be so proud of them?”

Simeon Pincus can be reached at CNGirlsHoops@aol.com. Follow him on Twitter @SimeonPincus and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/SimeonPincusCN

BOUND BROOK (25-4) 12-10-7-8 -- 37
UNIVERSITY (30-2) 16-17-18-22 -- 73
INDIVIDUAL SCORING:
UNIV – Robinson 4-(2)-4-18, Ortiz 4-(3)-1-18, Powell 2-0-4, Tam. Johnson 0-(3)-0-9, Tara Johnson 4-(1)-2-13, Joseph 1-0-2, Holmes 2-0-4, Tucker 1-(1)-0-5. Totals: 18-(10)-7-73.
BB -- Triana 1-0-2, Morris 1-1-3, Todaro 0-3-3, Nilsen 1-(1)-2-7, Ward 3-(3)-5-20, McCleod 1-0-2. Totals: 7-(4)-11-37.