Girls Basketball: Old Bridge holds on, tops Edison in thriller

OLD BRIDGE - Tuesday night’s girls basketball game between Old Bridge and Edison high schools resembled an epic battle between two heavyweight boxers, with both sides taking on just as much punishment and they dealt. In a game where the countless lead changes turned the contest into a whirlwind, it was the Knights who landed the final knockout punch on Senior Night.

With Old Bridge leading by three points with 2.2 seconds to play, Old Bridge senior Amanda Carney blocked Samira Sargent’s potential game-tying 3-pointer as time expired in the fourth quarter as the Knights (12-8) held on for a dramatic 65-62 victory over the Eagles (12-8).

A combined 24 3-pointers made by both teams contributed to the back-and-forth-nature of the game, with both teams shooting absolutely lights out from distance.

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“It motivates us, as soon as they score, I want to score right now and just put one back,” Old Bridge junior Jessica Ahearn said. “As long as we work as one, I don’t think anybody can stop us.

Old Bridge ended the first quarter trailing 18-8, but an 8-0 run to start the second quarter cut the deficit to 18-16, and the game was tight and highly contested the rest of the way. Senior Meghan Dowdell helped the Knights gain their final lead midway through the fourth quarter, draining two 3-pointers in the final frame and finishing with four threes and 16 points. Freshman Rachel Kuhl added four 3-pointers and 14 points of her own while Carney added 15 points.

While the lights-out shooting of Dowdell, Kuhl and Carney kept Old Bridge at pace with Edison, it was the play of Ahearn in the paint that put the Knights over the top. With Edison’s sophomore forward Daniella Marmol, who averages 8.5 rebounds per game, out due to an illness, Ahearn feasted in the paint and off the offensive glass and scored 13 of her 17 points in the second half.

“I finally became aggressive and did what I wanted to do,” Ahearn said. “I was always, I guess you could say, nervous to go back up with the ball. I never wanted to disappoint my team and miss a shot. I’ve been working hard in the workout room and just wanted to help my team.”

Edison’s outside shooting was just as electric as Old Bridge’s, if not more so, with the Eagles draining 14 3-pointers to the Knights’ 10. Sophomore Samira Sargent was simply unstoppable in the second half, scoring 17 of her 23 points in the second half.

The Eagles also got contributions from freshman Madison Ruddy, who knocked down four 3-pointers and finished with 14 points, and junior Virginia Lagdemeo, who added five 3-pointers and 17 points of her own.

Edison was certainly on fire, but Old Bridge had just enough fight in itself to fend off the Eagles.

“Edison is the type of team if they’re on, they’re on, but fortunately we’re the same type of team,” Old Bridge coach Jonathan Bill said. “They were hitting, and we kept our composure and took good shots. It was exciting just to watch, not even coach.”

Staff Writer Daniel LoGiudice can be reached at dlogiudice@gannettnj.com. Follow him on Twitter @danny_logiudice.