Stuart advances to state championship game
PRINCETON >> How great it is for a high school basketball team still to be getting better when the games become extra meaningful in February.
The Stuart Country Day School girls basketball team knows all about that. In fact, some would say the Tartans are playing with a chip on their shoulder. But that’s not a bad thing.
Head coach Justin Leith’s team played a national schedule this season after winning the NJISAA Prep B state tournament for the first time last winter. Yet, when this year’s Prep B seedings came out, Stuart only received a second seed.
That meant that the Tartans were paired with a very good, third-seeded Academy of St. Elizabeth squad for Monday’s state semifinal.
By playing one of its most complete games yet, Stuart outdistanced the Panthers, 82-72, to gain a return trip to the state championship game. The 14-9 Tartans will head to top-seeded Morristown-Beard at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday for this season’s Prep B final.
“We’ve come a long way as a team,” Leith said.
That may be underselling his squad a little since they have won a number of big games. But Leith was talking about how much better his players have become since opening play in November 2018.
That change was most notable in 6-foot-4 sophomore forward Laila Fair Monday.
Fair, who had only reached double figures in seven of her first 22 games as she fully recovered from a knee injury, had a breakout game versus St. Elizabeth.
Fair posted a double-double with 24 points and 17 rebounds to surpass her previous scoring high by 10 points.
“Laila has been capable of this,” Leith said. “She’s had good games for us, but she hadn’t had a breakout one like this. The sky’s the limit for her.”
“My knee feels a lot better,” Fair said. “My dad and I have worked out a lot this season, and I really think it’s helped.”
The Tartans needed a little extra help after 5-9 sophomore guard Nia Melvin got in foul trouble early. Just like Fair, the rest of the team’s guards — Aleah James, Jasmine Hansford and Gabriela VelazquezGonzalez — took their games up a level to help Stuart contend with the Panthers’ sharp-shooting junior guard Hannah Kelly.
Kelly matched Fair’s game-high with 24 points on an array of drives and outside shots. That gave the team from Convent Station four girls in double figures, just like the home team.
“When Nia picks up fouls, I really get worried,” Fair said. “But everybody really did a good job of picking her up this game.”
Even in limited action, Melvin was still the game’s third-leading scorer with 17 points behind senior BeyShana Clark (21 points) and ahead of James, who added 14 points, including 5-for-6 foul shooting in the final quarter.
The excitement continues to grow for the Tartans, who want to show they deserve a third seed in the upcoming Mercer County Tournament just as much as they want to win another state crown.
ACADEMY OF ST. ELIZABETH (72) HKelly 10-2-24, Galligan 4-5-14, Howard 3-2-9, Rohlf 0-0-0, CKelly 4-1-11, ABarry 5-0-10, Kilgore 1-2-4, CBarry 0-0-0. Totals — 27-12-72.
STUART (82)
Clark 7-7-21, Hansford 2-0-4, Melvin 7-217, AJames 3-8-14, Martin 0-0-0, JLewis 0-0-0, Fair 11-2-24, Velazquez-Gonzalez 1-0-2.
Totals — 31-19-82. St.Elizabeth(16-4) 20 17 16 19 — 72 Stuart (14-9) 18 24 16 24 — 82 3-point goals — HKelly 2, Galligan, Howard, CKelly 2 (ASE), Melvin (SCD).