Collazo sparks Steinert to first-round win
HAMILTON >> Leila Collazo knew Tuesday could have been the last high school girls’ basketball game she and her teammates on Steinert High’s team played together.
The 5-foot-6 senior guard did not want that to be the case yet.
“It’s the state tournament. It’s one-and-done time, and I’m not ready to be done,” Collazo said.
Collazo’s teammates shared that sentiment, which helped them shake it off when 12thseeded Northern Burlington pulled within a point of the fifthseeded Spartans in the final 20 seconds of the game.
Instead, senior Natalie Mehl saw junior Nicole Pappas ahead of the pack and passed to her for a crucial layup. Then, at the other end, with the Greyhounds furiously looking for the tying basket, Steinert senior Jayda Bing intercepted a pass to deny the visitors’ final threat and grab a 51-48 win in NJSIAA Central Jersey Group III opening round action.
“This was a big-time playoff atmosphere,” Northern head coach Colin Hewko said. “(The Spartans) play real aggressive defense.”
Both teams took turns getting stops and making runs, but, with the game tied at 41 with just under four minutes remaining, Steinert (13-12) got the pendulum to swing in its favor when Greyhounds 6-1 junior center Haylei Archer fouled out.
Bing hit a pair of free throws to put the home team in front, then Mehl hit her only basket of the game — a 3-point field goal from the corner — to give the Spartans a 46-41 lead with 3:15 to go.
“Archer (eight points, 15 rebounds) had been causing a lot of problems for us, so her picking up her fifth foul allowed us to turn up our press,” Steinert head coach Kristin Jacobs said.
Northern Burlington junior guard Rachel Quigley drove to the basket to cut the lead to three before Collazo answered at the other end by driving straight through the Greyhounds’ tight defense.
That five-point margin was important since Brianna Sorrento (11 points) was fouled behind the arc and hit three foul shots to cut the margin to 48-46 with 59.6 seconds left.
Bing was fouled and hit 1-of-2 free throws to give the Spartans a three-point gap heading down the stretch.
With the score seemingly frozen as both teams turned up their defenses, Quigley got open when Alexa Blue came up with a steal in the backcourt. Quigley, who led all scorers with 19 points, connected to trim the margin to 49-48.
“In the final 20 seconds, we wanted to get the ball back and we wanted to keep our composure,” said Quigley, who recently committed to play soccer at Virginia Wesleyan. “In the end, we didn’t get the looks we wanted. It was just unfortunate.”
“We like to give anxiety,” Cabrini University-bound Collazo said with a smile. “We feed off that energy. We practice a lot of lategame scenarios, and the five players we had on the court in those last 20 seconds handled it well.”
Collazo’s 16 points, including 10 in the second quarter to help Steinert build a 27-22 halftime edge, and 14 more from Bing helped Jacobs’ squad hang on to get to play at fourth-seeded Red Bank Regional (19-8) Thursday at 5:30 p.m.
NO. BURLINGTON (48)
Sorrento 3-3-11, THall 0-0-0, Archer 4-0-8, Blue 2-0-6, Quigley 7-4-19, Mayernik 1-2-4, Montague 0-0-0, Krusen 0-0-0, HRussell 0-0-0. Totals — 17-9-48.
STEINERT (51)
Mehl 1-0-3, Bing 5-3-14, Collazo 7-1-16, Huth 1-24, Comfort 0-0-0, CWood 0-3-3, Pappas 4-0-8, Giori 0-0-0, TWright 1-1-3.
Totals — 19-10-51.
No.Burl. (15-11) 9 13 11 15 — 48 Steinert (13-12) 11161014—51 3-point goals: Sorrento 2, Blue 2, Quigley (NB), Mehl, Bing, Collazo (S).