JV vs. Cranford in UCT Semifinals

Lost 45-40 The Summit JV Lady Hilltoppers and a huge contingent of their loyal fans traveled to the hostile environs of Rahway, a court where the Summit basketball program has had no luck, to take on top seeded Cranford in the Union County Tournament semi-finals.  This is the second year in a row where Summit has reached the semi’s.  But true to the nature of the court, all the luck seemed on Cranford’s side in the first period, as they drained 4 threes in succession, some from what looked like 30 feet, to take a commanding 18-9 lead.  Summit played well in the quarter, banging the ball down low to their towering front line of Mickey Brown, Abby Mell and Candace Marchell, and the three girls scored all nine points in the quarter.  But the bombs that Cranford kept throwing in were terribly deflating, and there didn’t seem to be an answer in the second period as Cranford hit two more threes to widen their lead. Only some scoring by Emily Cristaldi and Cassie Hall kept Summit within reach, and when Cranford came out and hit one more three in the third their lead widened to 15.  But Summit had a lot of fight left in them and Cranford’s two star players began to get tired.  Marchell had a monster quarter, hitting for 8 points and Emily Cristaldi dropped a three pointer to keep Summit close.  Trailing 29-43 at the end of three, there didn’t seem like much hope. But with the huge Summit contingent roaring their encouragement to the JV, they responded in the fourth.  Cranford finally started missing their shots, and Summit’s Emily Cristaldi started to find her range. She hit 3 of 5 from three point land, and with Cassie Hall driving fearlessly to the hoop and drawing fouls, Summit crept closer.  Cristaldi’s last three brought the score to 40-45, and the crowed went wild!