7 -seed Chatham upsets #2 Mountain Lakes
Morris County Quarterfinals (2-10-07) at Kinnelon HS
Chatham used a combination of timely scoring and smothering defense to get past Mountain Lakes 31-21. This time of year, teams match up so well, that it takes a little extra to get past your next opponent. The Chatham Cougars had that little extra. In a game that featured two of Morris County’s top teams, the Cougars settled back in a solid zone and denied every interior pass. If Mountain Lakes did complete an inbound, the defense swarmed and prevented any clean looks at the rim. Despite both teams executing their offense and moving the ball as planned, both well-prepared teams denied any and every shot. Every point was valuable in this low scoring affair. The first quarter ended knotted at seven. Val Berger took a quick look at the clock and saw 6 ticks left, squared up and launched a three that hit nothing but net tying the seven.
Both teams continued to battle inside and force untimely passes, denying any quality looks and simply creating turmoil for their opponent. Helen McHutcheon hit the first hoop of the second quarter giving Chatham the lead at 9-7. McHutcheon hit again with just about 2 minutes remaining until half tying it back up at 13. The first half saw five ties and seven lead changes. Again, Berger worked her late quarter magic creating a steal and knocking in a lay up with 15 seco
nds on the clock. The basket gave Chatham a 15-13 half-time lead, a lead that they would never relinquish.
The Cougars scored the 1st five points of the second half and up’d the lead to 20-13. But scoring wasn’t what the cougars were doing beat. Chatham utilized their speed and athletic ability to match up with the Lakers size and deny the ball to the Lakers’ main threat Merdith Aronson. Aronson still managed 10 points, leading all scorers with Val Berger’s ten. This is where the Cougars put more of a strangle hold on the Lakers’ offense. According to Chatham Coach Joe Gaba, “We sunk into our 2-3 zone and used our speed to the cover the court.” Chatham’s vise grip held the Lakers to only 3 points in the final frame.
The win improved Chatham to 16-4 and moves the Cougars to FDU to face West Morris. The Highlanders took Kinnelon early today at Morris Knolls. The Cougars have lost only four games all season, both on back to back games against Mendham, then Hanover. West Morris has dominated Hills Division foes, beating Morris Hills by 16 and Parsippany by 27.
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