Cresencia Powers New Providence Past Cranford, 52-36

Kaitlyn Cresencia owned the paint in the second half, scoring seven of her team's 10 points over a particularly dominant deficit-erasing stretch, to help the Lady Pioneers Varsity basketball team down the Cranford Cougars 52-36 last night.

With New Providence (2-0) trailing 24-23 with 5:45 remaining in the third quarter, Cresencia took over, scoring with authority on three straight opportunities inside and keying a 15-2 run to end the period.

"We knew if we got the ball in certain spots, [Cresencia] was going to be open on the post because of her positioning, and we went right to it, she put us on her back and carried us," said New Providence Head Coach Cap Pazdera.

The senior guard scored 12 of her 14 points in the second half, and her low-post dominance drew double teams that opened things up for teammate Cassandra Squeri, who nailed three 3-pointers in the second half and finished with a game-high 16 points.

"I was telling my teammates if they can get to the corner and that shot is not wide open, I usually had a seal on the inside baseline," Cresencia said. "When it wasn't there, the kick was wide open for them to take shots."

While Cresencia was a force inside in the second half, she ran the offense in the first half, bringing the ball up the floor and then positioning herself in the high post as the central point in the team's ball movement.

"That's the greatest thing about [Cresencia], she can do it all," Pazdera said.  "It's hard to defend her because you just never know where she's going to be. Is she going to take a shot from the outside or is she going to be posting you up down low and putting a big-man move on you?"

Pazdera's squad continually created open looks in the first quarter by forcing turnovers with their press and then making the extra pass.  Cresencia twice found Emma Culleton for an open corner jumper, Culleton assisted Laura Gregory off a rebound and then Gregory twice set up Squeri before driving and hitting an off-balance floater of her own.

"This year we have a lot of people that can fill multiple roles. We have people that can move without the ball really well, so the more touches we get on the ball, it usually leaves someone open with a mismatch," Cresencia said.

New Providence's offense stagnated in the second quarter, as the Lady Pioneers got away from the ball movement that had given them success in the previous period.

Cresencia said New Providence actually lost its offensive flow because of a defensive change. The Lady Pioneers dropped the press in the second quarter because they were having trouble defending the middle.

"Once we took out of the press, we kind of got a little jumbled up leaving players open, and having three people trapping instead of two. So once that happened, it kind of broke down our rhythm," Cresencia said.

Going into the third quarter, the score was tied at 20, and New Providence had been outscored 14-5 over the previous nine minutes. Then, Cresencia put the team on her back and the Lady Pioneers put the Cougars in their rear-view mirror.

New Providence's next game is 4 p.m. on Dec. 28 at Millburn for the Millburn Holiday Tournament.