BHS' Genesis Collins puts up a shot against West Orange.
BLOOMFIELD – Facing a 20-point deficit going into the fourth quarter, the Bloomfield High School girls’ varsity basketball team refused to quit.
The Bengals frantically tried to keep their season alive, staging a remarkable rally.
Unfortunately, they couldn’t complete the comeback.
After miraculously forcing overtime on a buzzer-beating layup by senior center Aniyah Allen, the third-seeded Bengals eventually fell to 14th-seeded West Orange, 52-47, in the first round of the state North Jersey Section 1, Group 4 tournament on Tuesday, March 1, at BHS.
Allen finished with a team-high 16 points; while junior guards Grace Cannon and Genesis Collins each had 13 points for the Bengals. Junior guard Jalia Santos had five points off the bench for BHS.
The Bengals, under head coach Dana Morton, finished the season with an 18-5 record, including winning the Super Essex Conference-Colonial Division title with a 12-0 divisional mark.
West Orange defeated Bloomfield in both meetings in overtime this season. In the first round of the Essex County Tournament, West Orange won, 49-46, in overtime at West Orange on Feb. 13.
After the ECT loss, Bloomfield won its next four games heading into the state sectional tournament matchup with West Orange, hoping to gain redemption.
The Bengals trailed 25-13 at halftime and 40-20 at the end of the third quarter. But the Bengals mounted an improbable rally, capped by Allen’s buzzer-beating layup to tie it 45-45 and force overtime.
With the score tied 47-47 in overtime, West Orange scored the final five points of the game to win it. Freshman guard Mya Bembry scored on a layup to make it 49-47. Senior guard Sidney Gordon, who finished with a game-high 26 points, made one-of-two free throws for a 50-47 lead. Junior guard Jewell Burnett hit two free throws for her only points of the game to seal it.
Bembry finished with 10 points; junior forward Dawn Flood had seven points; senior forward Candis Ferrell had four points; and senior guard Chyna Chitty had three points for WOHS
Despite the heartbreaking loss, BHS head coach Dana Morton was proud of her team’s resiliency.
“I was very proud of my team not giving up and fighting all the way to the end,” Morton said. “They gave a courageous effort and you can’t ask for more than that. (If) some of those missed foul shots fall, we win the game.”
Cannon and Allen proved to be excellent leaders for the Bengals this season.
“Grace and Aniyah have been leaders for us all season long,” Morton said. “They are a special kind of player that do not come along often. Aniyah finished the season with at least 10 double-doubles in points and rebounds; great senior captain leadership. She has set the bar high for other players that will come in behind her.”
Cannon netted her 1,000th career point during the season.
“Grace has come along way from the sixth-grader I first met. She has become the seventh player in history to break 1,000 points (at BH). She has improved in all facets of her game. She is a great competitor and a great asset to this team.”
Morton, indeed, was proud of her team this season.
“I feel honored to have been able to coach this team,” said Morton. “They had an impressive year. We won the Colonial Division and also went undefeated in the division. We took strides towards helping our program and become more competitive. Of course, we would have loved to go further in the states, but it doesn’t negate what this team did this season. We didn’t lose a game this year by more than seven points, so even in our losses we were able to compete with those teams.”
With Cannon and Collins leading the way, the Bengals have high hopes for next season.
“We want to continue to grow as a program, to be able to compete and to improve on what we did the previous year,” Morton said.
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