Lady Raiders rally to win playoff thriller

Kutch, Jones fuel dramatic surge

By: Rudy Brandl
   
   The Hillsborough High girls may not have won the Central Jersey Group 4 basketball title, but they’ll always be able to look back on their quarterfinal round victory over Rancocas Valley as a major highlight.
   Last week’s CJ 4 thriller was a game for the ages, the type of dramatic contest that players, coaches and fans will talk about for many years. There were so many things working against the Lady Raiders, especially a 12-point deficit in the fourth quarter, but they somehow found a way to capture a 74-72 victory in overtime.
   "It’s a great, great win," HHS head coach Jim Reese said afterward. "Survive and advance, that’s what you want to do in a tournament. I’m very, very proud. They played with tremendous character tonight."
   Hillsborough fought many elements in this game and it certainly was looking like the team’s season would end in the first round of the state playoffs. The HHS girls couldn’t stop RV star center Chelsea Cole, the 6-4 monster presence who dominated inside with 36 points and 20 rebounds. The Lady Raiders were in foul trouble, with senior starters Ebony Jones and Heather Neumann each picking up their fourth fouls midway through the third quarter.
   Things were looking bleak, but then came the amazing fourth quarter rally. Senior standout Kelsey Kutch showed she wasn’t ready for her scholastic career to end with a fabulous fourth quarter and Jones played the best offensive eight minutes of her career to spark the comeback.
   Hillsborough’s dynamic duo accounted for all 29 points in the fourth quarter. Kutch connected for 13 of her team-high 30 points and Jones scored 16 of her 21 points during the flurry.
   "We played with everything we had, we played with real heart tonight," Kutch said. "I wasn’t sure if we would win tonight, but I didn’t want to sit here and cry. We had to keep fighting."
   Kutch started the rally with a 3-pointer from the right wing that cut RV’s lead to 51-42 with 7:10 to play. Jones stopped and popped a jumper from the right wing, then Kutch and Jones each hit hoops in transition to make it 51-48. It was Kutch’s turn again on the next possession and she drained a long jumper from the right corner that was just inside the 3-point line and left the Lady Raiders trailing by one point with 5:32 remaining in regulation.
   All of a sudden, in a span of 1:38, the HHS girls had nearly erased a 12-point deficit with an 11-0 spurt.
   "I’ve never really hit a three that meant something," said Kutch, whose older sister Allison made a habit of hitting big bombs during her scholastic career. "Now I can finally tell Allison I hit a big shot."
   HHS had chances to take the lead but RV went on a little run of its own to take a 58-52 lead with 3:42 to play. That’s when Jones took over with seven straight points to force a 59-59 tie. Jones hit two free throws, completed a 3-point play after a driving lay-up and nailed a jumper from the right corner to tie the game with 2:14 left. Kutch made a key block of an attempted RV lay-up during that 7-1 flurry.
   Jones had picked up more fouls than points in the first three quarters but became an offensive machine to lead the rally. She scored 18 points after drawing her fourth foul.
   "I was so scared, I didn’t want to end my season like that," Jones said. "After I hit that first jump shot, I knew I had to keep doing it. I think this is the best game I’ve ever played in my career."
   The game remained up for grabs in the final two minutes of regulation. Kutch tied the game again at 61-61 with two free throws but Cole scored two straight baskets after grabbing offensive rebounds to put the visitors up by four. Kutch answered with a drive to the hoop and made an acrobatic steal on the next possession when she dove to keep the ball in bounds and found a streaking Jones on the fast break. Jones was fouled and drained both free throws to tie the score at 65-65 with 25.6 seconds left.
   RV went up by one on a free throw by Ariel Brown, but Jones rebounded the missed second shot and was fouled by Cole. Jones also managed to make 1-of-2, so the game was tied again at 66-66.
   The Lady Raiders caught a break when Cole missed two free throws with 1.5 seconds left in regulation.
   "They’re a great foul shooting team," Reese said. "It’s ironic that they missed those two at the end."
   Hillsborough took advantage of its new life by winning the game in overtime, but it certainly was not easy. Kutch scored the first three points of the extra session with a free throw and jumper from the right corner to give Hillsborough a 69-66 lead. RV scored the next three to force yet another tie at 69-69 with under a minute to play.
   Kutch swished the two free throws that put Hillsborough up for good at 71-69 with 34.1 seconds remaining in overtime.
   "I always love being there to shoot the big foul shots," said Kutch, who hit 5-of-6 in the fourth quarter and overtime. "I love the pressure. I love when people make noise. It gets me pumped up."
   RV had three chances to tie it again on the next trip but the ball wouldn’t drop in and Janice Jeschke grabbed a huge rebound for the Lady Raiders. Jeschke was fouled and hit the first free throw to make it 72-69 with 17.4 seconds left. Jones clinched the victory with two more free throws with 7.5 seconds remaining.
   "We haven’t played this well all year," Jones said. "We showed so much energy and heart. We showed we could play through anything."