Berntsen Leads Chatham Rout of Scotch Plains-Fanwood

As soon as junior Samantha Kennedy opened the game’s scoring with a layup off an assist from Kelsey Hart, the Chatham High girls basketball team went into its vaunted full-court press.

The Cougars didn't let up, frustrating Scotch Plains-Fanwood in a 61-36 victory Thursday night in the NJSIAA North Jersey Section 2, Group III state tournament.

Top-seeded Chatham advances to face fourth-seeded Cranford in the semifinals Saturday at home.

On Thursday, the Raiders had problems even getting the ball past half court and turned it over several times in the early going. Meanwhile, Chatham took advantage of those turnovers and scored quickly in transition.

Hart scored inside and then senior Kelsey Davies hit a 3-pointer from the left side and scored inside. Junior Lauren Winschuh followed with back-to-back baskets, one inside and one a jumper, and soon the Cougars were up 13-0 before Scotch Plains-Fanwood senior Evie Klotz scored for the Raiders with 3:06 to go in the first when she hit a jumper from the left side.

“We needed to play well from the start,” Chatham head coach Joe Gaba said. “In our last game we still had a post county tournament hangover. It was just them, the kids. They set the tone. They forced the play with our full court defense and were quick in transition.”

Scotch Plains-Fanwood pulled to within 28-16 late in the third quarter when senior forward Aysia Peterson grabbed an offensive rebound and scored inside. After being down 13-0, Scotch Plains-Fanwood outscored Chatham 16-15 up until that point.

However, Peterson picked up her third and fourth fouls right after that, with Chatham scoring four of the second quarter’s final six points for a 30-17 halftime lead. Scotch Plains-Fanwood kept on hanging in there and actually pulled to within single digits at 36-27 with 2:52 to go in the third.

A basket by Peterson, which turned out to be the final one of her high school career, pulled the Raiders to within nine. She then fouled out of the game right after that with 2:46 to go in the third.

Chatham took advantage by ending the period on an 8-0 run for a 45-27 lead heading into the final eight minutes. Junior and leading scorer Amanda Berntsen, sophomore Grace Conroy, Hart and Davies each scored one basket in the surge.

Berntsen, who averages 19.5 points, led all scorers with a fine 24-point performance. She made 15 of 16 free throw attempts, including her last 13 and all 10 she took in the fourth quarter. She scored 15 of her game-high 24 points in the second half, but credits the victory to hard work by the entire team.

“The whole team was on fire in the beginning,” Berntsen said. “We were making shots, passing the ball and kept the tempo up. We just kept on attacking. We kept our composure and kept the lead at a good amount.”

Sophomore guard Taylor Sebolao paced Scotch Plains-Fanwood with a 15-point effort, while Klotz scored 13 in her final high school game. “I was disappointed with the way we came out, but we showed a lot of heart by getting it to nine,” Scotch Plains-Fanwood head coach Jennifer Ryan said. “I said in the beginning of the season that we had to stay healthy and be lucky and we just weren’t lucky tonight. Give Chatham credit for the way they played.”

The Chatham girls’ basketball team improved to 26-2, while Scotch Plains-Fanwood finished its 2010-2011 campaign with a winning mark of 15-12.

The Chatham Cougars will now move on to the tournament semifinals. Defending champions and No. 4-seeded Cranford will venture to Chatham for the game at 7 p.m. Saturday.

“They are the defending champions in this section and we know it won’t be easy,” Gaba said. “At this point of the season you have to play well at all times if you want to be successful.”