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Sports

Cranford Stuns Top-Seeded Chatham in Double OT

Cougars unable to hold onto lead, season ends with loss in sectional semifinals.

As Joe Gaba sat on the bench following Saturday night's game, the Chatham High girls basketball coach was pretty much speechless—and for good reason.

The top-seeded Cougars had just been stunned, 53-49, in double-overtime to fourth-seeded Cranford in the North Jersey Section 2, Group III semifinals.

Chatham junior Amanda Berntsen had a game-high 17 points to lead Chatham, while Kelsey Hart added 16.

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"We got a couple real good looks and didn't hit our foul shots," Gaba said.

Despite the loss, the Chatham head coach applauded Berntsen and the rest of his team.

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"It's not just Amanda, but all my kids gave all they could," he said. "They all played hard tonight and I'm proud of them."

In the first overtime, Chatham received a significant setback when Samantha Kennedy fouled out with a little more than two minutes remaining.

“She’s [Kennedy] our best defender and not having her on the floor really hurt,” Gaba said.

Chatham's Kelsey Davies hit a pair of free throws to tie the game at 43 with 22.9 seconds remaining in the first overtime to send it into the second overtime.

In the second overtime, Chatham again led most of the way and took a 49-48 lead with 35 seconds remaining after Kendall Davies fed Hart who put it in for the Chatham lead with 35 seconds left.

Chatham though was held scoreless the rest of the way as Cranford's Mairead McKeary knocked down a 3-pointer and Jenna Goeller hit a pair of free throws to seal the upset.

It was only the third loss this season for Chatham (26-3), which lost twice to Morris Catholic, including in the Morris County Tournament final.

After being down 15-13 at halftime, Chatham controlled most of the second half as the Cougars were able to move the ball around crisply and get it inside for some easy baskets.

Chatham held the lead several times and a five-point advantage on a couple of occasions. Lauren Winschuh hit a basket with three minutes left in regulation that gave Chatham a 37-32 lead and then Hart hit a pair of free throws to give Chatham a 39-34 lead with a little more than a minute left in regulation.

But Chatham could not seal the win as Cranford stormed back to score the final five points of regulation to send the game into overtime.

Berntsen, one of the premier players in Morris County, missed two free throws with 14.5 seconds left in regulation that would have put the Cougars ahead 41-39.

Berntsen was sent to the line when she was fouled while she hit what appeared to be the go-ahead basket and a chance for a three-point play. However, the referee ruled the basket didn't count and resulted in Berntsen going to the line for two shots with the game tied at 39.

"The key play is not necessarily at the end," Gaba said. "The plays at the beginning of the game are as important at the end."

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