WEST ORANGE- Perhaps Carryn Grand-Pierre doesn’t carry as much of the load for University as her team’s inside tandem of 4-year starting power forward Briana Holt and junior transfer Arielle Edwards, but what she does have is the confidence and ability to convert in a pivotal situation which is exactly what she did in leading the fourth-seeded Phoenix to a thrilling 48-46 win over top-seeded Caldwell in Saturday afternoon’s semifinals of the 51st Essex County Tournament before a large and enthusiastic crowd in the Tarnoff Gymnasium.
In the second semifinal of the day, second-seeded defending ECT champion West Orange (22-3) roared from behind by making key shots down the stretch and getting defensive stops while earning a 38-33 triumph over third-seeded Arts (19-4) for its 11th straight win.
University (17-7) will take on West Orange in next Saturday’s 3 p.m. ECT final back at West Orange after the ECT boys final at noon with Seton Hall Prep battling St. Benedict's.
While University frequently relied on second, third and sometimes a fourth shot on the inside with the size and strength of the 6-foot-1 tandem of Holt and Edwards it was also a player such as Grand-Pierre who made a big difference in the narrow victory vs. Caldwell
The slender 5-8 senior’s clutch 3-pointer with 1:21 remaining gave the Phoenix the lead for good at 46-44 before teammates Edwards and Skylar Clark added free throws in the final 33 seconds as the Newark school held on for the narrow victory against the resilient Chiefs (19-2), who missed on a last second shot from just inside midcourt as time expired.
Caldwell, which trailed the taller Phoenix by as many as 13 points with 6:44 left in the third quarter, mounted an impressive comeback, and took the lead on two occasions in the final 2:49; however, Grand-Pierre came through at a most-opportune time for University when she sank her clutch ‘tri-fecta’ from just beyond the arc on the right side to give her team the final edge it needed to earn the victory.
She had earlier converted a pair of three throws to give her team a 41-37 advantage with just under 5:00 left in the fourth quarter, a cushion the Phoenix would need every part of thanks to the Chiefs’ late-game comeback efforts.
Grand-Pierre was a superb 7-of-8 from the charity stripe to go along with two 3-pointers while finishing with 13 points to complement Edwards, who led the way with 15 points, and Holt, who had 11 points and 11 rebounds before fouling out with 5:35 left in the fourth quarter and the Phoenix clinging to a 39-37 lead.
“When I’m on the line I block everything out, I don’t listen to any of the sideline chatter, and I just focus on the rim and the bottom of the net,” said Grand-Pierre. “It’s really about having confidence, and as a team just keeping it together during crunch time which we definitely had to be able to do today.”
Caldwell’s Addy Keenan sank a long 3-pointer to cut the University lead to 44-43 with 2:49 remaining and then teammate Aailiyah Rodriguez scored underneath for a 44-43 lead with 1:43 left, before Grand-Pierre’s huge ‘3’ just 22 seconds later.
Edwards and Clark each made 1 of 2 from the line in the final 33 seconds, and even after an Elena Kearns follow to cut the lead to 48-46 with 1.8 seconds remaining, there was not enough time left for the Chiefs despite a last-second heave which would have counted, but glanced off the rim at the buzzer.
“It was a great game and give them (Caldwell) credit for their comeback against us, but we were able to hang tough in those final couple of minutes and now we’re headed to the county final,” said Grand-Pierre. “We have the talent to win this championship!”
Holt, who recorded her 1,000th career rebound in the first quarter, recorded her 'double-double' before fouling out, while Clark added 9 points in a solid supporting effort.
Kearns, who went to the bench for a few minutes in the third quarter after injuring her ankle during the very physical contest, returned down the stretch and led Caldwell with 15 points, while senior Tea Fiore added 11. Keenan had 8 points while sophomore Fallon Fiore had an excellent floor game with 6 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists and 5 steals.
