WEST CALDWELL- Perhaps for a less cohesive team the dye could have already been set in the second quarter when West Orange’s torrid shooting, including four 3-pointers, led to a 28-17 halftime lead over Caldwell in Tuesday night’s much-anticipated Super Essex Conference-American Division showdown.
However, there was no panic in the Chiefs. Senior Tea Fiore even took time before heading into the locker room at halftime to go out on the court and thank area companies that were being recognized during the evening for continued support of their local high school girls basketball team.
And, that Caldwell squad has indeed evolved into a special group, one which revealed more about its cohesiveness and confidence while never even considering folding the proverbial tent vs. the state’s No. 9 ranked team despite being down double digits at the half; and with their leading scorer Addy Keenan held without a single point in the first two quarters.
The best was yet to come for the undefeated Chiefs (9-0, 4-0) who recorded one of the biggest regular season victories in at least recent program history, coming out with gusto in the third quarter to nearly erase the entire deficit before taking over in the fourth quarter and posting a thrilling 55-51 victory over the Mountaineers (11-2, 3-1) before an electrified crowd in the James Caldwell High School gymnasium.
“We knew that we had to pick it up on the defensive end after our shots weren’t falling in the first half and we knew we had to come out and go one bucket at a time in making our comeback,” said Caldwell coach Amanda Keenan. “Different players came through with key baskets and big plays for us to fuel our comeback in what was a huge win for us.
“We said that we we’re going to defend our home court and we came out strong and confident in the second half, that’s for sure!”
The coach’s daughter Addy Keenan got on track scoring-wise in the third quarter with 12 of her 14 second half points, while Tea Fiore, who was a consistent scorer throughout, tallied seven of her game-high 18 points as the Chiefs outscored West Orange, 27-17, to pull to within 45-44 after three quarters.
Then, after a Tea Fiore basket gave her team their first lead of the night, 46-45, with 7:18 remaining, and after West Orange’s Kennedy Curry scored to allow her team to regain the lead once again for the moment, an unsung Caldwell reserve came up with perhaps the biggest momentum-changing basket of the entire contest as Adrianna Brown calmly sank an enormously-important 3-pointer to give the Chiefs the lead for good, 49-47, with 6:34 remaining in the fourth quarter.
“Adrianna stepped up so big for us tonight,” said Tea Fiore. “Did you hear the gym which went insane when she made that ‘3’?
“It was really a total team effort tonight. Adrianna stepping up with a big shot, and even when Addy didn’t score early on, she knew that others would step up, and then she caught fire in the third quarter when we really needed her baskets.”
Another one of those key contributors was Tea’s younger sister, sophomore Fallon Fiore, who doesn’t score a lot, and had 5 points vs. West Orange, but adds so much with her stellar defense, rebounding and passing with six assists in the contest.
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