Madison outlasts Secaucus to earn second girls basketball sectional title in three years
SECAUCUS — As the Madison girls basketball team bus drove into Secaucus, the players noticed a blue sign with a photo honoring the Patriots on their NJSIAA North 2, Group 2 title from a year earlier.
Secaucus had beaten the Dodgers to earn that trophy. They weren't sure how to take the sign.
"That kind of fired everybody up, I feel like," Madison senior guard Beau Braverman said. "They're trying to make a statement. They're trying to intimidate. But we took it as something that made us more excited to play."
There will not be another sign honoring the Patriots this winter. The Dodgers handled Secaucus, 53-42, to earn their second sectional title in three years. It was the Patriots' third-lowest point total all season.
Madison will face three-time North 1, Group 2 champion Jefferson in a Group 2 semifinal on Tuesday at Bloomfield. The Dodgers have never won a NJSIAA girls basketball title.
"We wanted a little bit of revenge," junior point guard Gabby Mariani said. "Last year, we left it all out there. But this year, we knew this team was special."
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Braverman had two consecutive 3-pointers as the Dodgers went on a 15-0 run for almost eight minutes of the first and second quarters.
But Secaucus closed to within two points on back-to-back threes by freshman Olivia Buckingham and senior Mia Cruz midway through the third. Senior forward Alyssa Craigwell's drive got the Patriots as close as one points with 3:33 left in the third quarter.
Craigwell had 15 points before fouling out with 1:50 to play.
Charlotte Tuhy, Madison's 6-foot-1 junior forward, 10 of her game-high 28 points in the fourth quarter.
"It's really amazing," she said. "Last year, we lost in the same gym. It's nice to win this year. We were more prepared, more calm. We've been here before, and we knew what to do."
This article originally appeared on Morristown Daily Record: NJ girls basketball: Madison Secaucus North 2, Group 2 sectional final
