Page 172 - 1998 Wardlaw Hartridge

A Dream Come True for W-H Girls
by Rudy Brandi, Class o f 1983
It was a dream that almost turned into a nightmare for Sarah Williamson. The Wardlaw-Martridge girls' basketball teamis lucky she stayed awake for all 32 minutes of this year's New Jersey State Prep B championship game.
Williamson carried the Rams with her phenomenal ball handling abilities in the fourth quarter, helping W-fl hold on for its first state title since 1984 in a wild 45-44 victory over rival Rutgers Pep. After W-fl dominated the first half and took a 31-
16 lead late in the third quarter, Williamson watched three of her teammates foul out of the game. The Argonauts kepi charging at the undermanned Rams, but the senior point guard wouldn't let them ruin her last high school game.
"I couldn't ask for anything more," Williamson said after capping her stellar W-H career with her first Prep B title in three trips to the finals. "Beating our biggest rival by one point in my final game in high school is unbelievable. I'm exhauster because the adrenaline finally ran out."
Prep pressed the Rams all over the court in the final quarter and staged a furious rally that almost forced overtime. Jackie , j Sienkiewicz, who co-led the Argos with 17 points, missed her second free throw with no time showing on the regulatior ||| clock and the Rams celebrated. ^ "We've been there three years in a row, but you're not gonna have that many chances to win one so you have to make thd!( best of it," said W-H head coach Allen Everhart, who's accumulated over 160 wins in 14 years at the helm. "This is the first i time we've been the favorites and for most of the time, we played like that."
Wardlaw (22-2) controlled the game when it had its regulars on the floor. Sophomore center Quidara Russell, the team's leading scorer and rebounder, scored four points in each of the first three quarters before fouling out with 2:03 to play ir^ the third. The Rams led by 15 at the time, but that cushion started to evaporate with every minute.
Sienkiewicz, who was ineffective with Russell guarding her, started to score in bunches after Russell's departure. Shej | scored the final four points of the third quarter to cut the W-H lead to 11 and added nine points in the final frame to give?i her squad a chance.
After W-H starters Jackie Sibblies and Rinah Singh fouled out in the fourth quarter, Everhart realized he had to freeze thf ^ ball. With Prop pressuring every dribble and contesting every pass, Williamson and the Rams had their hands full.
"1was nervous because the girls we put in don't get a lot of time." said Williamson, who scored her team's final four points w h i l e d r y i n g t o d r i b b l e t h r o u g h a t e n a c i o u s d e f e n s e . " T h e y w e r e n ' t c a l l i n g t h e t o u c h f o u l s a s m u c h s o I k e p t l o o k i n g t o pass, the ball."
"Ithoughtshewasgettingbeatupandweweren'tgettingthecalls,"Everhartadded.JennFranklinnailedtwo3 -pointera< in the final three minutes to keep RPS in the game. Williamson completed a key 3-point play off an inbounds play with 1:4/ left and added another free throw that gave the Rams a 45-41 lead with 50 seconds to play. Williamson collected a fewcru-; cial rebounds and even made a steal in the final minute, which helped the clock keep moving allowing Prep to score.
"It couldn't have been any sweeter," said Williamson, who scored 15 to finish her W-H career with over 1,500 points. "It wat/j definitely one of my best moments. I wouldn't have wanted it any other way."
Now Williamson and her teammates can dream about their special night for the rest of their lives.
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