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Lady Trojans rally in fourth quarter to beat North Brunswick

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By Michael Paul, Sports Editor
Wednesday, January 25, 2012 at 12:26 am

  The West Brunswick girls’ basketball team rallied in fourth quarter to beat North Brunswick 48-43 in a conference game Jan. 24 at West.

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“I think it was our signature win this year,” West coach Mark Jones said. North beat West 67-59 on Dec. 13.

For West, senior forward Jasmine Jackson scored 16 points, had 15 rebounds and blocked 10 shots.

“I can’t say enough about Jasmine,” Jones said. “She had a lot of good games, but she had a great one tonight.”

Senior forward Nicole Turner scored nine points as West improved to 3-5 in the conference and 5-9 overall overall. Junior guard Kianna Pigott hit seven of eight free throws and junior center Brittany Vallario scored six points.

“We went to man to man and started playing tough,” Jones said about the comeback. “Put a lot of speed out there with different lineups. The girls had a lot of want-to: they wanted to play hard tonight.”

For North, junior Daja White scored 23 points and junior Katrina Brown nine.

“It was our best win,” Jones said. “North Brunswick is a good team. Coach (Travis) Fortune does such a great job with his girls.”

West trailed 33-26 early in the fourth quarter, but Turner scored three straight baskets for the Trojans as they cut the lead to 33-32.

“Nicole is so tough,” Jones said, noting she has played with a sore back this season. “She’s got guts. She just plays hard. She doesn’t give up.”

Jackson had the assist on the first basket and Pigott had the assist on the second basket.

After a score by White, a steal by Jackson and her pass to Vallario cut the lead to 35-34 with five minutes left.

Brown scored as the Scorpions took a 40-37 lead. Jackson hit two of four free throws as West cut the lead to 40-39 with 2:23 left.

The Trojans took a 41-40 lead when Jackson scored off a pass from Pigott with 1:51 left. A free throw by White tied the score 41-41 with 1:46 left.

West took the lead for good when Vallario hit an arcing jump shot from the left corner.

“She has a good little jump shot from the side,” Jones said. “She makes that shot a lot in practice. I was really proud of Brittany. She stepped up big time tonight.”

A rebound by Jackson led to a possession in which Pigott was fouled. She made both free throws with 52.5 seconds left.

“She made more free throws tonight than she had the whole season,” Jones said. “She played a great game.”

Yana Bland then recovered a loose ball and made a layup with 31 seconds left. A steal by Bland led to a North fouling Grace Young, and she made a free throw for West’s final point with 16.5 seconds left.

“Their all special girls and I love them to death,” Jones said. “(Yana) did a great job. It was awesome.”

North took a 16-6 lead in the first quarter. A pass from Tiffany Keaton to Brown led to a basket. White was fouled and sank two free throws. Annabel Hsia then hit a 3-pointer from the right wing, putting North ahead 12-2 with 3:41 left in the quarter. Two more scores by White gave the Scorpions a 16-6 lead.

The lead was 22-8 in the second quarter when West rallied to cut the lead to 26-20 at halftime. Free throws helped West cut the gap, as Jackson sank three and Pigott two. A free throw by Pigott cut the lead to 24-15. She missed the second, but Turner got the rebound and hit a 3-pointer, and that cut the lead to 24-18. Two more free throws by Pigott left West down 24-20 with 1:11 left in the half. A full-court layup by White put the Scorpions ahead 26-20 at the half.

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