Union City girls basketball edges Eastside in controversial sectional title game
UNION CITY — The reigning North 1, Group 4 girls basketball champions made the clutch plays to defend their title.
But due to a scorebook discrepancy, the headline from Monday’s sectional final might as well read: “Union City beats Eastside, 60-60.”
Officially, the Soaring Eagles closed out a 60-59 victory that sent them into Wednesday’s Group 4 semifinal against North 2 champ Bayonne, tentatively scheduled to 4:30 p.m. at Bloomfield High School.
However, with 55.6 seconds remaining and Union City leading, 59-58, the scorer’s table notified referees that both home and away scorebooks showed the margin as 59-57. After a lengthy delay, the scoreboard was changed to reflect that, even though NorthJersey.com’s running tally also showed a 59-58 Soaring Eagles lead.
SCORES:Live brackets from every girls basketball section in North Jersey
A postgame review of both books showed that, apparently, scorekeepers mistakenly omitted a basket by the Ghosts’ Symiaha Brown-Cobb with 12 seconds left in the third quarter – which Union City’s Jaida Guerra answered with a buzzer-beater at the other end.
Ergo, the scoreboard and NorthJersey.com tally had the home team up 42-40 after three, but it was 42-38 in both books.
“The explanation I got was that the score was correct in the book, and that we’d both scored 19 points in the fourth quarter,” Eastside coach Brandon Pilgrim said. “But our 19 points was [adding up to] 57, and their 19 points was [adding up to] 59.
“I didn’t want to argue it… it’s not worth me getting overly riled up to get a technical foul to put us in a worse position.”
Another apparent error led to both books being off by only 1 point instead of 2. Eastside’s Ron’Shanae Austin sank a baseline jumper inside the arc with 1:56 to go and ostensibly was given credit for a 3-pointer.
What it means
The controversy marred the ending to a phenomenal game that featured six lead changes in the fourth quarter. Union City (21-6) made 11-of-13 free throws in the final period, and Guerra made two of her game-high seven steals in the closing minutes.
Eastside (24-6), meanwhile, made its first 17 foul shots and missed only its final attempt with 2:05 to play.
“It was a terrible ending to a great game,” Union City coach Carlos Cueto said. “Both teams played great.”
Key plays
With the scoreboard showing Eastside ahead, 58-56, Soaring Eagles forward Jaylyn Orefice drove the lane for a layup and was fouled with 1:49 left. She made the free throw to finish a perfect 10-for-10 at the line and give Union City its 59-58 lead – which was altered less than a minute later.
“In big games, even last year when she was only a sophomore, we got on her back,” Cueto said of Orefice. “She makes winning plays, whether it’s a rebound, whether it’s an assist, or whether it’s a layup.”
Guerra made 1-of-2 free throws with 27.5 seconds remaining for a supposed 60-57 lead.
Brown-Cobb took an easy layup with six seconds left to cut it to 1, but after a Union City time out with 1.6 on the clock (to avoid a five-second penalty), time ran out before the Ghosts could foul.
Game balls
► According to NorthJersey.com numbers, Brown-Cobb finished with 17 points, 7 rebounds, 5 steals and 4 assists while making 5-of-5 free throws.
► Austin (12 points, 8 rebounds) went 6-for-6 at the line, while Ghosts guard Nevaeh Banks (14 points) made 3 threes, plus all 3 free throws after being fouled behind the arc.
► Orefice totaled 22 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals.
They said it
“I feel bad for my seniors; it’s a terrible way for them to go out, after they played their hearts out. It hurts.” —Pilgrim
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Union City NJ girls basketball beats Eastside in controversial final
