After Late Game Loss to Fox Lane, John Jay Rebounds with Win Over Somers

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On Friday January 24, John Jay traveled to Somers, and crosstown rivalry was in the air. On the other hand, the Wolves were missing Jane Brennan, and Sela Halaifonua got in early foul trouble. So the Wolves obviously needed some filler on the scoreboard, and with everyone one moving up a notch, the first one off the bench definitely did her part.

“She was hot from the beginning,” beamed Coach Matt Gallagher of Charlotte Omin, and nine early points by the sophomore set a tone that led to a 58-40 victory.

The game began old school, though. Senior to senior, Jordan Kauftheil stood on the baseline, spotted a cutting Jaime Bartley-Cohen, and she knocked down the layup.

Then Omin got started. She hit a floater on the baseline, and on the next trip down, the guard’s shot went in, out and in again for a 7-2 lead.

Not done yet, Omin went intergenerational next. After Natalie Ellrodt blocked Ashley Kuchinsky on a jumper, Omin corralled the loose ball and caught Halaifonua ahead of the field for a fast break layup.

9-2 now, Omin put the finishing touches on for Ellrodt again. The senior missed on a three point attempt, and the reserve was there for the follow.

4:38 left in the first, Omin wasn’t the only Wolf Gallagher needed to come up big, and in one case, a rebound was on the agenda after a difficult game against Fox Lane. “I talked to her after the game,” said Gallagher of Ellrodt. “She was in her head a little bit, so we worked on some things this week.”

The first strong indicator occurred when Halaifonua dished to her teammate in the corner. Open for the shot, Ellrodt swished the three, and Gallagher was down with the rest of her day. “She showed up,” he assured.

Timeout for Somers, the pause didn’t reset the Tuskers so well. A pair of turnovers gained no ground, and that had Omin taking away even more footing from Olivia Allegretti. Omin innocently dribbling right, her explosion the other way for a layup had Gallagher giving voice to his player’s deceptiveness. “She such a shifty player,” he boasted.

A ten point game, Somers was in for the rivalry too. Sydney Ingraham swung around Julia Schmidberger for a layup, Schmidberger scored two from the line, and Kuchinsky closed the quarter with a hard drive to the hoop.

18-12, Somers kept coming in the second. Schmidberger received Allegretti’s entry pass for two, and Eliana Contreras hit a jumper to close to a two point game.

45 seconds in, a tie was on the way. After Ellrodt got to the rack for two, Kuchinsky did the honors by firing away. She lashed two triples, and the game was tied at 22 with 3:08 left in the half.

A chance to take the lead, Allegretti and Maeve Cleary were unable to connect on threes, so another John Jay rookie showed how it was done. Gianna Pelosi came around Bartley-Cohen’s pick, lined up and gave her team a three point lead.

Even so, the freshman paid heed to her elders. “They’re amazing,” Pelosi said. “I look up to them.”

Still, Somers had a chance to answer. Ingraham went 0-2 from the line, and Contreras coming up with the rebound, her three was not met with a kind rim.

In and out, Somers was unable to take advantage of Bartley-Cohen travel, because Halaifonua was on the ball. She stole Ingraham’s bounce pass and went all the way for a 27-22 score.

Somers went into the locker room with momentum, though. Ingraham started above the arc, hit the baseline and scored a runner at the buzzer to give John Jay a little to think about.

Back on the court, John Jay was far from pensive and got everyone involved to start the runaway. Omin grabbed the defensive board, passed ahead to Ellrodt, and while the senior caught Bartley-Cohen on the gallop, she made the most of trailing play. Ellrodt received the pass back and hit the layup for a five point lead.

50 seconds in, Bartley-Cohen obviously wanted to add on and showed just how much she revels in her primary role. On Ellrodt’s missed layup, she crashed the paint and violently ripped the ball away from Cleary. Hitting the dirt, she got the ball Kauftheil and downplayed her style. “I’m an aggressive rebounder,” she said modestly.

Gallagher was more on point and only needed one word to do real justice. “Nasty,” the coach clarified.

No points this time, Bartley-Cohen took care of things herself with four minutes left. The forward drove from her own bench and sank two from the line.

A six point lead, the Wolves were about to wag for good. Ellrodt picked Cleary’s pocket and proceeded to empty the bank accounts of the remaining Tuskers bank accounts.

A dagger from downtown at 2:21, Bartley-Cohen was next with sum blunt force. On Kuchinsky’s missed drive, the alpha came flying in for the rebound, and back the other way, she would not be denied by the collapsing interior defense. Going to the line, she sank two, and the lead was 11.

Contreras did put on a pause with a follow, but Bartley-Cohen and Ellrodt continued to push their own buttons. The press applied, Bartley-Cohen took the pass before mid court, slung it to Ellrodt, and she connected from downtown.

A 38-28 lead going into the fourth, John Jay was not bothered by a Contreras coast to coast upon return. Kauftheil answered with a drive from the key, and then the rookies got in the mix again.

Kauftheil pulled the rebound, found Gabby Camaj ahead, and tightroping the baseline, she swung the ball across to Pelosi. The Somers defense closed and fouled on the chase.

One for two from the line, imperfection was plenty good for Bartley-Cohen. “It’s amazing to watch them play so well at such a young age,” she boasted.

The same on Omin’s one for two from the line at 6:13 but keeping it 100 never hurts either. Seemingly stuck in the corner on Ingraham’s defense, Omin dribbled high and did another two step. She switched directions and caught the rest of the defense off guard with another floater.

44-31 with 5:38 left in the game, there was no redo of the late game let down versus Fox Lane, and Camaj offered insight. “We just had that energy after a tough loss, we wanted to get back, and do what we do,” concluded the freshman.