Girls Basketball – No. 9 Rumson Battles Back in the 4th Quarter to defeat No. 8 Wall in the SCT Round-of-16

Rumson trailed 39-30 going into the 4th quarter and battled back with two starters fouling out to defeat eighth-seeded Wall 54-45 and advance into the Shore Conference Tournament quarterfinals. 

Rumson outscored Wall 24-6 in the 4th quarter with every player stepping up in their roles to close out the game. Senior Ella Mason scored all 8 of her points in the 4th quarter and scored five points early in the quarter including a 3-pointer to tie the game 39-39. 

“Ella is incredibly mature and she is a very smart kid who did not play her best first half,” Rumson coach Dave Callahan said. “I think she was playing a little bit nervous but it is amazing that great athletes can get control of their emotions and that is what she did. In the 4th quarter she just did her thing and is an incredible leader for us.”

The comeback may have not happened without lacrosse star and Ohio State commit Abby Boyle and her ability to create second chance points for the Bulldogs from her rebounding. In the 4th quarter comeback, Boyle grabbed five of her game-high 15 rebounds and scored 4 of her 7 points in the quarter.

"Abby is one of the best athletes in the state," Callahan said. She is the ultimate teammate that does whatever the team needs for us to win the game and she showed it tonight."

After battling back and forth in the first half, Rumson built a 23-20 lead at halftime with field hockey star and University of North Carolina Sylvie Notine commit scoring 11 out of her 16 points. Notine and senior Raquel Guidetti, who finished with a team-high 17 points, were able to put Wall into foul trouble with their ability to get to the basket

“I think she (Notine) brought our motivation in the first quarter because I thought we played strong in the quarter,” Boyle said. “Sylvie is such an amazing player because she is so shifty and can get through defenses and it boosted all of our energy.”

Wall made adjustments on both ends of the floor coming out of the half. The Lady Knights outscored Rumson 19-7 in the 3rd quarter and was led by soccer stars Aileen Carr and Erin Richey. Richey, who struggled in the first half, knocked down two straight 3-pointers and Carr scored 9 of her team-high 17 points in the quarter.

“We forced other kids other than Emily (Tvrdik) and Shayne (Edlridge) to score and to her (Richey) credit made two 3-pointers,” Callahan said. “It swung the momentum but we preach to the kids not to get overwhelmed and play their game.”

Rumson will face the No. 1 seed Red Bank Catholic in the quarterfinals on Saturday at Middletown South High School. Tip-off is scheduled at 1:30 p.m.