The Nottingham girls basketball team proudly poses with it’s championship trophy after winning the J. Michael Tucker Holiday Classic in Bordentown Wednesday. It was the Stars first holiday tournament title since 2007 (Photo by Pete “Eagles Still Rule” Kelly).

By Rich Fisher
Fish4scores.com
Dec. 28: Aunt Joan, this one was for you.

On the one-year anniversary of the passing of Lauren Kelly’s aunt, Joan Kelly, Lauren’s Nottingham High girls’ basketball team won its first tournament title in Kelly’s six seasons as head coach.

It was the Stars first holiday crown since 2007. This was the first season they entered with out Joan Kelly in the stands on opening day, as she was the team’s most ardent supporter.

“I had a feeling my aunt Joan might have helped us get the win,” said Kelly, who played on Nottingham’s 2005 Christmas tournament championship team. “I was thinking we could get it in her honor. I wore pink today. She always used to say ‘I’m not going anywhere until Lauren wins a championship.’ So it’s a little bittersweet, wishing she could be there. But it was a nice way to honor her memory today.”

And the Northstars did it in convincing fashion, taking a 65-41 victory over host Bordentown in the J. Michael Tucker Holiday Classic championship game.

It was a dominating effort, as Nottingham turned a one-point lead into a blowout over the final 3:21 of the first half. After letting a 16-10 advantage dwindle to 19-18, the Stars closed the half with a 12-1 run that opened a 31-19 bulge. They continued to pull away in the second half, never letting the Scotties challenge again.

“We let them back in and it wasn’t pretty,” Kelly said. “We had too many unforced turnovers in the first half. Travels, bad passes. We couldn’t find our groove together. We were getting scoring opportunities and got quite a few buckets, but we were keeping them in the game, giving them too many opportunities.”

Sara Haas, who made the All-Tournament team with teammate Tyasia Stephenson, felt defense helped Nottingham regain control.

“We knew we had to come out and pick up our defense,” said Haas, who had nine points, eight rebounds and eight assists off the bench. “They kept turning the ball over and we kept making the easy lay-ups and all that stuff.”

Stephenson was on the receiving end of many of those lay-ups, finishing with 26 points and 11 rebounds, while Haylee Kieffer had 17 points and nine boards. Stephenson scored 47 points in two tournament wins.

“Stephenson had a phenomenal game, Sara had a great game,” Kelly said. “We were just finding our rhythm together. We’ve been waiting for Ty to have a breakout game. Yesterday she had it and today she showed it’s not going away. She’s really a force for us underneath. She’s a little versatile, can play different positions.

“When you bring in Sara off bench and move Ty to a three you have Sara and Haley play the four and the five. Sara provides a spark coming off the bench. She does exactly what we ask her to do. Sometimes a team subs and there’s a letdown with the girl who goes in for a starter, but our level of play can go up when Sara comes in.”

Haas and Giuliana Pocino each played all four quarters off the bench for Nottingham, while Tyquazya Davis, Madison Diaz and Liz Kerekes rounded out the starting lineup. The group helped Nottingham to a 45-30 advantage after three quarters and the Stars continued to build on that in the fourth.

“That was important,” a weary Haas said while watching the Nottingham boys game afterward. “We didn’t want them to be back in the game. I think the last two minutes in the fourth quarter we knew we had it. Even then we didn’t want to let down.”

“We couldn’t get over that 15-point mark,” Kelly said. “I don’t feel comfortable with a 15-point lead, it only takes two or three possessions to get it to single digits. But we did do a good job of keeping a lead and not folding under pressure. They didn’t think we had it won already, they kept fighting.”

Nottingham entered the tournament on a down note after losing a four-point heart-breaker to Princeton in the final seconds. But the Northstars managed to rally themselves and will enter 2017 at 3-3.

“It puts us at .500 going into the New Year, it boosts our confidence and we want to keep it going,” Haas said. “It was special to come back from last year since we lost (to Mainland) in the finals. We knew we wanted to come out and win it this year.

“We’re improving. We’re a lot better than the past years. We’re just trying to fix the fundamental things.”

Teams that enjoy post-season tournament success often point to winning a holiday tournament as a springboard to their success. Kelly is hoping that could be the case with this team, which has a nice blend of youth and experience.

“This is a huge confidence builder,” the coach said. “It’s a New Year and we’re definitely turning over a new leaf. When we beat TCA we didn’t play well in the first half and found a way to win in the second. We were missing a couple people and it took a little time for us to get back into playing well together.

“Everyone is finding their role on the team. It helps us going into the New Year, and it brings a trophy back to the school and brings a little pride with that as well. It’s a good group of girls and they work really hard. I’m proud of them.”

Rest assured, so is aunt Joan.