Deighan’s game winning free throws send Lakeland to PCT final by Chris Iseman of The Record

PATERSON – Sarah Deighan stood at the free throw line loose and relaxed.

She laughed with her teammates. She stayed composed.

The Lakeland junior forward refused to let the pressure faze her.

Deighan had just been fouled shooting a three-pointer. There were five seconds left in the fourth quarter. The Lancers trailed Eastside by two points.

A trip to the Passaic County tournament final was on the line.

Make. Make. Make.

Deighan swished all three foul shots, sending Lakeland’s bench into a frenzy as the fifth-seeded Lancers defeated No. 1 Eastside, 34-33, in the Passaic County tournament semifinals Saturday at Kennedy.

“Once she made the first one, I knew the next ones were going in,” coach Brian Phillips said.

The Lancers will play second-seeded Kennedy in the final. The Lady Knights defeated No. 3 Wayne Hills, 47-37, to advance.

Lakeland, which trailed by 11 points at halftime, extended its winning streak to eight games.

“It feels amazing, but it was really a team effort,” Deighan said. “We have so many girls on this team that just have so much talent. By the end of the season, by right here, right now, it just all came together and it clicked and we all worked together really well.”

Deighan, who scored 13 points, came through in the biggest spot.

With the Lady Ghosts leading, 33-31, Phillips called timeout with 10 seconds remaining.

Phillips said the Lancers were going for the win out of the timeout.

The plan was to get sophomore guard Hausnaya Fowler or freshman guard Keira Marks the ball to attempt a three-pointer.

But senior guard Jess Catalioto had a tough time finding an open teammate with Eastside having the Lancers well covered.

When the ball did come in, a scramble ensued and Deighan managed to come away with it.

“I picked it up and I immediately got sandwiched,” Deighan said. “I tried to run in between them and I knew that there was under 10 seconds left, so I just threw it up and I felt my arm get hit.”

That sent her to the line for three shots, and she ultimately won the game.

Lakeland is a young team, and Phillips said his players initially were nervous and tentative on a big stage against the top-seeded team.

Eastside was hitting shots early and carried a 22-11 lead into the break. Jabarria Brown, who finished with 11 points and three threes, hit two triples in the first quarter.

But Phillips told his players at halftime to just go out in the second half, stay loose and have fun.

It worked.

Fowler promptly drained two huge three-pointers early in the third quarter and the Lancers continued to chip away at their deficit.

After Allison McBride made a basket to make it a two-point game with 2:35 left, the stage was set for Deighan.

She joked everyone thought she was insane for laughing in such a pressure-packed moment. But Deighan’s refusal to tense up helped her seal a trip to the county championship game.

“It was huge for her to step up,” Phillips said.

No. 2 Kennedy 47, No. 3 Wayne Hills 37: Latice Cunningham and Cha’liya Brown each scored 11 points to help lead the Lady Knights back to the county final.

Brown and Taylor Yancey each hit two three-pointers in the second quarter, helping Kennedy take a 31-16 lead into halftime.

“It was important that we got off to a quick start,” coach MarQuette Burgess said. “We talked about that before the game, to play with the lead as opposed to playing from behind. We did a good job of doing that. Everybody that stepped on the floor contributed.”

The Patriots struggled to score all game, but they sliced their deficit to 10 points when Alexa Gentile drained a three with 5:50 remaining.

Gentile finished with nine points, including three triples, while Taylor Rodriguez also had nine points with one three.