McClutchy makes history as Westwood earns win over Mahwah by Chris Iseman of The Record
WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP — The game stopped and an announcement was made, initiating a brief mid-game celebration to commemorate history.
After scoring her seventh point against Mahwah on Friday night, senior forward Samantha McClutchy reached 1,262 points in her career to become Westwood’s all-time leading scorer.
Once the game resumed, McClutchy continued scoring, she continued playing tough defense, and she continued playing with the high level of intensity she’s become known for.
“I’m very lucky as a coach to have a kid like that,” coach Charles Collis said. “It’s going to make my job a lot harder next year.”
McClutchy finished with 19 points and her teammates stepped up with solid performances at both ends of the floor as Westwood defeated Mahwah 51-33 for a season-opening victory in a Big North Patriot division matchup.
McClutchy surpassed Jaide Hinds-Clarke, who is now playing at Richmond after graduating last year, to earn the program record.
“It’s a great honor,” McClutchy said. “I’m so happy to accomplish it, but you can’t accomplish it without your coaches or your teammates or the fans all backing you up.”
This was an all-around strong showing for the Cardinals, who fell to Mahwah twice last season.
Junior guard Carlye Danziger and sophomore forward Rachel Bussanich each scored eight points, while junior guard Shannon Monaghan added seven.
McClutchy’s first bucket of the game was a three-pointer from the left wing. She then made a pair of layups to take her place atop the Cardinals’ all-time scoring list.
Monaghan also hit a three-pointer during the first quarter, and Danziger made two to push Westwood ahead 16-8 by the end of the period.
Cardinals senior guard Olivia Cassidy hit a three from the right corner with little more than three minutes left in the second quarter. Mahwah junior guard Brenna Forgette responded with a triple at the other end, but McClutchy closed the half with a three-point play to give Westwood a 28-15 lead.
“We’ve been putting in hard work, long hours of practice and we’ve been preparing for this,” McClutchy said. “We had a great game plan, and I’m glad that we executed it. Mahwah’s a great team, I’m just glad we came out with a fire and a desire to win, and that showed when we were playing.”
Mahwah outscored Westwood 12-9 in the third quarter — six of the Cardinals’ points came from Bussanich — to make it a 10-point game by the end of the period.
But McClutchy got a steal at the 6:50 mark of the fourth, and she ended the possession with a layup on a feed from Cassidy to put the Cardinals up 39-27.
Westwood closed the game on a 14-6 run.
Senior center Kayla Devine led the Thunderbirds with 12 points. Senior guard Sara Grunblatt scored seven.
McClutchy, though, was too tough to stop. From the first minute until the last, she showed what’s made her such a force on the floor throughout her career.
“She doesn’t know how to quit,” Collis said. “That’s one of the things that makes her very special.”
Email: iseman@northjersey.com