Despite all the nicknames, Reid comes up big for Marist’s girls
Because of her incredible likeness to diminutive actor Emmanuel Lewis, her friends call Marist freshman point guard Kim Reid "Webster."
"It’s my nickname now," said Reid, who needs a phone book to stand on to reach five feet. "It’s kind of grown on me, because everybody calls me Webster. It’s not the only name I have. People have called me, ‘Little One,’ and ‘Mini Me,‘ and ‘Half-An-Elf.‘ I’m mostly used to all of the names by now."
Although Reid might be the smallest player when she’s on the court, she certainly was the biggest last Saturday night at St. Peter’s College, when her clutch running shot in the lane propelled the Lady Knights to the HCIAA Girls’ Basketball Championship.
Reid’s only two points of the game gave Marist the lead for good in the closing seconds of a 57-53 victory over North Bergen. The win marked Marist’s second HCIAA title in the last four years.
And it was only fitting that the littlest player on the floor would end up being the heroine.
"It’s a good feeling, because I never imagined that I would be the one," Reid said. "I’m glad it happened."
With the score tied at 53-53, and the clock ticking down to the last precious few seconds, veteran coach Bill DeFazio started to wonder about a few things. That his two talented seniors, namely Tara Walker and Makeda Gleaton, deserved a better way to end their Hudson County careers, and about his parents in the stands, who were watching him coach a game for the very first time.
"I said to myself, ‘Not this way,’ " DeFazio said. "I wanted these kids to go out with style. Hudson County is never going to see a tandem like these two ever again. They’re like [Jim] Spanarkel and [Mike] O’Koren, what they did for Hudson Catholic. We had an eight-point lead and we let it slip away. When they tied the game, I figured we still had 27 seconds to do something."
Sure enough, DeFazio called upon his All-State performer, Walker, to make the play for the win. She drove to the basket, but instead of taking the shot herself, she passed to the open little freshman cutting into the lane. Undaunted and unfazed by the pressure, Reid just let fly. The shot hit nothing but net.
"You can’t cover that kid," DeFazio said. "She’s like Spud [Webb, the former 5-7 NBA All-Star]. She just puts the ball on the floor and goes."
Reid’s shot capped an incredible run for the Lady Knights (21-2), who were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs a year ago.
"We definitely had to make up for what happened last year," said Gleaton, who, along with Walker, has combined to score nearly 3,800 points and grab 2,400 rebounds over the last four years. "We wanted to go out with a bang and leave something behind as a legacy."
The difference between the last year’s team and the current version of the Knights has been the inclusion of three talented freshmen to go along with proven veterans Walker, Gleaton and guard Jen Lewandowski.
"Most definitely, having the freshmen this year helped us a lot," Gleaton said. "It was great to have the freshmen play so well. It was a gift to us that they came in and did well right away."
Forward Angela Fitzgerald has emerged as one of the best players in Hudson County and definitely the best freshman since Walker and Gleaton arrived four years ago. Catherine Mariano came up big down the stretch, including scoring seven straight points in the semifinal victory over Bayonne.
And then, there’s the littlest one of all, the one called "Webster," the one who missed most of the season while battling a serious illness.
"Kim’s only been back a month, but she has done so much," DeFazio said. "All the freshmen played key roles for us in each playoff game."
It was an emotional time for DeFazio, who captured his fifth HCIAA title (three with St. Anthony and two now with Marist), because his father is battling cancer.
"It was a very emotional day," DeFazio said. "I’m trying not to think about it, but it didn’t work out that way. I was thinking about that the whole time, how he’s never seen me coach a game before."
Last year, the Lady Knights just naturally thought that they were going to win the HCIAA title, but it didn’t happen.
"It was devastating, to work so hard and build for something all year and then to lose it all in one game," DeFazio said. "I think we all just assumed we were going to the finals instead of playing the way we were capable of. It took two full days to get everything in perspective to get ready for the states."
What transpired next was a miraculous run to the state sectional championship. The Knights, seeded 13th, became the lowest seed ever to capture the NJSIAA Parochial B North title.
No such luck this time around. The Knights are the section’s top seed this year and the favorite to become the first Hudson County girls’ basketball team to win an overall state championship since DeFazio’s St. Anthony team won in 1984.
"We know we have a target on our back, with everyone shooting for us this year," Gleaton said. "We understand that and we’re going in with the attitude that it’s our year. You can’t doubt us this year."
Because the Knights have depth. And they have a little freshman who’s ready to take on the world.
"Even though I’m short, I guess I proved that the little guy can do it," Reid said. "People might crack jokes on me, but I’ll get over it."
And she’ll get the last laugh in the process.