It was before the high school basketball season ever tipped off, when Bayonne veteran girls’ basketball head coach James Turner fired off the salvo that resonated with the Bees for the entire season.
“I told them that we are going to win the [Hudson] county championship,” Turner said. “I said it from the first practice. Our goal was to win the tournament.”
It was a tough hill to climb, considering that the Bees, traditionally the best team in the county, had not won the county tournament title since 2011.
There was a time when Bayonne was the perennially powerful girls’ basketball program in the county, having won as many as 14 county titles when Hudson County Hall of Famer Jeff Stabile was calling the shots.
But over the last few years, the Bees had to step aside to let Lincoln win three straight and Secaucus win last year.
Turner took care of that before the first practice by predicting a county title for his team.
“It’s because I changed my coaching style,” Turner said. “All year we worked on defense. I knew that defense was going to win. Once the girls bought in, I knew we were going to be successful.”
Defense was definitely the key Saturday night in the Hudson County Tournament title game at St. Peter’s University’s Yanitelli Center, as the Bees swarmed all over Lincoln, 34-27, to win the county crown for the first time since 2011.
It marked the record 24th time that Bayonne won the Hudson County girls’ basketball championship and fourth for Turner as head coach.
The Bees (20-2) took an early lead and were never seriously threatened, even after Turner predicted a close-to-the-vest contest.
“I thought it would come down to one or two possessions,” Turner said. “If we wanted to win, we had to play good defense and take care of the ball.”
The Bees outscored Lincoln, 10-4, in the first quarter, then held the lead for the rest of the game.
“We knew coming in that it was going to be a close game,” said senior do-everything Madison McGlone, who led the Bees with nine points and also collected six steals. “It was an intense game.”
Before the game, Turner also made a comment to try to inspire his star player.
“He told me before the game that I was going to become the only 1,000-point scorer in the history of the school to never win a county championship,” said McGlone, who was named the Most Valuable Player of the county tourney. “That put it on me a little bit that I had to work harder.”
Kailey Gallagher also played a huge role in the win, tying McGlone for game honors with nine points and collecting a game-high seven rebounds.
Gallagher and McGlone earned All-Tournament honors, along with Zhan’e Williams and Destiny Shuler of Lincoln, Kristina Ulrich of Secaucus and Breyanna Frazier of Marist.
“It’s just awesome,” McGlone said. “It’s an amazing feeling. We worked very hard to get to this point and to win again is just a dream come true.”
McGlone was on the team in 2014 that lost a huge lead in the fourth quarter to Lincoln.
“I think confidence was the key,” McGlone said. “We were in control and then we were looking to take over the game. “
Incredibly, McGlone still does not have a college selected.
“I’m still looking,” said McGlone, who hopes to play college basketball. “I just hope someone saw me.”
Turner said that he never gets tired of winning the county title.
“It still gives me goose bumps,” Turner said. “I’m just happy for these seniors. I’m glad they won. They deserved to win.”
As for McGlone?
“She does what it takes for us to be successful,” Turner said. “She even does it before I say anything. It’s like she knows what I’m going to say. It’s a joy to coach her. “
Jim Hague can be reached at OGSMAR@aol.com.