Girls’ hoop standout Tay has senior year marred by injury
By Joe Ragozzino
Sports Editor
Bloomfield Tech point guard Charmaine Tay was all set for a big senior season.
The Irvington resident widely was considered one of the best high school girls’ basketball players in the state, having signed with the University of Louisville in November, a month before the season started. Louisville reached the national championship game the previous spring, losing to UConn.
Early in the season, the Spartans were playing Montclair in a Super Essex Conference-American Division game. During the game, Montclair players would “undercut” Tay every time she took a jump shot, said Bloomfield Tech head coach Bill Rogers.
“She would take a jump shot and they had a tendency of going up underneath her and take her legs out,” said Rogers. “I complained to the referees and they did nothing about it. About the fourth or fifth time, they hurt her.”
The knee injury hobbled the 5-foot-10 Tay. Since the Spartans were struggling, Rogers figured it made sense to just sit out Tay for the rest of the season.
But after a successful rehab, Tay, a former Union resident, came back for one more game for the State tournament. In her first game back since Jan. 19, Tay scored 17 points, but the reigning NJSIAA Group 1 champion Spartans lost to Secaucus, 49-48, in the first round of the NJSIAA North Jersey Section 2, Group 1 tournament to finish with a 5-20 record.
Losing Tay for most of the season was tough. “It was devastating, because she was the leader,” said Rogers. “We had a very young team. I had about eight or nine freshmen on varsity this year. I had one junior and two sophomores.”
Junior Khayriyyah Dawson, another Irvington resident, filled in for Tay at the point guard spot. The transition proved to be difficult for Dawson, a natural shooting guard, said Rogers. Dawson averaged 10 points per game. “It took away from her game, because she was not really a point guard,” said Rogers of the change. “If you put a shooting guard in a point guard position with a shooting guard mentality, you are going to labor, especially with a young team.”
Kianna Mayers, who also lives in Irvington, made strides as a freshman forward, averaging eight points a game for the Spartans.
Tay is 100 percent healthy now. What makes her so special is her tremendous versatility.
“Charmaine is a big point guard with amazing court vision because of her height,” said Rogers. “She is a playmaker and she is a rebounder. That’s why so many people wanted her. Along with being an outstanding point guard, she is a devastating rebounder. She gets to the glass and finishes.” Tay, who received scholarship offers from Georgetown, Florida, Florida State, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Villanova and Seton Hall, to name a few, attended the Seton Hall-Louisville game with Rogers a few weeks ago in South Orange. The Louisville coaches are looking forward to welcoming Tay.
“They are excited about her,” said Rogers. “They can’t wait to get her.”
Sports Editor
Bloomfield Tech point guard Charmaine Tay was all set for a big senior season.
The Irvington resident widely was considered one of the best high school girls’ basketball players in the state, having signed with the University of Louisville in November, a month before the season started. Louisville reached the national championship game the previous spring, losing to UConn.
Early in the season, the Spartans were playing Montclair in a Super Essex Conference-American Division game. During the game, Montclair players would “undercut” Tay every time she took a jump shot, said Bloomfield Tech head coach Bill Rogers.
“She would take a jump shot and they had a tendency of going up underneath her and take her legs out,” said Rogers. “I complained to the referees and they did nothing about it. About the fourth or fifth time, they hurt her.”
The knee injury hobbled the 5-foot-10 Tay. Since the Spartans were struggling, Rogers figured it made sense to just sit out Tay for the rest of the season.
But after a successful rehab, Tay, a former Union resident, came back for one more game for the State tournament. In her first game back since Jan. 19, Tay scored 17 points, but the reigning NJSIAA Group 1 champion Spartans lost to Secaucus, 49-48, in the first round of the NJSIAA North Jersey Section 2, Group 1 tournament to finish with a 5-20 record.
Losing Tay for most of the season was tough. “It was devastating, because she was the leader,” said Rogers. “We had a very young team. I had about eight or nine freshmen on varsity this year. I had one junior and two sophomores.”
Junior Khayriyyah Dawson, another Irvington resident, filled in for Tay at the point guard spot. The transition proved to be difficult for Dawson, a natural shooting guard, said Rogers. Dawson averaged 10 points per game. “It took away from her game, because she was not really a point guard,” said Rogers of the change. “If you put a shooting guard in a point guard position with a shooting guard mentality, you are going to labor, especially with a young team.”
Kianna Mayers, who also lives in Irvington, made strides as a freshman forward, averaging eight points a game for the Spartans.
Tay is 100 percent healthy now. What makes her so special is her tremendous versatility.
“Charmaine is a big point guard with amazing court vision because of her height,” said Rogers. “She is a playmaker and she is a rebounder. That’s why so many people wanted her. Along with being an outstanding point guard, she is a devastating rebounder. She gets to the glass and finishes.” Tay, who received scholarship offers from Georgetown, Florida, Florida State, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Villanova and Seton Hall, to name a few, attended the Seton Hall-Louisville game with Rogers a few weeks ago in South Orange. The Louisville coaches are looking forward to welcoming Tay.
“They are excited about her,” said Rogers. “They can’t wait to get her.”
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