Monday, February 14, 2011

By Rich Barton
NJS.com Staff Writer

Sarah Halejian scored a game-high 25 points and made all 11 of her free throws for two-time defending champion Ramapo, which knocked off Pascack Hills, 47-41 in the quarterfinals of the Bergen County Tournament.

EAST RUTHERFORD – Ramapo came into this season as the two-time defending Bergen County girls basketball champion with four returning starters and the county’s best player in Sarah Halejian to run the offense for a fourth straight year. But as this season’s county tournament rolled around, the Green Raiders were considered somewhat of an afterthought by some with IHA and Teaneck the overwhelming favorites. But anyone watching Sunday’s vintage performance knows that Ramapo has no intention of giving up its title without a fight.

Halejian was sensational from the opening tap, but was at her best from the charity stripe. She hit all 11 of her free throws, including four down the stretch, as fourth-seeded Ramapo held on for a 47-41 Bergen County Tournament quarterfinal triumph over fifth-seeded Pascack Hills at Becton Regional High School.

With the Pascack Hills defense focusing on slowing Halejian, Ramapo needed to have a presence inside early to keep the defense honest. The Raiders got that from Kasey Woetzel. Woetzel, a junior, and Halejian each scored two baskets during a 10-1 run to open the game.

“It was real important to get off to a good start and that got us going,” said Woetzel, the team’s tallest starter at 5-foot-10. “I usually just focus on playing good defense, but I had to be aggressive inside today. We play pretty good defense and getting a lead early like we did today makes us more comfortable and we can take a few more chances on steals and blocks.”

Pascack Hills did not score a field goal in the game’s first six minutes and were staring down a double-digit deficit at the half, 27-17.

Julianne Funtsch scored 6 of her 7 points during a 13-5 run that got Pascack Hills to within two points.

The intermission allowed the Cowgirls to get their bearings and refocus their energy on getting back in the game. Julianne Funtsch scored six of her seven points during a 13-5 run, capped by a layup that sliced the Ramapo lead to 32-30.

With the momentum shifting toward the Cowgirls, Halejian became more aggressive in going to the basket and single-handedly took the game back. She got fouled going to the basket on two straight possessions and nailed all four free-throws to boost’s Ramapo’s lead back to six by the end of the third quarter, 36-30.

Pascack Hills got as close as four in the final minute on a three-pointer from Sam Blake. Ramapo stayed calm under pressure as Halejian hit four big free-throws and Deanna Devonshuk added a pair of late free throws as the Green Raiders held on to earn their third consecutive BCT Final 4 berth.

“When you are down double-digits to a team like Ramapo, especially the way they shot free-throws today, you’re in serious trouble,” said Pascack Hills head coach Scott Ernest. “You had two really good teams here and someone had to win. We got ourselves in a hole and it was just a little too much to get out of it. Halejian is the real deal and Ramapo knows how to protect a lead as well as any team in Bergen County.”

Erin O'Hagan and Ramapo will face IHA in the semifinals.

Halejian hit all 11 of her free-throws on her way to a game-high 25 points for Ramapo (17-2).  The Yale-bound point guard added six rebounds, four steals, three assists, and three blocks. Devonshuk and Woetzel added 10 and nine points, respectively. Erin Westervelt had team-highs of 15 points and eight rebounds for Pascack Hills (18-3).

The Ramapo win moves it into next weekend’s Bergen County semifinal where it will face top-seeded IHA, which got 12 points each from Samantha Wilkes and Raquel Scott. But it was a buzzer-beating three-pointer from freshman Izzy McMahon that was the backbreaker as the Blue Eagles cruised to a 47-35 victory over eighth-seeded Immaculate Conception.

The semifinal will be a rematch of last month’s game between the two powerhouse teams won by IHA, 52-47. But Ramapo likes the role of underdog and being doubted, even by those here at this website.

“I heard (award winning editorial director) Cory Doviak pick against us on a podcast (The Ballgame!, NorthJerseySports.com’s original multimedia series) and that gave us just a little more fuel for the fire,” said Halejian. “Any extra motivation we have at this point is always a good thing and we like when people count us out. It’s critical that we have that big-game experience in the county tournament and we know what it takes to get the job done. Every team left has a good chance to win it. We just hope we can have a final say on who ends up as county champs.”

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