Friday, January 20, 2012

By Rich Barton
NJS.com Staff Writer

Sophie Lederer helped Glen Rock get the pace of the game in its favor in the fourth quarter of a 37-30 win at Eastern Christian.

NORTH HALEDON – For the first three quarters of Thursday’s game, it seemed like the Glen Rock girls basketball team was battling not only budding rival Eastern Christian, but also itself. Between rushing shots and committing numerous turnovers, the Panthers could not find any rhythm despite holding the lead for most of the game. But when Eastern Christian cut the lead to one early in the fourth quarter it was like a light went on. Behind the leadership of senior Margi Rivara and junior point guard Sophie Lederer, they were not going to relinquish the lead and put on a clinic on how a team can use clock management to its advantage when the game is on the line.

Glen Rock did not allow a field goal in the final seven minutes, largely because the ball was in the Panthers’ hands for the majority of fourth quarter as they held on for a 37-30 victory at Eastern Christian High School.

“I didn’t think we played all that well for most of the first three quarters, but we finished today and that was just enough to pull out a win,” said Glen Rock head coach Dave Mosconi. “Once Sophie (Lederer) hit that big shot and we were able to spread the floor that was when we really settled down and played solid basketball.”

Both teams struggled shooting the ball early as neither team scored a point in the game’s first three minutes and it was tied 6-6 late in the first quarter before Rivara heated up. She hit four consecutive shots from the floor with all of them hitting nothing but net for nine points in a 13-2 run that gave Glen Rock a 19-8 lead.

6-foot-5 center Michelle Van Dyke finished with 16 points and 8 rebounds for Eastern Christian.

The Eagles did not fold and made more of a concerted effort to get the ball into 6-foot-5 center Michelle Van Dyke, who single-handedly kept the Eagles in it by scoring 10 first-half points, including a layup late in the second quarter that cut the lead to 24-16 at the break.

The Eagles started chipping away in the latter stages of the third quarter and cut it to one on their first possession of the fourth. Carly Veenstra hit two free-throws and Van Dyke scored on a putback to slice the once double-digit lead all the way down to a single point, 30-29, with seven minutes to play.

After missing from the exact same spot a minute earlier, Lederer knocked down a three-pointer from the wing that gave the Panthers a little breathing room. From there it was all Glen Rock as it dominated possession by spreading the floor and forcing Eastern Christian to come out of its 2-3 zone. Once the Eagles matched up, Lederer and Rivara often had the ball in their hands and made good decisions with them like the experienced players that they are.

Helping matters for the Panthers was that Eastern Christian, remarkably, did not record its first team foul of the second half until there was under two minutes left in the game. So it took even more time off the clock as the Eagles tried to foul their way into the bonus just to get the ball back. The Panthers only turned the ball over once over the final 4:42, allowed just four empty possessions by the Eagles, and got layups from Julia Lohr and Stephanie Maier late to seal another victory.

Margi Rivara and Glen Rock improved to 9-2 on the season.

“I thought we showed poise and patience in the fourth quarter and that was the difference,” said Glen Rock’s Margi Rivara. “We made some really smart decisions with the ball down the stretch. I’m happy to have players like Sophie and Margi who have been through games like this before and know exactly what to do. We also got a great effort defensively out of (5-foot-8) Morgan Foley on their center Van Dyke in the middle. That helped us from letting them go on a big run.”

Rivara scored 13 of her team-high 15 points in the first for Glen Rock (9-2), which has now won its last three games. Van Dyke finished with game-highs of 16 points and eight rebounds for Eastern Christian, which had a five-game win streak snapped to fall to 8-3 on the season. Veenstra added nine points and three steals for the Eagles.

Glen Rock had the potential to cruise into the upcoming Bergen County Tournament on a roll. But in order to make any sort of noise in the tournament as the team has done in years past, the Panthers know that they have to stretch what they did against EC in the fourth quarter into four quarters of consistent play.

“I think our fourth quarter today showed us how successful we can be if can do that on a consistent basis,” said Rivara. “When we used the clock to our advantage, we were able to slow the game and let them react to our pace instead of us reacting to theirs. We will continue to work on our weaknesses and improve our strengths for the next game. If we can do that and battle hard every game, we will continue to grow and be a tough team for the rest of the season.”

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