Sunday, January 27, 2013

By Rich Barton
NJS.com Staff Writer

Rebecca Rabeiro made all the plays down the stretch for Midland Park, which topped Bergenfield, 39-30, and won its first Bergen County Tournament game since 1992.

MIDLAND PARK – As time was winding down in Saturday’s first-round Bergen County Tournament game between Midland Park and Bergenfield, it was apparent that the first team able to string together a few defensive stops and a few baskets in a row was going to come away victorious. Someone had to step up and a make a play. It was only fitting that the best player on the court hit the biggest shot of the game that not only swung the pendulum Midland Park’s way, but became the springboard toward ending a hex that has dogged the Lady Panthers for decades.

Midland Park standout Rebecca Rabeiro knew it was her time to shine and she delivered with a 3-pointer that gave Midland Park the lead for good with less than three minutes to play. She then dished off two straight assists that led to baskets during an 8-0 spurt that allowed 16th seeded Midland Park to finally get the monkey off of its back by notching the program's first win in the Bergen County Tournament since 1992. Midland Parked topped Bergenfield, 39-30, at Midland Park High School.

“This is a really big win for us and we pulled through at the end,” said Midland Park center Nicole Catarano. “It’s always defense first with us and it kept us in the game. But we knew we had to make some shots in the fourth quarter. Rebecca did an amazing job and her 3 in the fourth quarter really got us going and we never looked back.”

Midland Park never led by more than three points, but held the lead for every minute of the first half except the final one. Bergenfield’s Stephanie Miranda scored on a layup with a minute to go to give the Bears a 14-13 halftime lead.

Kaitlyn McCue led Bergenfield (7-9) with 12 points and a game-high 11 rebounds.

The shooting for both teams remained cold both from the foul line and from the field well into the fourth quarter with Bergenfield maintaining its one-point advantage. Things appeared to go from bad to worse for the Panthers when Rabeiro picked up her fourth foul with 4:19 to play. The junior point guard knew her team needed her on the floor and she had to make smart decisions on both ends if the Panthers were going to avoid a 14th straight loss in the BCT.

Rabeiro nailed a 3-pointer that gave the Panthers the lead for good, then passed out of a double-team to her sister, Kim, for an elbow jumper. On the Panthers’ next possession, Rebecca Rabeiro did it again and found Avery Dravis-Stark on the wing. Her 3-pointer bounced off the rim, went straight up in the air and dropped through to finish off a quick 8-0 spurt and give the Panthers a 34-27 lead.

“Rebecca has been a leader for us all year and she rose to the occasion again,” said Midland Park head coach Sean O’Connor. “She hit a huge 3, but I thought the basket after that was the turning point in the game. When she drove the baseline and kicked it out to Kim for the jumper that was the dagger. It was the turning point in the game because it made it a two-possession game and we played with a lot of confidence in those last few minutes once we had the lead.”

Bergenfield tried desperately to cut the gap, but continued to struggle from the perimeter in bowing out.

“We knew the first team that made a sizeable run was going to win and hats off to Midland Park, they made theirs late when it counted,” said Bergenfield head coach Mike Kilgallen. “Even when we had the lead and had open looks, we weren’t able to knock them down and give us some breathing room. I thought we played really hard on the defensive end, we just didn’t make enough baskets to come out of here with a win.”

Kim Rabeiro hit a big jumper from the baseline to help turn the game in Midland Park's favor.

Rebecca Rabeiro led all players with 13 points, four assists, and three steals for Midland Park (12-2). Catarano finished a point and a rebound shy of a double-double with nine points and nine boards. Dravis-Stark added 10 points. Kaitlyn McCue led Bergenfield (7-9) with 12 points and a game-high 11 rebounds.

To put the significance of this win in perspective, the last time Midland Park won a Bergen County Tournament game, none of the players on the team were even born yet. Their second county tournament win will not come nearly as easily as they will face the ultimate test next week against top-seeded IHA.

Although the hopes of an upset appear bleak, the Panthers know that the pressure is completely off of them and they can simply go out and play. It is also a measuring stick for how they can compete against top-notch competition, which will bode well for them with the state tournament on its way.

“Winning a county game for the first time in forever is a great feeling and we worked hard to get here,” said Rabeiro. “We played Bergenfield last year, so that helped because we knew a few of their tendencies. I thought our defense dramatically improved from the first quarter to the fourth today. That kept us around until we could hit some shots to take control. Playing IHA is going to be a great experience. We’re going to have fun, stay positive, and try to hang around as long as we can. In a tournament game anything can happen. We just want to come out of that game saying we played as hard and as well as possibly could have.”

FOR MORE PHOTOS OF THIS EVENT OR TO BUY A COLLECTOR'S PRINT OF THIS GAME STORY, PLEASE VISIT 4FeetGrafix.com.