Sunday,
February 2, 2014
By Rich Barton
NJS.com Staff Writer
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Freshman Danielle Deoul came off the bench to lead Saddle River Day in scoring as the Rebels reached the Bergen County Tournament quarterfinals for the first time in school history with 56-43 win over Demarest. |
HILLSDALE - All Izzy McMahon could do was sit and watch. After picking up her third foul early in the second quarter, she was forced to the bench for the remainder of the half as Saddle River Day's double-digit lead was whittled down to a single point by halftime with Northern Valley/Demarest having the hot hand going into the second half. If the Rebels were going to survive, McMahon would have to stay out of foul trouble and they would quickly have to regain the momentum they lost just minutes earlier.
With a balanced attack, the Rebels quickly righted the ship and took back control of the game with a big third quarter run. Three players scored in double-figures as No. 8 seed Saddle River Day secured the school's first-ever Bergen County Tournament quarterfinal berth with a 56-43 triumph over ninth-seeded Northern Valley/Demarest in a Round of 16 game at Pascack Valley High School in Hillsdale.
The Rebels took control early and started to pull away late in the first quarter, sparked by a 3-pointer from Kelly Hannigan. Freshman Danielle Deoul came off the bench to provide a spark inside as the lead grew to as many as 12 when Dani McMahon picked up her second foul and her sister Izzy picked up a silly third foul soon after, with both having to go to the bench. That left the Rebels without a true point guard and the Norsewomen pounced on the opportunity to cut into the lead.
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Victoria Corcoran scored a team-high 16 points for N/V Demarest. |
"We got outworked in the first half and we had to turn the tables in the second half," said Izzy McMahon, who will play at Army next year. "We talked at halftime and we knew what we had to do. Give Demarest credit, they had us back on our heels. In the second half, we had to come out and show what we are made of. My teammates really stepped up and made some big plays to get us back on track."
Another pair of sisters, Demarest's Victoria and Veronica Corcoran, led the charge as they consistently got to the foul line with each hitting a pair of free-throws late in the quarter as Demarest sliced the lead to one at the break, 25-24.
With the McMahon sisters back on the court, the Rebels padded their lead significantly. Dani McMahon drove for a layup, Kayla Oge scored inside, then Izzy McMahon hit a step back 3 to push the lead back up to double-digits.
"The intensity we showed to end the first half just wasn't there in the second half," said Demarest head coach Lindsay Steffner. "For some reason, we just backed down in the second half and they were the aggressors. I think we showed a little bit of our immaturity today and it's frustrating, but it's a lesson we can learn from and use to get better."
Veronica Corcoran's 3-pointer from the wing cut the lead to seven early in the fourth quarter, but the Norsewomen never got any closer. They cut the lead to eight twice in the final four minutes, but the Rebels responded with layups from Deoul and Oge as they advanced to the Bergen County quarterfinals for the first time in school history.
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Izzy McMahon scored 12 points for Saddle River Day, which will play IHA in next weekend's quarterfinals. |
Deoul, recently back after being out a month with a foot injury, led the way with 13 points for Saddle River Day (13-3). Izzy McMahon added 12 points and Oge added 10 points, eight rebounds, and four blocks. Victoria Corcoran led all players with 16 points and Victoria Corcoran finished with 10 for Northern Valley/Demarest (11-4).
Saddle River Day advances to next weekend's BCT quarterfinals where they'll face top-seeded IHA. There will be plenty of attention on Izzy McMahon playing against her former school, where she helped the Blue Eagles to a county title as a freshman. The Rebels will be looking to pull a monumental upset next week, but head coach Danny Brown knows that the effort next week has to be much better than the one they displayed on Saturday if they are going to advance.
"If we get in foul trouble and make the mistakes we made today, it's a wrap and they'll wipe us off the floor," said Brown. "We're definitely improving as a team, we just have to continue to work on being more consistent. Our effort has been there for the most part but it comes down to execution. We when we all play together, we feel we can play with anyone, but we can't do it in spurts. To beat IHA you have to put together a full 32 minutes."
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