Wednesday,
February 12, 2014
By Rich Barton
NJS.com Staff Writer
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Lisa Marcellari hit a 3-pointer in a 9-0 run that Pascack Valley used to pull away en route to a 42-20 win over Bergenfield on Tuesday. |
HILLSDALE – When a team is not as offensively gifted as its opponent, it has to muster up other ways to win. Passing the ball efficiently, boxing out and staying out of foul trouble are such things that Pascack Valley has had to do this year in order to be successful. With a tough stretch of games coming over the next two weeks, including dates with Bergen County semifinalists Teaneck and Northern Highlands, Pascack Valley was hoping to start that stretch on the right note on Tuesday against Bergenfield.
The Indians did just that with a defensive performance that showed what a tough out the Indians could be both late in the regular season and well into the state tournament.
The Indians allowed just two field goals, committed just one foul and gave up only one offensive rebound in the first half in taking control and leading throughout as Pascack Valley cruised to a 42-20 triumph over Bergenfield in Hillsdale.
“We’re getting better and better every day and as a coach that’s what I want to see more than anything else,” said Pascack Valley head coach Jeff Jasper. “I thought we really picked up the pace in the second quarter and we kept getting stops until we started to hit some shots. We’re basically playing the state tournament over the next few weeks with the tough teams we’re playing, so this is a nice win for us.”
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Dani LaPorta hit a jumper to start the third quarter and get Bergenfield get to within 7 points. |
Both teams started off slow with neither scoring in the game’s first five minutes. Dana Torres hit a 3-pointer to get the Lady Bears within two to end the first quarter. Pascack Valley responded as Lisa Marcellari and Claire Dronzek each hit 3-pointers in a 9-0 spurt to start the second quarter as Pascack Valley was smothering on defense throughout the half and led 16-7 at the break.
“We had to go to overtime with them earlier in the year when we played at their place, so it was big for us to come out and set the tone on our home court,” added Jasper.
Dani LaPorta hit a short jumper to start the second half. Bergenfield never got closer than 7 the rest of the way as Jessica Powell hit a pair of short jumpers and Marcellari used her quick release to knock down another three from the corner and then hit a running one-hander off the glass at the buzzer to take a commanding 30-13 lead after three quarters.
“I thought we ran some good sets, but we couldn’t put the ball in the basket and PV never allowed us any second chances,” said Bergenfield head coach Mike Kilgallen. “We became almost an exclusively jump-shooting team and they did a great job of boxing us out. We were still down only nine at the half so it was still a game, but we never got going in the second half and PV kept knocking down shots until it was too much for us to overcome.”
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Claire Dronzek was one of three Pascack Valley players to score 10 points as PV got back over .500 for the season at 10-9. |
Pascack Valley got 10 points each from Marcellari, Powell, and Dronzek to climb back over .500 for the season at 10-9. Torres scored all nine of her points from beyond the 3-point line for Bergenfield (7-10).
With a slew of tough games ahead, the Indians are looking to pull a few upsets and end the season on a high note. Their philosophy is to simply play better in the next game than they did in the previous one. If they can do that, the Indians feel that they can be a tough squad to knock out come state tournament time.
“Defense is the most important thing to focus on if you’re going to win against a physical team like Bergenfield,” said Marcellari. “I thought we communicated really well and played great help defense today. We’re pumped up for the games to close out the season against some of the best teams in North Jersey. It’s a bittersweet feeling because as a senior you never want the season to end and it has to end sometime. But we’re excited to see where we’re seeded for the states and I think if we play as well as we played today that we’ll do really well.”
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