Thursday,
March 6, 2014
By Rich Barton
NJS.com Staff Writer
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Taylor Harmon had a double-double for Saddle Brook, which set a new record for wins in a season and reached the state sectional semifinals for the first time in 36 years with a 61-54 win over Ridgefield in front of a packed house. |
SADDLE BROOK – As they waited for the lineups to be announced, Saddle Brook seniors Taylor Harmon and Katie Garbarino were exchanging huge smiles and for good reason. Two years ago they were both sophomores on a team that went 3-20 and when they would look in the stands back then they would see only the immediate families of the Falcon players.
On Wednesday night as they prepared to play in the North 1, Group 1 state sectional quarterfinals, they were in front of a standing-room only crowd. It was at that moment that they realized just how far this program has come, but playing against a Ridgefield team that has had a resurgence of its own this year, Harmon and Garbarino did not want their last high school basketball memory to be a loss on their home floor in front of a capacity crowd.
After Ridgefield cut a double-digit lead down to three points with less than two minutes to play, the Falcons' senior duo responded. Garbarino scored inside and Harmon completed a 3-point play to help third-seeded Saddle Brook advance to the North 1, Group 1 sectional semifinals for the first time in 36 years with a 61-54 victory over Ridgefield, the No. 11 seed, at Saddle Brook High School.
“To see our whole school here being like a 6th man on the court was incredible,” said Harmon, a 6-foot-1 forward. “We've been having so much fun this season. Two years ago and the first half of last year no one really had much faith in us and we didn't have much faith in ourselves. Now we're having the best time ever and we're trying to soak it all in.”
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Taylor Jakuc scored a team-high 19 points for Ridgefield. |
Feeding off the energy of the crowd, Saddle Brook scored the game's first seven points. Freshman Brianna Brooks then hit a one-handed runner along the baseline and Harmon followed with a steal and a 3-pointer as the Falcons grabbed a 13-4 lead.
Ridgefield cut the lead to six points on five occasions in the second quarter. The Falcons answered back on four of those with a basket on their ensuing possession. Taylor Jakuc's layup cut the lead to 24-20 but Saddle Brook kept riding the hot hand of sophomore Cherie Smedile. She came off the bench to score 12 points in the second quarter, including seven in the final 1:35 of the half capped by a deep 3-pointer to give the Falcons a 31-20 halftime lead.
The teams traded baskets throughout the third quarter until Harmon picked up her fourth foul with 2:23 to go and was forced to the bench. Seconds later, Jakuc hit a 3-pointer off the inbounds pass as the Royals had some life, down by just eight points, 45-37, heading into the final period.
Without Harmon in the game, the Falcons were still able to run their offense get enough baskets to buy some time. That only lasted so long as Ridgefield, which used 3-point shooting to rally from an eight-point deficit in the final 3:45 in a first-round win over Wood-Ridge, was at it again from long-range. Gioia Abreu and Vivi Carrero nailed 3-pointers to get them within striking distance before Taylor Jakuc's 3 from the corner cut the Falcons' lead in half and made it a one-possession game for the first time since the opening minute, 54-51, with just over two minutes to play.
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Brianna Brooks scored 17 points for Saddle Brook, which will play Verona in the semifinals. |
After a turnover, the Royals had a chance to cut the lead even further or tie the game, but threw the ball away themselves. With her senior season on the line, Garbarino could not have picked a better time to score her only field goal of the game. Her basket inside made it a two-possession game. After a Ridgefield miss, Harmon followed by breaking the press herself and scored while being fouled, hitting the free-throw to make it 59-51.
“Every time we made a run, they found a way to put the ball in the basket,” said Ridgefield head coach George Reynoso. “We fought and fought but that's a great team and we couldn't get a few stops in a row. Getting down early you can only trade baskets for so long. Eventually you have to go on a big run. We're disappointed that our season is over, but we have a big junior class and now that we've gotten this far, the ceiling is only higher for us next year.”
The Royals made one last stand as Carrero swished a 26-footer to cut the lead to five with 1:12 to play. Brooks put the game away, though, by hitting both ends of a one-and-one as Saddle Brook broke the school record for wins in a season and advanced to the section semis for the first time since 1978, when the previous record for wins in a season was set.
“Before the game, the seniors (Harmon, Garbarino, and Cassie Winnie) were all looking at each other and I could tell it just hit all of us how far we've come,” said Garbarino, who will play softball at Kean University next year. “We've worked our butts off, had three-hour practices, ran ourselves to death. Now we're seeing that hard work pay off though. To play and win a state game in front of a crowd like we had tonight makes it all worth it.”
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Emma Rush scored 7 points for Ridgefield, which finished the season with a 14-9 record. |
Harmon led all players with 20 points and 12 rebounds for Saddle Brook (23-4). Smedile tied a career-high with 19 points and Brooks had her best game as a varsity player with 17 points.
Jakuc hit a trio of 3-pointers on her way to a team-high 19 points for Ridgefield, which finished the season with a 14-9 record. Carrero also hit three long-range shots on her way to 11 points. Mimi Jeremic, Abreu, and Rush added 9, 8, and 7 points, respectively.
Saddle Brook will go on the road on Friday to face off against second-seeded Verona, a 43-35 overtime winner over Emerson last night. A win and a berth in the section final is now the new goal since the Falcons have already met all of the other ones they set for this season. But for the seniors, it will represent at least one more time that they will get to take the court together, which is all Saddle Brook head coach Darren White could ask for.
“This atmosphere was unbelievable tonight and this team deserves to play in front of a crowd like that,” said White. “Group 1 sports are very special because the whole student body and the entire town really rallies around you. For Taylor, Katie, and Cassie to break the school record for wins and get to play two state games in front of this kind of crowd is something we'll all always remember. As a coach, you're supposed to be the ones that inspire your players. But this team, these seniors, they are the ones who are inspiring me.”
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