Wednesday,
March 12, 2014
By Rich Barton
NJS.com Staff Writer
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Thalia Ghalam get a piggy back ride after coming up big in Midland Park's 49-39 win over Verona in the North 1, Group 1 state sectional final on Tuesday. |
MIDLAND PARK – In less than three minutes, everything Midland Park had worked for this entire season was going down the tubes. All the Panthers could do was watch as Verona's Julie Rosenberg drained one 3-pointer after another in the third quarter to tie Tuesday night's North 1, Group 1 section final and grab the momentum that Midland Park worked so hard to secure throughout the first two-plus quarters.
With the Verona defense working hard to contain the Panthers' inside-outside duo of Nicole Cartaino and Rebecca Rabeiro, someone else needed to rise to the occasion and make some plays or else MP would have to watch someone else celebrate a section championship on its home court.
Enter Thalia Ghalam, usually a defensive standout who extended her effectiveness to the opposite end of the floor. Ghalam started the game's most crucial run with a rare driving layup and capped the 11-2 spurt it with another drive to the basket as top-seeded Midland Park defended its North 1, Group 1 section crown with a 49-39 victory over No. 2 Verona in front of a sell-out crowd at Midland Park High School.
“This is a great feeling to win another section title with a team that has such great chemistry,” said Rabeiro, who will play at Dominican College next year. “I was a little nervous in the third quarter because we were in foul trouble and they started hitting 3s. We were able to slow the pace down and everyone stepped up for us. To win a section a title is great. To win two in a row is unbelievable and I couldn't be happier.”
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Julie Rosenberg shot Verona right back into the game on her way to a team-high 16 points. |
Behind the two-way play of Rabeiro, the Panthers got off to a hot start. Her 3-pointer from the top of the key put her team up five early, but the Hillbillies hung around by dominating the glass. Ten of their 15 points in the first half came off second-chance opportunities with a basket by Brielle Cummings slicing the lead to two points. Rabeiro answered right back with another 3 as Midland Park overcame a nightmare performance at the free-throw line in the first half (3-for-13 or a dismal 23.1-percent) and held a 21-15 lead after a first half that put several key players from both teams in foul trouble.
“We should have been up more at halftime but we couldn't hit a free-throw,” said Midland Park head coach Sean O'Connor. “I thought we were in control and then (Rosenberg) started hitting 3s. Verona kept fighting and we knew they were a really scrappy team. Thalia really stepped up as a shut-down defender and she also gave us another option on offense by being aggressive.”
Midland Park appeared to have weathered the storm until Rosenberg got hot in a flash. She hit a trio of 3-pointers in a 2:30 stretch to pull Verona into a 27-27 tie. The Panthers were reeling and needed a sparkplug to get them going again. Ghalam light the fire in a variety of ways. First, she drove to the basket for a layup, then gave an all-out dive on a loose ball that led to a Rabeiro free throw. After Rabeiro's steal and a Cartaino layup put the Panthers up 34-29 going into the fourth quarter, Ghalam blocked a shot that led to a basket on the other end before scoring on another tough driving layup to make it 38-29 with 6:10 to play.
“We stayed calm when they made a run and that was the most important thing,” said Ghalam, who also played tremendous defense on Rosenberg, holding her to just two points over the game's final 10 minutes. “I knew I had to step up and not just on defense. If we could keep them from going on another run, we felt like it was still our game to win. We wanted to be the first team in school history to win two section titles in a row and we couldn't let (Verona) take it away from us.”
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Despite foul trouble, Midland Park's Rebecca Rabeiro finished with 19 points, 7 steals and 5 assists. |
Verona never got closer than seven points the rest of the way as Rabeiro controlled the tempo and the Panthers closed out Verona to win the program's second section title ever, both coming in the last two seasons.
Despite being saddled with foul trouble the entire game, Rabeiro led the way for Midland Park (25-2) with 19 points, seven steals, and five assists. Cartaino pumped in 18 points with all of them coming in the paint or at the foul line. Ghalam and Amanda Parker did most of their damage in the second half, combining for 12 points, 10 rebounds, seven steals, and two blocks.
Rosenberg scored a team-high 16 points while Cummings and Caroline Kirnan each added nine for Verona, which finished the season with a 19-8 record.
The euphoria of winning a second straight North 1, Group 1 title will live on in time. But for right now, the Panthers have to immediately shift their focus. Next up is Thursday's Group 2 semifinal against North 2 champ Malcolm X Shabazz, which is both the current No. 1 team in New Jersey and is being considered maybe the best Group 1 team ever in state history.
However, the Panthers look forward to the challenge of making a statement against the best that New Jersey has to offer.
“We know they're a very good team, but it's a great opportunity for us and something we'll always remember,” added Rabeiro, who leads the state in steals for a second straight season. “We have nothing to lose and everything to gain against the No. 1 team in New Jersey, so we're just going to let it all out there and see what happens.”
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