Sunday,
February 8, 2015
By Rich Barton
NJS.com Staff Writer
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Sam Fuehring was dominant for Immaculate Conception, which made it way back to the semifinals of the Bergen County Tournament with a
67-31 win over Westwood. |
EAST RUTHERFORD – Even though Immaculate Conception has grown into one of Bergen County’s upper echelon teams and has achieved plenty of success in recent years it is one glaring failure from last season, a late collapse to eventual Bergen County Tournament champion Northern Highlands in the semifinal round, that has haunted the IC players and provided the necessary motivation for this year tournament.
That dream was nearly derailed in stunning fashion in an opening-round win over sub .500 Bergenfield and that scare seemed to be just the wake-up call that the Blue Wolves needed as they have made it their mission to not only beat teams but to do it in such a convincing way that it intimidates the opposition. On Saturday, even a talented squad from Westwood proved to be no match.
Immaculate Conception quickly took control with a precise offense led by four-year senior starter Samantha Fuehring and a smothering defense with freshman point guard Jordan McLemore setting the tone. The third-seeded Blue Wolves ripped off an 11-2 run to start the game and never looked back in a surprisingly comfortable 67-31 triumph in the Bergen County quarterfinals at Becton Regional High School.
“I thought we finally put together a solid four quarters both offensively and especially defensively,” said Immaculate Conception head coach Jeff Horohonich. “Sam (Fuehring) is Sam and we know she’s going to make an impact on every game, but our defense really picked it up a notch today and did so against a pretty good team. Our independent schedule really prepares us well for this time of year and it showed with our effort today.”
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Junior Jaide Hinds-Clarke made 7 of her 12 field goal attempts for Westwood. |
Jasmine Gee and Fuehring dominated inside early on, scoring all 11 points in run that opened the game and create a tempo that Westwood was unable to match. The Cardinals had trouble getting the ball up the floor and running an offense with McLemore making everything the Cardinals were trying to do difficult.
Jaide-Hinds Clarke hit a baseline jumper that cut the lead to 16-9 at the end of the quarter, but IC never allowed Westwood to get any closer. McLemore hit a 3-pointer to start the second quarter and then her steal led to a layup by Breanna Bellerand to bump the lead up to 13. The Blue Wolves kept their collective feet on the gas pedal in extending that lead out to 20 points by halftime, 33-13.
The Cardinals had one last spurt left in them with sophomore Olivia Cassidy’s 3-pointer trimming the lead to 14, 35-21, early in the third quarter. That only spurred on the IC players who made a concerted effort to clamp down defensively for the remainder of the game. With the poised beyond her years McLemore leading the charge, Immaculate Conception allowed just 10 points over the final 11:38 in pulling away for a return trip to Ramapo College, the site of the Bergen County semifinals.
“We stayed on our assignments today and played great team defense,” said McLemore. “We played with so much intensity and we knew that whoever played better defense was going to win. A lot of teams don’t play as fast as we do or they don’t want to play that fast. As long as we can play fast but still play under control, we feel pretty good about our chances in a big game.”
The Louisville-bound Fuehring was dominant with 26 points, 11 rebounds, and four steals for Immaculate Conception (15-5). Gee scored 7 of her 13 points in the first quarter.
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Kayla Lattimore and IC will play Saddle River Day in next weekend's semifinal round. |
Hinds-Clarke, a junior forward who has verbally committed to Richmond, hit 7 of 12 shots from the floor to lead Westwood (16-3) with 14 points.
Immaculate Conception was hoping for a rematch with Northern Highlands in next weekend’s Bergen County semifinal, but Saddle River Day threw quite the monkey wrench into that plan by upsetting in the defending Bergen County champs in the quarterfinal round. But at this point in the season and just two steps away from being Bergen County champions, the light is at the end of the tunnel and the Blue Wolves know it.
“We remember every day how it felt to lose that game in the semis last year and we’ve been motivated every since that day for another shot to get to the county final,” said Fuehring. “Especially as a senior, we want to go out as county and state champs. Our mindset is to come out stronger than we did the game before. This is the best team IC has ever had and we can feel how close we are. Our work isn’t done though, we have to come in and practice even harder on Monday than we played today.”
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