Monday,
February 16, 2015
By Rich Barton
NJS.com Staff Writer
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Senior Sam Fuehring scored 30 points to put the stamp on Imm. Conception's 55-40 win over Saddle River Day that lands the Blue Wolves in the Bergen County final for the first time in school history. |
MAHWAH - As confident of a player has she is, Immaculate Conception's Samantha Fuehring could not help but let doubt creep into her mind for a few seconds. After a collapse on the same floor in the Bergen County semifinals against Teaneck last year, Fuehring was watching the same scenario play out as Saddle River Day swiftly sliced a 16-point deficit down to five in the third quarter. But this was Fuehring's last chance to get her team to a county final and she simply refused to let her team lose.
The Louisville-bound Fuehring was unstoppable all game long and finished with 30 points as second-seeded Immaculate Conception advanced to the school's first-ever berth in a county final in any sport with a 55-40 triumph victory over No. 10 seed Saddle River Day in the Bergen County semifinals on Sunday at Ramapo College in Mahwah.
"We've played some tough competition and have had a lot of close games this year so we were better prepared to execute when the pressure was on," said Immaculate Conception head coach Jeff Horohonich. "Saddle River Day came out with a lot of fire in the third quarter. With the lead we got a little complacent. If anyone knows you can't do that, we should. Sam really carried us throughout the game and it's nice to have that luxury to have a player take over like that."
Fuehring, a 6-foot-2 forward, set the tone in the first half by scoring from all over the court. Drives to the basket, getting to the foul line, 3-pointers from the corner, Fuehring did it all in the first half as IC opened up a 16-point lead by halftime, 29-13.
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Kelly Hannigan had 10 points for Saddle River Day, which was playing in its first ever semifinal. |
Sparked by the defense of Dani McMahon, Saddle River Day did not take long to get back in the game in the third quarter. She had three steals and two layups in a 12-1 run that cut the lead to 30-25.
The two pivotal moments came in succession soon after and both went in IC's favor. With the lead at six points, IC freshman point guard Jordan McLemore hustled back in transition to block a layup and on the next possession, McMahon picked her fourth foul and was forced to the bench for the final 3:31 of the third quarter. Fuehring and Khay'la Latimer both scored from the perimeter to push the lead back up to nine heading into the fourth quarter and the Rebels never got closer than eight over the final eight minutes of regulation.
"We couldn't do anything in the first half and we dug ourselves a huge hole," said Saddle River Day head coach Danny Brown. "You can't come into a county semifinal, score 13 points in a half and expect to win. We made a good run to get close, but we got killed on the boards and couldn't get over the hump. I thought we were a little bit of a 'deer in the headlights' to start the game. Moving forward, we have to follow the game plan better and execute on both ends. Hopefully we'll learn from this game and it will make us better for a run in the states."
Fuehring, who was recently named a McDonald's All-American, cracked the 30-point mark for the third time this season for Immaculate Conception (17-5). Latimer added 11 points and Breanna Bellerand chipped in with six points and six rebounds.
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Khay'la Latimer and IC will play IHA for the county title on Sunday. |
McMahon had 12 points and six steals to lead Saddle River Day (16-4). Danielle Deoul and Kelly Hannigan had 10 and eight points, respectively. If the seeds in the Non-Public North B state tournament hold true, the teams will meet again once again in the semifinal round.
But for the Blue Wolves, they have more pressing issues in front of them. Now with the program's first-ever berth in a county final, IC wants to bring home the trophy. It is an opportunity that Fuehring has waited four years for and she looks forward to seizing the moment.
"Last year, we didn't use the clock to our advantage and we weren't aggressive, today we were," said Fuehring, who recently passed 2,000 points for her career. "Facing IHA, it's going to be a great game. We were really relaxed coming into this game. Hopefully next week we're just as relaxed and I'm very excited to play in a county final."
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