Monday,
February 15, 2016
By Rich Barton
NJS.com Staff Writer
|
Jordan McLemore had 12 points, 4 assists, and 3 steals for Imm. Conception which eased it disappointment of being left out of the state tournament with a 39-36 win over Teaneck in the Bergen County Tournament semifinals. |
MAHWAH – The loss that Immaculate Conception took on Thursday did not take place on the floor, but it was worse than any loss any last second defeat or 30-point drubbing. On that day the NJSIAA determined that the Blue Wolves had played too many out-of-state games and did not meet the 70-percent requirement of games played within New Jersey borders to be considered eligible for state tournament play.
That meant that Immaculate Conception would not be able to defend its Non-Public B North section title. With just one championship left to play for, the Bergen County title, the Blue Wolves had to shift gears and put all of their energy into finishing the season as champions.
Senior and four-year starter Jasmine Gee made some big plays in the fourth quarter and fellow senior Autumn Webster knocked down a huge 3-pointer late as top-seeded Immaculate Conception held on for a 39-36 victory over fourth-seeded Teaneck on Sunday in the Bergen County Tournament semifinals at Ramapo College in Mahwah.
“We knew this game wasn’t going to be easy and we had to play hard to win,” said Gee.
Neither team found much of an offensive rhythm all game. IC set the tone with stingy defense that led to points in transition. Breanne Bellerand hit a jumper and Gee followed with a pair of free-throws for a 7-0 lead.
|
Justine Esquillan and Teaneck were step for step with IC before falling to 14-6. |
Teaneck struggled form the floor as well, but was equally as scrappy. The Highwaywomen took their first lead on a drive by Amanda Gordon, 15-14, with 4:33 left in the half. Both teams could only muster a single basket for the remainder of the half with Teaneck holding a 17-16 lead at the half.
Gee and Jordan McLemore both scored on drives to the basket as the Blue Wolves took the lead and allowed just one field goal (a 3-pointer by Teaneck’s Hannah Ashby) to take a 25-20 lead.
After scoring just three points in the third quarter, the Highwaywomen needed less than a minute to double that output in the fourth. Justine Esquillin and Amanda Gordon had back-to-back conventional 3-point plays to put Teaneck back in front, 26-25.
Midway through the fourth quarter, Gee put IC in front to stay on a bank shot followed on the next possession by a scoop pass along the baseline from Devyn Dash to Webster for a layup. The lead was two when Webster hit a dagger 3 from the corner to make it a two-possession game, 37-32, with two minutes to play.
“We had to start hitting outside shots and Autumn hit a really big one for us,” added Gee. “A lot of the Teaneck girls know a lot of us from AAU and stuff, so we know how each other play. They know what our strengths and weaknesses are and we know theirs. That made it tough to score for both teams. We had to stay calm and just play our game until our shots started falling.”
|
Jasmine Gee scored a game-high 14 points for Immaculate Conception, which will play Saddle River Day in the county final next weekend. |
Teaneck had one last chance down three but turned the ball over inside the final minute. The Blue Wolves broke the pressure on the ensuing possession with Gee scoring on a short jumper to ice the game.
Gee led all players with 14 points and 10 rebounds for Immaculate Conception (15-5). McLemore added 12 points, four assists, and three steals.
Milan Johnson and Amanda Gordon had nine and eight points, respectively, for Teaneck (14-6). The Highwaywomen will turn their attention to the North 1, Group 3 state sectional tournament. They are the fifth seed and will face 12th-seeded Sparta in the opening round.
For Immaculate Conception there will be no state tournament this season. They can only focus on what it directly in front of them and it is something that eluded them last season: a Bergen County title.
“It was very emotional when we found out that we weren’t going to play in the state tournament this year,” said Gee. “It’s very motivational for us to make up for it by winning a county title. Breanne (Bellerand) said in a team meeting after that was the one thing we can’t do is sulk or feel bad for ourselves. This has only made us work harder. We just had to move on and we’ll keep doing what we’ve been doing.”
CLICK HERE FOR MORE PHOTOS FROM THIS GAME. TO BUY A COLLECTOR'S PRINT
OF THIS STORY, PLEASE VISIT 4FeetGrafix.com. |