Friday,
February 19, 2016
By Rich Barton
NJS.com Staff Writer
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Casey Doran filled the stat sheet with 10 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 steals for Mahwah, which beat NV/Demarest, 51-38, and has now won 10 in a row. |
MAHWAH – After a first-round loss to rival River Dell in the Bergen County Tournament, Mahwah's season was at a crossroads. A team with plenty of promise coming into the season was sitting at 7-5 with both the players and the coaching staff wondering how to turn things around.
Head coach Alan Clements decided to keep the focus on fundamentals, but also reminded his players that fundamentals cannot be spelled without the word fun right at the front. The Lady Thunderbirds got back having fun and the wins have been piling up ever since.
Junior center Kayla Devine was unstoppable inside and senior point guard Casey Doran found her early and often. The duo combined for 14 first-quarter points as Mahwah took a double-digit lead four minutes into the game and let it slip into single-digits for all of 8.6 seconds thereafter to earn a 10th straight win, 51-38, over Northern Valley/Demarest on Thursday in Mahwah.
“Our team totally trusts one another and we're all confident with the ball,” said Devine. “We saw they were a smaller team and I had to be a little more aggressive in getting position. Early in the season we were letting little things get to us. I think as the season has gone on, we've learned how to block things out and just focus on doing something positive every possession.”
Demarest made plenty of waves by handing Queen of Peace its only loss to date with a buzzer-beater in the Bergen County Tournament's Round of 16 before giving top-seeded and current Bergen County finalist Immaculate Conception a tussle in the quarterfinals. But over the past two weeks, the Norsewomen had lost five straight and were desperate to get back on track. However, Mahwah never gave them an opportunity to do so.
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Senior Victoria Corcoran scored a game-high 13 points for Demarest, which fell to 11-10 on the season. |
The Norsewomen essentially play five guards and the 5-foot-9 Devine took advantage of that by dominating the paint. Doran, who scored her 1,000th point earlier this season, nailed a pair of 3-pointers early to help the T-Birds get off to a hot start. She then threw lob passes to Sam Haubner and Devine for layups as Mahwah grabbed a 19-7 lead after one quarter of play.
The lead was 14 when Devine picked up her third foul and had to sit for the final 4:53 of the first half. Victoria Corcoran hit a pair of free-throws with 8.6 seconds left in the half to slice the deficit down to nine. The Thunderbirds broke the full-court pressure and got a good look to end the half. Freshman Hannah Busch scored only two points in the game but they were huge. Her rainbow jumper from the baseline swished right through the net as the halftime buzzer sounded to bump the Mahwah lead back up to double-digits, 27-16.
Devine and Haubner went right back to work inside to start the third quarter and quickly padded Mahwah's lead. The Norsewomen got back within 10 twice in the second half. Both times the T-Birds responded with jumpers from the wing by Sara Grunblatt to close out their 10th straight win.
“We got contributions from everyone on both ends of the floor and it seems to be a different player or two who steps up from one game to the next,” said Clements. “Demarest is a very tough team that plays hard and has a lot of shooters. To hold them to 38 points shows that our focus was on the defensive end. Our team blows me away with how much better they are getting every single day. I have seven, eight girls who can flat out play. Nothing flashy or anything like that, we're just really communicating and playing well together.”
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Sara Grunblatt scored 7 points for Mahwah, which is now 17-5 on the year. |
Devine led all players with 21 points and 12 rebounds for Mahwah (17-5). Doran filled the stat sheet as she usually does with 10 points, five rebounds, five assists and two steals. Haubner and Grunblatt each chipped in with seven points.
Victoria Corcoran finished with a team-high 13 points for Demarest (11-10). Mackenzie Press, Brianna Tarabocchia, and Veronica Corcoran finished with eight, seven, and six points, respectively. The Norsewomen will look to right the ship over the next 11 days before playing in their first-round North 1, Group 2 state sectional tournament game on March 1. They are the fourth seed in the section and will take on 13th-seeded Mountain Lakes.
Mahwah is also in the North 1, Group 2 section for the state tournament. Seeded seventh, The Thunderbirds will take on No. 10 Kittatinny Regional in the first round, also on March 1. With three games remaining before the state tournament begins, the T-Birds are clicking on all cylinders and having more fun than they ever thought was possible.
“From the River Dell loss in the counties until now we're a completely different team,” said Doran. “We can all play, but it's about playing together and jelling. I think in the beginning of the season we were just trying to stay in games and playing not to lose. Now we're much more confident and we feel like we can win every game we play. More than anything, we're just having fun and everything is falling into place.”
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