Saniah Caldwell and Saddle River Day have been hunting good games all season and found one on Tuesday at New Providence. The Rebels won 79-53 to improve to 9-2.
NEW PROVIDENCE – Over the past decade Saddle River Day has solidified itself as the premier girls' basketball program in North Jersey, so much so that finding tough games during a normal season proved to be difficult. Throw in a pandemic and a shortened schedule and those opportunities have proven even fewer and and further between. With the season winding down, the Rebels are willing to go anywhere to test themselves and on Wednesday it was a trip to New Providence to play an undefeated, state-ranked Group 1 power.
The Pioneers were formidable opponent and played hard throughout. Like every other team on the Rebels' schedule this season, nobody had an answer for Paulina Paris.
After being saddled with foul trouble throughout the first half, Paris busted out in the third quarter and sparked a 13-0 run. The sensational junior guard finished with game-highs of 24 points and nine assists as Saddle River Day pulled away for a 79-53 triumph over New Providence on Wednesday afternoon.
“When you have girls like Paulina and Saniah Caldwell who can finish around the rim but also shoot it from 3 along with players around them who can score in bunches, it just makes them really hard to guard,” said New Providence head coach Cap Pazdera. “We're a Group 1 high school, so to have this talent is unusual for us. We don't see competition like this every day and it's a great learning experience for us. Saddle River Day is a great team and they're well-coached. Now we know we have to work on in the off-season to eventually play at the same speed that we saw today.”
Grace Kinum scored 19 points for New Providence, which lost for the first time this season.
It looked a customary blowout for the Rebels after Paris and Saniah Caldwell hit threes in a game-opening 8-0 burst. The Pioneers fell behind early but never wavered in their confidence. Senior co-captain Lindsay Kinum was consistently getting to the basket throughout the first half with her basket cutting the lead down to two early in the second quarter.
With Paris forced to the bench after picking up her second foul late in the first quarter and the Pioneer defense focused on taking away good looks for Cierra Pearson and Caldwell at the basket head coach Danny Brown looked down his bench to find an offensive spark. Bliss Vimbor came in averaging three pointer per game in limited action this season. But when her number was called midway through the second quarter on Wednesday, she was ready. The freshman guard knocked down all three of her three-point attempts to help the Rebels open up the lead to 12 by halftime, 33-21.
“I think this was the type of game that we needed that was a good team we played today,” said Paris. “It was a rocky first half that went up-and-down but we had p[layers really step up when we needed it. We knew going into the second half that we couldn't relax or take any possessions off because every possession is important. I knew I had to get to the basket more in the second half and be as aggressive as I possibly could. We feel like when we're on our game that we can lock up defensively and we're unguardable on offense. But sometimes we don't always do that. To get to where we want to be it's something we have to get right.”
Lindsay and Grace Kinum scored consecutive baskets to trim the lead to eight in the opening minute of the third quarter. Paris responded with a drive to push the lead back up to double-digits. She shrugged off the first-half foul trouble and stayed aggressive throughout the second half to take over the game. Despite the Pioneers playing good defense and contesting shots from the perimeter the Rebels kept knocking down them. That mixed in with Paris being unstoppable in transition was enough for Saddle River Day to polish off a quality win. Although the final margin was 26 points, it did not feel that way throughout.
Julianna Almeida and Saddle River Day have two games remaining.
“I thought we got outrebounded and outhustled in the first half, it's something we're not used to but we shot well enough to get out of it,” said Saddle River Day head coach Danny Brown. “New Providence plays really hard and they have some talented players. For us to get beaten off the dribble as much as we did today was a little frightening. It is something we will have to correct immediately.”
Paris came in averaging 24 points per game and hit that mark directly on the number along with a season-high nine assists and five rebounds for Saddle River Day (9-2). Dakota Corey added 13 points, nine rebounds, and three assists. Alanis Diaz matched Corey with a game-high nine rebounds. Juliana Almeida and Mia Walsh came in and gave the Rebels quality minutes off the bench in the second half, combining for 11 points.
Grace Kinum and Lindsay Kinum had 19 and 13 points, respectively, for New Providence (13-1). Meghan Lamanna chipped in with eight points and Grace Kelly had seven for the Pioneers, who return all but two players. They will close their season with another tough contest, traveling to Newark to play University.
Saddle River Day has two more games left against stern opponents in Stuart Day and Rutgers Prep. With no seniors and the entire roster returning for next year the Rebels want to end the year on a high note and have that carry over into next year when they will shoot for national recognition and to finish as New Jersey's No. 1 team.
“We have two great games coming up and we'll have to be ready for them,” added Brown. “This is what we needed. It showed what we can do when we execute on both ends. But it also shed some light on what we need to work on.”
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