Isabelaa Giampaglia, one of two seniors honored on Senior Day in Old Tappan, scored a game-high 20 points to lead the Knights to a 63-48 win over River Dell in the season finale for both teams.
OLD TAPPAN – The scene played out all over the state on Saturday as the unique 2021 high school basketball season came to an end. There was a definite sell-by date this year so no matter a team’s success, no state playoffs meant that the last game on the regular season schedule was the last game period.
Whereas a win in March usually means checking to see what happened on the other side of the playoff bracket to determine a next postseason opponent, this year it meant celebratory cupcakes in the stands to mark the last bounce of the ball.
“I don’t want to say this season was a disaster because the kids were able to get something out of it, but we were shut down twice, two weeks each time, and all we got was eight games against five different opponents,” said Northern Valley/Old Tappan head coach Brian Dunn. ”It’s just so different. Typically we would be in the playoffs and at some point, except for one team in the state, you lose and you end it on a different note. It is about the basketball. This is more about the team, the relationships. We knew this was the last game no matter what.”
And the Golden Knights made the most of it. After honoring their two seniors, Isabella Giampaglia and Jenna Fitzgerald, in the pregame, Old Tappan scored the first five points of the game and went on to a wire-to-wire, 63-48 win over visiting River Dell, which was finishing up its own successful season that was given a reprieve earlier in the week.
“This was definitely a weird one, but you are always trying to teach kids life lessons through basketball. You talk about being resilient. They make a run, you come back and that kind of what this season was,” said River Dell head coach Lindsay Steffner. “We were shut down for four days, we thought our season was done, then there was a change of circumstances, we were back and we won two games this week. It was a roller coaster and I am hoping our team learned life lessons about being facing adversity, being resilient and showing some grit because that is what they did.”
Isabella Gilmour scored a team-high 14 points for River Dell, which finished with an 11-3 record and a share of a league title.
Fitzgerald and Giampaglia were instrumental in getting their team rolling in their final high school game. Fitzgerald made a 3-pointer on the game’s opening possession to put Old Tappan (6-2) in front for good. Giampaglia made the second field goal by cleaning up at the edges of a scrum near the basket and then made a mid-range jumper before setting up Mackenzie Ward for a bucket off an inbounds play that gave Old Tappan an 11-4 lead.
Giampaglia scored 10 points in the opening quarter in a variety of ways. She added a fastbreak basket and a 3-pointer as the Knights surged to a 20-9 lead after the first quarter.
“This was definitely not what we were hoping for for our senior season, but I think we did the best we could with the opportunities that we got,” said Giampaglia, a good rebounder for her size, a deft passer of the ball and also a good shooter from the mid-range and behind the 3-point line. “Every time we got into a rhythm we were shut down, but I am proud of this team for the way we worked in every practice and the way we ended here today.”
River Dell (11-4) had some successful stretches as it tried to mount a comeback, especially in the second quarter when Lily Crowder asserted herself inside. She made 5 of 6 free throw attempts in the period, including the two that got the Golden Hawks to within 30-22 with 1:14 left before Old Tappan took a 32-23 read into the break.
Sofia Berisha scored 15 points for Old Tappan, which finished the season with a 6-2 record.
Crowder missed most of the third quarter after having her ankle rolled up on from behind and Old Tappan did not let her absence go unnoticed. The Knights opened the second half on an 8-2 run with Fitzgerald’s putback of her own missed shot to make it 43-27 and junior Sofia Berisha made a pair of 3-pointers in the span of one minute to give OT is largest lead of the game at 46-29. The lead was 13 points, 49-36, heading into the fourth quarter and River Dell never got back to within single digits the rest of the way.
The Hawks, playing without a starter in Kayla DePol, had three players finish in double figures led by Isabella Gilmour with 14 points. Sarah Vanderback and Crowder, who returned to start the fourth quarter, each finished with 13 points and Sophia Firneno added 6. All five of those players will be back in what everybody hopes will be a full and robust 2021-22 season. The Hawks’ lone loss to graduation will be Caitlin Nadler, the team’s leading scorer and a standout three-sport athlete.
River Dell’s losses came against Old Tappan, Ramapo, which finished off a 15-0 campaign on Saturday, and Westwood, with whom it shared a league title.
Old Tappan was led by Giampaglia’s 20 points and Berisha (15 points), Ward (12 points) and Melissa Brennan (11 points) all finished in double figures. Fitzgerald (5 points) rounded out the scoring for the Knights, who lost twice to Teaneck and to no one else in their abbreviated season.
“It feels nice to go out with a win after our loss [to Teaneck] on Thursday,” said Fitzgerald. “It was the best way that we could end our season and I hope it sets the tone for the players that will be back next year.”
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