Saddle River Day is one step closer to 7
       
         

Faith Williamson scored a game-high 19 points for top-seeded Saddle River Day, which advanced to the Bergen County final with a 65-40 win over NV.Old Tappan.

FAIR LAWN - Saddle River Day is one step closer to earning its seventh straight Bergen County Women’s Coaches Association Basketball Championship by virtue of a 65-40 victory over Old Tappan Saturday afternoon.

The top-seeded Rebels stormed out to an 11-4 lead with drives to the basket and a 3-pointer by sophomore Brooke Braen.

“Getting off to a good start offensively was huge for us,” said Frank Clark, who took over as Saddle River Day’s head coach midseason. “All week long we’ve been talking about it. We had to throw the first punch in the game because they're very athletic and big and if we sit back and let them dictate [play] it would be a very long afternoon.”

SRD closed out the first quarter with a 12-2 run as four of the five starters scored at least three points, led by sophomore Faith Williamson with 9 points. Heading into the second quarter the Rebels led 23-10.

“We play our best when everyone is getting their shots up and sharing the ball,” said Williamson. “We have multiple threats. So it was good.”

“We were hoping to spread the floor as best we could and look for lanes - use a lot of dribble-drives and kickouts to Faith (Williamson) and Braen for 3’s,” added Clark.

Old Tappan tried to fight back in the second quarter but it seemed that every time they scored the Rebels answered right back. Knights senior Melissa Brennan canned a 3, but 17 seconds later junior Cristina Parrella hit one for SRD. Junior Layla Giordano tallied a pair of free throws for OT so junior Julianna Almeida drove and scored for the Rebels.

Layla Giordano scored a team-high 15 points for Old Tappan..

The Knights went on a mini run midway through the second quarter when senior Natalie Carril drove to the basket for two points, sandwiched around a pair of field goals by Giordano to cut the deficit to 28-21, but Parrella scored again. After a free throw by Knights junior Maya Giordano, Williamson swished a long 3-pointer with 10 seconds to go in the half and the Rebels led, 33-22 at the break.

Saddle River picked up where it left off in the third quarter with a 7-0 run, fueled by another Williamson three, a basket by Parrella off a feed from Almeida and a pair of free throws by freshman Nilah Rivera.
Maya Giordano tallied four points on back-to-back buckets but that was negated by 3s by sophomore Bella Pedone and Braen. 

Rebels senior Jess Carter drew the assignment of limiting the paint touches of Maya Giordano, who finished with seven points for the game..

“We worked really hard this week,” said Clark. “We know how talented Maya Giordano is inside. We tried to double on the interior with her a little bit and give her some different looks every time down. Jess Carter, our senior, ended up with four fouls but she played a nice game defensively. I said to her ‘those are the things that you don’t see in the box score’ but that’s why she’s such a great leader and I’m really proud of her.”

“We knew it was going to be tough because she’s such a great player,” added Williamson. “She has the size that none of us have. So it was a team effort covering her, fronting her and making it hard for her to get the ball. And when she did get the ball we made it hard for her to get a good shot.” 

Cristina Parrella scored 14 points for Saddle RIver Day, which will play IHA for the county title on Wednesday night.

Saddle River Day pulled away in the fourth quarter, outscoring the Golden Knights 17-5. In all, Saddle River Day connected on 10 3-pointers. Williamson led all scorers with 19 points, Parrella added 14 and Almeida 13. Layla Giordano tallied 18 for Old Tappan.

““I’m really proud of everyone,” said Williamson. “Everyone contributed. Everyone was taking great shots. We worked on moving the ball around. We’ve hit bumps in the road. It’s definitely been an up and down season but we’re peaking at the right time.”
The Rebels move on to play Immaculate Heart Academy Wednesday night in the championship game at Fair Lawn High School.

“I’m humbled and honored to have the opportunity,” said Clark. “I’ve come full circle. I’ve been on the end of some real bad ones. My first game as a coach in the county tournament (in 2018) was against Coach [Steve] Silver at IHA when I had Waldwick. It was a Saturday morning 9 a.m. game and I’ll never forget how Steve treated me that day. He was a real class act. I have a lot of respect for Steve, I coached both his sons in baseball and we have had some great conversations.

“I love what they’re doing for North Jersey basketball playing all over the state and doing great things. We have our work cut out for us but we’re going to give it our best shot to go after seven on Wednesday.”

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