Junior Maya Forte scored all 8 of her points in the second half for Rutherford, which pulled away from North Arlington to pick up its first win of the season, 35-17, over North Arlington on Tuesday..
NORTH ARLINGTON – Having graduated its two leading scorers from last year’s team that reached the North 2 Group 2 semifinals in the state tournament and with no seniors on the roster this season, there were going to be some growing pains for the Rutherford girls basketball team this year. That was evidenced by convincing losses to Saddle Brook and Secaucus in the opening week of the season.
Despite the rough start, Rutherford showed camaraderie, aggressiveness and athleticism amongst the young group. Locked in a defensive stalemate at halftime against North Arlington, the Bulldogs needed someone to step up and take control on offensive end of the floor. Even though she was just 10 quarters into her varsity career at the time, Mackenzie Vellis was ready for the challenge.
In the third quarter, the 5-foot-9 freshman shooting guard scored on a conventional three-point play, then followed it up with a three-pointer from beyond the arc to break the game open and help Rutherford to its first win of the season, 35-17, over North Arlington on Monday in North Arlington.
“We had two tough games to start the year, so it was nice to get a win here,” said Rutherford head coach Ed Guy. “It’s all about consistency since the first scrimmage. We have to stop turning the ball over, but we can make up for it at times with our athleticism. We’re getting experience and hopefully we start to play better as we get into the tougher stretch of our schedule.”
Lia Cruz scored a team-high 7 points for North Arlington, which had won its first two games to start the season.
Taida Bicic scored inside then Coda Mearizo converted a three-point play to put the Bulldogs up five early. The second quarter proved to be the Lady Vikings’ best of the game by far. Trying to build off of their first 2-0 start in over a decade, they moved the ball well both against the press and in the half-court to get quality looks at the basket. Not a lot of those opportunities turned into points, but the Lady Vikes made enough plays to get back in the game. Nicole Garcia scored, then found Skyla Acosta on a nice feed inside for a bucket as North Arlington erased the deficit and tied the game up heading into the locker room, 11-11.
After being held without a point in the second quarter, Vellis came out with a chip on her shoulder to start the second half. The Bulldogs were active defensively and never allowed North Arlington to get any sort of rhythm in the second half. Maya Forte got things going with a long jumper from the wing on the first possession of the second half. Then Vellis had two big steals, one turned into a layup by Alexandra Guzman and before Vellis went the distance herself for the and-one along with converting the free-throw. Another freshman, Cate Finan, came up with a steal that led to a three-pointer by Vellis to cap a 10-0 run for a 21-11 lead.
“My shots weren’t going in at first, but I knew I had to keep shooting if I was open,” said Vellis. “This team has helped me stay confident and make it a smooth transition for me from middle school to high school. As time goes on, we’re running all the plays through more often and we’re becoming more comfortable playing together game after game.”
In total, the Bulldogs held North Arlington without a field goal for 12:09 spanning the third and fourth quarters. Lia Cruz snapped that skid with a layup. But by then the outcome was all but wrapped up with Forte adding six fourth-quarter points to lock up win No. 1 on the season for the Bulldogs.
Rutherford freshman Mackenzie Vellis led all scorers with 12 points.
“We have athletes on this team, but we don’t have a lot of margin for error,” said North Arlington head coach Brendan Queenan. “We had lapses in the third quarter, it’s a concentration thing. We did not have a long stretch where we played bad. But a turnover here or there that led to points that ended up putting us in a hole that we couldn’t get out of. One of the things we talk about is not playing mechanical. When we move the ball and play together good things happen.”
Vellis led all players with 12 points for Rutherford (1-2). Forte chipped in by scoring all eight of her points in the second half. Cruz led the way for North Arlington (2-1) with seven points.
With a tough stretch of games over the next month, the Bulldogs hope to become more battle tested as a team and have this win become the springboard for future success.
“Getting our first win is definitely going to give us more confidence heading into the games we have coming up,” said Forte, a junior forward. “We get along well off the court, but we’re still trying to form our bond on the court. With so many young players, we still haven’t developed that just yet. But we’re all learning our roles and we’re figuring that out now. Once we get that down, we’ll be good to go.”
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