Ramapo had 9 different scorers led by freshman Camden Epstein's 7 points in a 40-23 win over Glen Rock in the Westwood Holiday Tournament semifinals.
WESTWOOD – Even for the most talented teams there are going to be games where the offense does not run as smoothly as hoped. Even when open looks are earned, sometimes the shots don’t fall. While not an ideal situation for any team, the great equalizer is a defensive effort based on pressuring the ball and jumping passing lanes to set the pace of the game. Facing a solid Glen Rock squad, Ramapo used its speed to create the tempo and then used its depth to put the game away.
Senior guard Skyla Corley came off the bench and provided a huge spark defensively late in the third quarter to help Ramapo pull away and advance to the Westwood Holiday Tournament final with a 40-23 semifinal win over previously undefeated Glen Rock on Wednesday at Westwood High School.
“With a lot of new players, we’re still getting adjusted to one another,” said Ramapo senior guard Alexa Lora. “It’s a season filled with a lot of change, but a lot of room for growth as well.”
Ramapo got off to a quick start with three baskets on its first four possessions. Camden Epstein opened the scoring followed by a 3-pointer from Lora and a drive to the basket from Cayla Menicola to take an early lead. Early in the second quarter, Glen Rock’s standout freshman Mia Vergel de Dios scored on a nice spin move in the paint to trim the lead to three, but the Panthers only scored three points the rest of the quarter with the Green Raiders holding a seven-point halftime lead, 18-11.
Grace Saxton and Epstein hit consecutive three-pointers to start the third quarter to push the lead up to 13. Glen Rock trimmed the lead back down to single digits on a short jumper from Emily McKegney and was building momentum late in the third quarter when Corley came in and swung the tide back in Ramapo’s favor. Toni Pernetti nailed a three near the end of the third quarter that pushed the lead back up to double-digits, where it remained for the rest of the game.
Emily McKegney led Glen Rock with 7 points.
“I knew I needed to come in and hustle on defense to get us the ball however I could,” said Corley. “For me, it’s not about scoring. We had to have our defense create our offense today. We were working so hard and working to get stops. That helped us get back on the right track.”
She was not only hounding whoever handled the ball for the Panthers, but also made contributions on the offensive end with five points and two assists to help the Green Raiders pull away for a berth in the Westwood Holiday Tournament final.
“I’ve been in the program for four years and we’ve never had as deep of a bench as we have this year,” said Murtha. “It’s something we look to use to our advantage by always having fresh legs in the game.”
Despite scoring just 40 points, nine different players found the scoring column for Ramapo (5-2), led by Epstein with seven. McKegney scored all of her team-high seven points in the second half for Glen Rock (5-1).
Ramapo will face off against undefeated Tenafly and Bergen County’s leading scorer, Wake Forest-bound senior guard Rylie Theuerkauf (26.8 points per game). The teams met last year with Ramapo winning in lopsided fashion and holding Theuerkauf to single digits for only the second time in her career. Theuerkauf and her teammates will be looking for revenge and the Green Raiders know they have to be prepared for a battle.
“We have a lot of talent and so many players contribute in different ways,” added Lora. “We’ll continue to work hard and strive to be better each and every game. Our goal is to emphasize and expose that talent as much as we can towards becoming a better team.”
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