Mia Vergel De Dios led all scorers with 10 points in Glen Rock's 41-24 win on the road at Eastern Christian.
NORTH HALEDON – Getting off to a great start this season has been both a blessing and a curse for Glen Rock. Under Sara Wolman, a first-year head coach at her alma mater, the Panthers have often buried their opponents with their smothering defense right from the opening tap. This has often led to comfortable halftime leads and no real need to make adjustments. Facing an equally red-hot Eastern Christian, the Panthers were tested throughout the first half and only led by two points at the break.
What could have been skewed as a negative by Wolman and her squad was turned into a teaching tool and a chance to show how to handle adversity.
Mia Vergel De Dios hit a three-pointer on the first possession of the third quarter and it was all Panthers from there. Emily McKegney, Anna Heuss, and Isabella Flaccavento set the tone with a full-court press that got immediate results. Glen Rock allowed just four points over a 12-minute span bridging the third and fourth quarters in pulling away to a 41-24 road win over Eastern Christian on Monday afternoon in North Haledon.
“It’s all about trusting each other and using our fundamentals to take control,” said McKegney. “We want to work hard, play well in counties, and win states. We’ll keep working hard and pushing to get better every day.”
Eastern Christian (6-2) got off to a quick start, hitting its first two shots, the latter a three-pointer by Skyy Marcano for a 5-0 lead. Ana Landreau provided the only offense for the Panthers in the opening stanza, scoring all six of their points in the period.
The Eagles were able to control the pace throughout the first half thanks to solid decision-making from point guard Caroline Pringle. Off a pick-and-roll play, she hit Nora Lazor twice with pinpoint pop passes for layups that gave them a five-point lead, 11-6.
Caroline Pringle controlled the point for Eastern Christian.
The Panthers could not find any rhythm and turned the ball over 12 times in the first half. Despite being out of sorts, they never wavered and finally got some momentum going into the locker room. Heuss nailed a deep 3, and Vergel De Dios scored on a putback in the final minute to put Glen Rock back in front, 17-15, at the half.
Now finally in a dogfight, the Panthers knew they had to step up their game on both ends to avoid the upset. De Dios’ three-pointer off of a crisp offensive set to start the third quarter set the tone. A made basket allowed the Panthers to deny Pringle the ball and pick up full court, forcing the Eagles to have secondary ball handlers handle the pressure. That resulted in a dominant third quarter. A three from the wing by Heuss bumped the lead up to double-digits, 27-16, and the Panthers never looked back.
“In practice, we work on a lot of off-ball movement and utilize that to create space on all spots on the floor,” said Vergel De Dios.
McKegney, who also went 6-for- 6 at the foul line, notched an eye-popping 10 steals and Vergel De Dios led a balanced attack for Glen Rock (7-1) with 10 points. She was the lone player from either team to reach double-figures in the scoring column. Landreau finished with eight points, Heuss had six, and Flaccavento chipping in with five points.
The Panthers have an impressive record thus far but feel a long way away from the finished product. If they are to achieve the goals, they set at the beginning of the season they know if will take a full four quarters of effort and execution every game from here on out.
“I love it in Glen Rock, it’s my home; and I love this team for how hard they work every day,” said Wolman. “They have great energy and willingness to learn. We know how to play fast. But we still have to stay calm and play composed. I’m really excited for the second half of the season for this team to take their game up another notch.”
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