Thursday, March 7, 2013

NJSIAA Non-Public North A finals
This time it's overtime as IHA tops Holy Angels for section title

IHA's Sam Wilkes.

By Rich Barton
NJS.com Staff Writer

PATERSON – If beating a good team three times in a single season is hard, what about doing it on a fourth occasion and against an archrival with the last of the four matchups coming with a state sectional title on the line? That was the situation that IHA was faced with as it squared off once again with Holy Angels, this time in the Non-Public North A section final and a four hard-fought quarters would simply not be enough to decide a winner. Both teams had a chance to win it in the final minute of regulation, but neither could cash the opportunity. Sophomore Katia Oge scored four of her five points in the extra session and Samantha Wilkes hit four free-throws late, including a pair with 21 seconds left, to finally seal the win and give top-seeded IHA its third section title in four years with a 44-40 triumph over third-seeded Holy Angels on Wednesday night at John F. Kennedy High School in Paterson. “Holy Angels is a huge rival and we knew it wasn’t going to be easy,” said Wilkes, who will play at Villanova University next year. MORE...

Wednesday, March 6, 2013

NJSIAA North 1, Group 2 finals
Glen Rock wins first section title since 1988

Glen Rock's Sophie Lederer.

By Rich Barton
NJS.com Staff Writer

GLEN ROCK – Throughout her four years as a starting point guard at Glen Rock, Sophie Lederer often took a glance up at the championship banner hanging in the gymnasium. While it listed all of the league titles Glen Rock has won in recent years, it was the one at the top of the list that always caught her attention. This is because the first title listed on the banner commemorated the Lady Panthers’ only sectional title all the way back in 1988. With this being her senior year and Tuesday night being her last shot, Lederer was not about walk off the floor without being part of a team that added a section title to that banner. In a virtuoso performance, Lederer controlled every aspect of the game on both ends of the floor. Facing upstart Lenape Valley, she locked down their best player defensively and had complete command of the offense. Despite taking just five shots from the floor, Lederer was money at the foul line, the most dominant player on the floor, and she refused to let her team be put in a position to lose. MORE...

Tuesday, March 5, 2013

NJSIAA North 2, Group 1 finals
Bloomfield Tech ends Secaucus' season in section final

Secaucus' Zoe Pero.

By Rich Barton
NJS.com Staff Writer

SECAUCUS – When Secaucus point guard Andie Lennon wowed the crowd with an electrifying play that led to a 3-point play, it got the home crowd back in the game and gave the Lady Patriots a one-point lead over Bloomfield Tech. It appeared that Secaucus was finally over the hump and a long-awaited section title was in sight. Getting momentum and sustaining it were two different things, though, as every time the Patriots made a run Bloomfield Tech star Ashunae Durant had an answer. Steadily fighting an uphill battle all night, the Patriots eventually ran out of time both on their comeback attempt and on their season. Durant hit both ends of a one-and-one in the final minute and top-seeded Secaucus’ season came to an unfortunate close. Kyla Ramesur hit a free throw with six seconds left to ice the game as sixth-seeded Bloomfield Tech pulled off its third consecutive upset and won the North 2, Group 1 title on Monday night with a 39-35 triumph at Secaucus High School. “This is what we played all year for, words can’t even describe how this feels,” said Durant, a junior who passed the 1,000-point plateau earlier this season. MORE...

Sunday, March 3, 2013

NJSIAA North 1, Group 1 semifinals
Rabeiros lead Midland Park to first-ever section final

Midland Park's Rebecca Rabeiro.

By Rich Barton
NJS.com Staff Writer

MIDLAND PARK – Rebecca Rabeiro looked up the crowd as her Midland Park teammates were warming up thinking about how far the program has come in just three short years. From playing in front of mainly parents of the players to playing in front of a standing room only crowd with a section final berth on the line, Rabeiro has been a first-hand witness to the Lady Panthers’ rise to respectability. If there was a time for both Rabeiro and her teammates to take the next step, Saturday afternoon was the time. Facing rival Cresskill in a North 1, Group 1 state sectional semifinal, Rabiero dominated the first half. That included making the two biggest plays that gave the Panthers some much-needed breathing room. In the final 45 seconds of the half, Rabeiro scored on a 3-point play then nailed a 3-pointer to give her 22 first-half points and the Panthers a nine-point lead. Her sister, Kim, made sure they maintained that lead with four straight points late in the third quarter as top-seeded Midland Park advanced to the section final for the first time in school history with a 45-32 triumph over fifth-seeded Cresskill at Midland Park High School. MORE...

Saturday, March 2, 2013

NJSIAA Non-Public North B playoffs
Saddle River Day's best ever season comes to an end

Saddle River Day's Jocelyn Willoughby.

By Rich Barton
NJS.com Staff Writer

LIVINGSTON – The season has been both an impressive and polarizing one for Saddle River Day. From dominating their league schedule, to having to take a forfeit loss, to the program’s first-ever county tournament victory, there have been many highs and a handful of lows for the Lady Rebels. The question was how would a team with no seniors handle adversity in the pressure situations like a state tournament game? It was a question that was to be answered on Friday night against last year’s Non-Public North B finalist, Newark Academy, with a positive message inside an overall negative result. What head coach Danny Brown found out was that his team would battle until the final buzzer. Unfortunately, foul trouble was the issue and it eventually became too much for the young Rebels to overcome. Ninth-seeded Saddle River Day gave the top-seeded Lady Minutemen everything they could handle heading into the final minute before three of the team’s four leading scorers fouled out. MORE...

Friday, March 1, 2013

NJSIAA North 1, Group 3 playoffs
Any lead is safe as Pascack Valley tops River Dell

Pascack Valley's Dara Liebeskind.

By Cory K. Doviak
NJS.com Editorial Director

ORADELL – So many times in state tournament high school basketball, the old axiom that 'no lead is safe,' has been proven to be true time and time again. Crazy things can happen, huge point spreads can be wiped out in a matter of minutes and that is the nature of playoff hoops. Unless, of course, the team in front is the Pascack Valley girls basketball team where the old saying could be changed to 'Any lead is safe.' Pascack Valley head coach Jeff Jasper has won more than 900 career games and has built his program on the fundamentals of passing and catching and, with a lead, the Indians can protect it by throwing the ball around, catching it and then repeating the process over and over again. So when Sara Petro hit a 3-pointer with 13 seconds left in the first half to break the game's only tie and then hit another jumper from the wing for the first basket of the second half followed by Amelia DellaPesca's 3-point play, Pascack Valley had an eight-point lead that felt much larger. Running the weave and running River Dell ragged in the process in the second half, Pascack Valley advanced to the North 1, Group 3 state sectional semifinals with a 37-25 win in Oradell on Thursday night. MORE...

Wednesday, February 27, 2013

NJSIAA North 1, Group 3 playoffs
Bergenfield's stays hot with state tourney win at Old Tappan

Bergenfield's Kaitlyn McCue.

By Cory K. Doviak
NJS.com Editorial Director

OLD TAPPAN – With the way both teams approach the game of basketball, two straight baskets by either side could be considered a run and three straight could be a game-changer. Both the Bergenfield and Northern Valley/Old Tappan girls basketball teams value every possession, run their offenses through their best players and neither is likely to play anything other than halfcourt, man-to-man defense. Transition baskets, full court presses and wildly launched 3-pointers were just not going to be a major part of Tuesday's opening round matchup in the North 1, Group 3 state sectional tournament. “We were talking about it all week that if they went on a 6-0 run, we were burning timeouts. In a game like this, that is like a 20-point run against anyone else,” said Bergenfield head coach Mike Kilgallen. “We said if we had a game in the 20s or 30s then we would have a game on Thursday night. If it was in the 40s or 50s, then Old Tappan would have a game on Thursday night and we would be done.” MORE...

NJSIAA NORTH 1, GROUP 2 TOURNAMENT COVERAGE!
• McGovern guides River Dell past Demarest's upset bid

Tuesday, February 26, 2013

NJSIAA North 1, Group 2 playoffs
Musco makes her free throws, Pascack Hills makes quarterfinals

Pascack Hills' Brianna Musco.

By Rich Barton
NJS.com Staff Writer

MONTVALE – Part of being an athlete is not just going out there and playing, but also absorbing every usable piece of practical advice and using it when the situation arises. Pascack Hills senior Brianna Musco is an athlete by nature. While she has intently listened to advice given to her by coaches over the years, there were some words of wisdom from her father that has stuck in her mind every time she steps on the basketball court. He told her that games are won and lost at the foul line. With the prospect of Monday’s state tournament game being her last in a Pascack Hills uniform, Musco took that advice to heart and took it upon herself to make sure her career was not going to end just yet. Musco had three second-quarter steals that allowed Pascack Hills to take a sizeable lead into the half. She ensured that the Cowgirls maintained it by having a career-best day at the charity stripe, hitting all 12 of her free-throws en route to a game-high 19 points as eighth-seeded Pascack Hills advanced to the North 1, Group 2 quarterfinals with a 46-33 first-round win over ninth-seeded Hawthorne in Montvale. MORE...

Sunday, February 24, 2013

Bergen County finals
IHA leaves no doubt in deciding Bergen County's best team

IHA's Samantha Wilkes.

By Rich Barton
NJS.com Staff Writer

MAHWAH – When Immaculate Heart Academy and Northern Highlands met right before the seeding meeting for the Bergen County Girls Basketball Tournament, IHA pulled out a close win, to make itself the No. 1 seed. But more than making the job of the seeding committee easier, that game made the county final, if both teams got there, one to look forward to because the original matchup was a back-and-forth game that IHA did not put away until the final two minutes. The seeds did hold and the rematch was played on in the county final on Saturday on the campus of Ramapo College. This time, there was no feeling out process like in their first meeting. One team went straight for the jugular and the result was as surprising as it was impressive. IHA scored the first 10 points of the game and held the Highlanders without a point for the first 6:08 of the game. That was all the cushion the Blue Eagles needed as the lead never got below seven and was in double-digits throughout the second half as top-seeded IHA won its second Bergen County title in three years with a masterful defensive performance in a 44-24 triumph over No. 2 seed Northern Highlands. MORE...

HUDSON COUNTY GIRLS BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT FINALS!
• Lincoln wins second straight county title in dramatic fashion

Thursday, February 21, 2013

Hudson County semifinals
Lincoln gets its first test and gets by North Bergen

Lincoln's Breanna Bey.

By Rich Barton
NJS.com Staff Writer

JERSEY CITY – Through 24 games this season, Lincoln has been by far the most mysterious and the most intriguing girls basketball team in North Jersey, not just because of their experience and their athleticism, but because through those 24 games the Lady Lions have not faced a lick of adversity. Lincoln leads New Jersey by a wide margin in a 41-point average margin of victory this season. Lincoln is good, no doubt about it, but going so long without having played a close game could have been a bit of a handicap going into Wednesday night Hudson County Tournament semifinals against North Bergen. The adversity they were seeking though came double-barreled as the Lions were without double-double machine Kiante Johnson in the paint and trailed a stingy North Bergen team with just seconds remaining. Their run as Hudson County champs appeared to be over, but Lincoln showed the rest of the county that it has the will to be a championship team. Breanna Bey kept the Lions in the game and Chaniyah Swan did the rest. MORE...

MORE HUDSON COUNTY GIRLS BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT COVERAGE!
• Secaucus gets over the semifinal hump with win over Bayonne

Sunday, February 17, 2013

Bergen County semifinals
IHA ends Ridgefield Park's run of upsets in county semifinals

IHA's Caitlin Roche.

By Rich Barton
NJS.com Staff Writer

MAHWAH – From Day 1 of the season, Immaculate Heart Academy has been carrying around the moniker of Bergen County's best girls basketball team and the team to beat in the Bergen County Tournament where it is the No. 1 seed. But there was no chance that the Blue Eagles would come into Saturday's county semifinals overconfident. For one, the seeds said IHA was the favorite last season when its lost to Northern Highlands in the Final 4. Secondly, the Blue Eagles were up against the never-say-die attitude of Ridgefield Park, the No. 12 seed that had pulled off two straight fourth-quarter comebacks in upsets over No. 5 Immaculate Conception and fourth-seeded Teaneck. IHA knew that to get to the championship game, only a full 32-minute effort would get the job done. Caitlin Roche shot well from the floor to give IHA the lead and Samantha Wilkes made sure it held onto it. Her steal with just over a minute to play helped the Blue Eagles hold Ridgefield Park’s latest upset bid with a 52-44 semifinal triumph at Ramapo College in Mahwah. MORE...

MORE BERGEN COUNTY GIRLS BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT COVERAGE!
• Highlands holds off late AHA charge

Friday, February 15, 2013

Gomez becomes Garfield's all-time leading scorer in win over Lodi

Garfield's Ariana Gomez.

By Rich Barton
NJS.com Staff Writer

GARFIELD – When Ariana Gomez stepped onto the Garfield High School basketball court as a freshman, her goals were modest. She was happy just to get some playing time and was hopeful that if she worked hard she could become an all-league player and score 1,000 points. But the Achilles’ heel throughout her first few seasons on the varsity was her free-throw shooting and lack of confidence she had at the stripe. Now, four years seasons later and with the 1,000-point plateau well in the rear-view mirror, everything has clicked for Gomez. So it was fitting that when Gomez stepped to the line for two free-throws late in the second quarter on Thursday night against rival Lodi, there were no nerves; only a feeling of excitement knowing she was about to achieve something she never thought was possible. Gomez calmly knocked both free-throws to first equal, then surpass the all-time school record for points scored in a career. She became Garfield’s all-time leading scorer, boys or girls, in a 53-36 victory over Lodi at Garfield High School. MORE...

MORE BERGEN COUNTY GIRLS BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT COVERAGE!
• On Senior Night, Ramapo's seniors carry it past Teaneck

Monday, February 11, 2013

Bergen County tournament
In a flash, IHA pulls away from Old Tappan

IHA's Sam Wilkes.

By Rich Barton
NJS.com Staff Writer

FAIR LAWN – As the IHA players walked to the locker room at halftime, there was almost a sense of bewilderment on the faces of the Blue Eagles. Although they technically held a halftime lead over Northern Valley/Old Tappan, the tone of the game suggested otherwise. IHA was being outhustled and outworked by Old Tappan and both head coach Steve Silver and his players knew that if that trend continued in the second half, their stay in the Bergen County Tournament was just 16 minutes from its conclusion. With that in the back of their minds, the Blue Eagles turned up their full-court pressure and, in turn, needed less than a minute to take over the game. Top-seeded IHA scored six points in a 16 second span early in the third quarter to spark a 15-2 run that gave them the necessary breathing room on their way to the Bergen County semifinals with a 58-42 quarterfinal win over ninth-seeded Northern Valley/Old Tappan on Sunday at Fair Lawn High School. “I thought we played extremely well defensively in the second half,” said Silver. MORE...

MORE BERGEN COUNTY GIRLS BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT COVERAGE!
• Holy Angels snaps Tenafly's string of upsets
• Highlands gets the bounce it needs to bounce Ramapo
• Ridgefield Park ends Teaneck's reign as county champ

Sunday, February 3, 2013

Bergen County tournament
Ramapo looks every bit the contender in win over Ridgewood

Ramapo's JK McAvoy.

By Rich Barton
NJS.com Staff Writer

RIDGEFIELD PARK – With a win last week over Northern Highlands, Ramapo put every other team in the Bergen County Tournament on alert that it is not just a team that could make a run, but a legitimate threat to win the whole thing. The Green Raiders were up against a team with similar aspirations and against one that it had split the regular season series with, but Ramapo continued its good form and made another emphatic statement as it was efficient at both ends of the floor throughout. JK McAvoy scored consecutive baskets in the third quarter as 7th seeded Ramapo scored on six straight possessions to break the game wide open and cruise into the Bergen County Tournament's quarterfinal round with an impressive performance and a 53-32 triumph over 10th seeded Ridgewood on Saturday at Ridgefield Park High School. “We shared the ball well today, we took care of the ball, we took good shots, and we communicated on defense, as a coach I can’t ask for much more than that,” said Ramapo head coach Sandy Gordon. “I thought our starting five played well and we got great contributions off the bench. Everyone on this team knows to be ready when your number is called and they delivered.” MORE...

MORE BERGEN COUNTY GIRLS BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT COVERAGE!
• Gibbs and Teaneck hold off upstart Saddle River Day
• Rovito beats the buzzer as Ridgefield Park upsets Immaculate Conception

Sunday, January 27, 2012

Bergen County tournament
In front of family-like gathering, Jasper wins No. 900

Pascack Valley's Michelle Garay.

By Cory K. Doviak
NJS.com Editorial Director

HILLSDALE – He would not have grabbed a microphone to address a group of friends gathered in his living room, so there was no way he was going to it in another venue that is just as much his home. Jeff Jasper has been the Pascack Valley girls basketball head coach for 40 years, the only head coach the programs has ever known, so when he won the 900th game of his career on Saturday afternoon, 65-21 over Dumont in the opening round of the Bergen County Girls Basketball Tournament, he walked across the floor and addressed the crowd full of former players long-time supporters, family and friends with no notes, but with plenty to say in appreciation. Positioned between the stands and his current team holding a banner marking milestone, Jasper, sans microphone, spoke from the heart. He thanked everyone who has ever contributed to the program with deeds large and small. He paid tribute to Joe Poli, a departed friend and confidant, remembered and relayed the advice of his father and saved his last words for “my assistant coach, my soul mate, my wife,” Lois. It was was a touching scene in commemoration of an incredible and likely never-to-be-seen again career achievement. MORE...

MORE BERGEN COUNTY GIRLS BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT COVERAGE!
• Rabeiro leads Midland Park to first tourney win since 1992

Monday, January 21, 2012

One for the ages as Demarest comes back to beat rival Old Tappan

Demarest's Kaitlin Lewis.

By Cory K. Doviak
NJS.com Editorial Director

HILLSDALE – When Lindsay Davis was named the head coach of the Northern Valley/Demarest girls basketball team, she was being called on to overhaul just about everything. A standout player in her own right at River Dell and then an assistant at Northern Valley/Old Tappan for six season, Davis was going to be given the time to start from the ground up at a program that had not won a single league game in the past few seasons and had rarely even tested let alone beat its sister school and rival over the past decade or so. It's been so long since Demarest had beaten Old Tappan that nobody associated with either program could remember the last time it happened when asked after they met up on Sunday at The Games@Pascack Valley, the four-game charity event held on Sunday to raise funds for Austism Speaks and Juvenile Diabetes. Davis was going to be given all the time she needed to restore Demarest back to respectability, but, as it turns out, she really only needed four minutes and nine seconds of Sunday's fourth quarter to put the Norsewomen back on the map. MORE...

Friday, January 18, 2013

Rogan's 'D' leads Glen Rock to a 'W' at Eastern Christian

Glen Rock's Morgan Foley.

By Rich Barton
NJS.com Staff Writer

NORTH HALEDON – No matter how experienced, how young, how talented, or how raw a team may be, throughout the course of a long season every team will experience one of those games where the ball just won’t go in the basket no matter what it tries. In that scenario, bad teams fall apart and mediocre teams just hope to just stay in the game. But to be a championship team, the players have to learn how to block out the shooting woes and focus on other aspects of the game. Glen Rock could not buy a shot in a big game against Eastern Christian against Eastern Christian on Thursday night. Fortunately, defensive stopper Emily Rogan was able to bail her team out. Although she scored just a single point in the game, the senior wreaked so much havoc on the defensive end that she changed the entire complexion of the game and lifted the Lady Panthers to their most important win of the season. Rogan had eight of her career-high 11 steals in the second half as Glen Rock bent but never broke in pulling even with Eastern Christian in the NJIC-Colonial Division league standings with a 35-29 victory in North Haledon. MORE...

Sunday, January 13, 2013

IHA holds off a spirited Ramapo

IHA's Sam Wilkes.

By Rich Barton
NJS.com Staff Writer

WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP – With both the size and speed advantages that Immaculate Heart Academy generally has over its opponents and a Division 1-bound, 6-foot-1 point guard in Samantha Wilkes, the Blue Eagles generally have no problem controlling the tempo by getting up and down the floor. But in order to reach their ultimate goals of winning county and state titles, they also will have times where they have to show that they can not only run-and-gun, but also keep their composure in the half-court against a talented, disciplined team. A good measuring stick came on Saturday when Ramapo came to into IHA’s gym looking to pull the upset. With some patience and a little luck, IHA showed that it could win games in a multitude of ways. Katia Oge came off the bench to provide a big lift in the third quarter to create some distance and Wilkes banked in a 3 midway through the fourth quarter to halt Ramapo’s last run as IHA notched a 46-36 victory. “We figured it was going to be a tough game and it was,” said IHA head coach Steve Silver. MORE...

Saturday, January 12, 2013

Rutherford side-steps Bogota's trap

Rutherford's Kat Calabrese.

By Rich Barton
NJS.com Staff Writer

RUTHERFORD – Oh, the 'trap game,' the one a team is supposed to win, but often times comes up short because it doesn't take it opponent seriously while looking ahead to bigger and better things. The Rutherford girls basketball team fell victim to it last year when it lost by a point to Bogota and, in the rematch on Friday night, the Bulldogs looked like they might step in it again when they gave up a whopping 30 points to Bogota through the first two quarters. Something had to change for the home team in order to avoid what could have become an annual upset. It was time to go big or go home again with another loss to a Bogota team that showed up to win. Rutherford did go big, literally, and stopped its descent by adding size to its lineup and turning up the defensive pressure. “We are a team of athletes and our calling card is defense. Giving up 30 points in a half just isn’t acceptable,” said Rutherford head coach Danica Miller. “We gave Jessica Rogers (a freshman) more minutes in the second half and she rose to the occasion because we got killed inside in the first half. Our whole team really stepped up defensively. We allowed just 14 points in the second half, can’t ask for much more than that.” MORE...

Friday, January 11, 2013

Hawthorne snaps a losing streak in Garfield

Hawthorne's Julianna O'Neill.

By Rich Barton
NJS.com Staff Writer

GARFIELD – After a surprisingly fast start to the season, Hawthorne's girls basketball team appeared to hit a wall in the past week with two losses. That funk appeared to be continuing on Thursday night as, midway through the third quarter of their game against upstart Garfield, the Lady Bears had scored just 13 points and trailed by nine. With no offense to speak of through two-and-a-half quarters of play, they were staring at a third straight loss. With their struggles to put the ball in the basket, the only the way Bears could generate offense was with their defense. When Garfield standout Ariana Gomez ran into foul trouble in the third quarter and again in the fourth, the Bears knew it was time to pounce on a golden opportunity. Tara Terminiello and Julianna O’Neill both hit big free-throws down the stretch and a short jumper from Mallory Noordeloos with just over two minutes remaining gave Hawthorne the lead for good en route to a 32-27 road win at Garfield High School. “This wasn’t a pretty win, but it’s a win we’ll definitely take,” said Hawthorne head coach Megan Lane. “It’s easy go get down when things aren’t going well, but we made an adjustment and clawed our way through it with solid defense.” MORE...

Sunday, January 6, 2013

Ridgefield Park closes an old wound against Mahwah

Ridgefield Park's Kellie Lane.

By Rich Barton
NJS.com Staff Writer

FAIR LAWN – In the midst of a successful season last year, there was one major blip that any player who wore a Ridgefield Park uniform was not able to forget so easily. After going up to Mahwah on a Saturday afternoon last year and getting dominated, the Lady Scarlets had an empty feeling waling off the court knowing they did not come close to putting in a full 32-minute effort. It was a loss that did not technically mean much in terms of their seeding for county or state tournaments, but it was still a loss that did not sit well in the Ridgefield Park locker room. So when the teams finally met again on Saturday with the majority of the major players from last year’s game for Ridgefield Park still in uniform, they had more then just a regular-season win on their mind, they wanted to avenge a defeat that had bothered them for the past year. Katherine Haines scored seven points in the first quarter as Ridgefield Park took the lead and never gave it back in getting the revenge it was hoping for with a 61-41 victory over Mahwah in the Coaches Vs. Cancer showcase at Fair Lawn High School. MORE...

Friday, December 28, 2012

Vellis lifts Wallington past Elmwood Park

By Rich Barton
NJS.com Staff Writer

LODI – When Wallington beat St. Mary’s last week, for the first time in nearly two decades, it represented a change in what were perennially pedestrian expectations for the program. But with greater expectations come greater challenges. Such was the case yesterday afternoon when winless Elmwood Park was looking to get one in the ‘W’ column and gave the Panthers everything they could handle. But with just over two minutes to play Wallington senior captain Tiffany Vellis settled her team with a steal and layup to help the Panthers pull away from the upstart Crusaders en route to a 42-32 win in the semifinals of the William Masopust Holiday Tournament at Lodi High School. “We needed someone to calm us down when they were making a run and Tiffany came up big,” said Wallington head coach Brian Staples. “I thought we came out flat and Elmwood Park flat out played harder than we did in the first half. We had to come out harder in the second half on both ends of the floor. MORE...

MORE GIRLS BASKETBALL COVERAGE!
• Lodi wins OT thriller to reach Masopust tourney final

Thursday, December 27, 2012

IHA tops Old Tappan to stay perfect through early season gauntlet

IHA sophomore Caitlin Roche.

By Cory K. Doviak
NJS.com Editorial Director

HILLSDALE – Rather than rely on rankings to see where it stood against in the North Jersey pecking order, Immaculate Heart Academy has measured itself by its results. With an opening slate of regular season games that read like a Top 10 list, including Holy Angels, Paramus Catholic, DePaul and Passaic County Tech before a first round match-up against Northern Valley/Old Tappan in the Joe Poli Holiday Tournament, IHA has run an early season gauntlet and and come out perfect on the other side. Six-foot-one point guard Samantha Wilkes presents matchup problems on both ends of the floor, giving IHA a built-in advantage that it has used it like a hammer. Wilkes was the high-scorer in the game, handed out the most assists and had four steals on Wednesday at Pascack Valley High School. She spear-headed IHA's stifling defense, led it through spurts of fluid offense and the Blue Eagles held Old Tappan to just 8 second half points on the way to a 53-30 win and a perfect 5-0 record for the season. MORE...

Friday, December 21, 2012

Pascack Valley regains its balance in win over Tenafly

PV's Lisa Marcellari.

By Rich Barton
NJS.com Staff Writer

HILLSDALE – Over Jeff Jasper’s 30-plus years and nearly 900 victories as the head coach at Pascack Valley, the program has largely been successful because of the team style that permeates through the locker room and spills over into consistency on both ends of the floor. During that run though, Jasper has been fortunate to have one or two all-county caliber players that carry the load offensively when things start to go bad over the course of a game. This year is a little bit different as there is no player that can be counted upon to rip up an opposing defense on a night-in, night-out basis. This year, no player is more important than any other on the offensive end as each of them must play an equal part without ever leaning on one individual over another. A prime example manifested itself on Thursday as upset-minded Tenafly raced out to a seven-point lead after one quarter. But the Indians never panicked and used some hot shooting from the perimeter to get back on track. MORE...

St. Dom's does just enough to top Hoboken

St. Dominic's Danielle Wilbur.

By Rich Barton
NJS.com Staff Writer

HOBOKEN – With a young, inexperienced squad coming into the season, St. Dominic Academy head coach Reggie Quinn knew that maintaining the level of success the program has enjoyed in recent years would not come easy. Hoboken, the Blue Devils’ opponent on Tuesday, was in the exact same boat with a young team trying to jell and pick up both its first win of the season and some momentum in the process. Something had to give as both teams struggled to put the ball in the basket and the outcomecame down to which team could limit its mistakes long enough to pull out a victory. St. Dom’s led wire-to-wire but was unable to close out Hoboken until a couple of late free-throws for a 25-19 triumph at Hoboken High School. “We don’t have that many players who played a lot on varsity last year, so we’re still trying to come together with basically a whole new team,” said St. Dom’s Shannon Hester. “We weren’t making shots today, but we were playing good team defense and that kept us in the lead. Our goal is just to get better every day. We didn’t play our best, but we still found a way to win.” MORE...

Secaucus plays up and pulls away from Ridgewood

Secaucus' Kristina Ulrich.

By Cory K. Doviak
NJS.com Editorial Director

ORADELL – The Secaucus girls basketball team is young, it is talented and it is looking for a game. Although anything can happen when the league schedule starts, the Patriots are going to be the favorite just about every time out in NJIC-Liberty Division play and they need to test themselves every time they get a chance to play up. If that means playing Group 4 Ridgewood in the Hoops 4 Autism Benefit, so be it. If that means playing the Maroons again in a Holiday Tournament matchup, they'll do that too. If it means starting their own showcase event and inviting Colts Neck up in the North-South Invitational on January 5, that works to. For a Group 1 team with three sophomores and two freshmen in its starting lineup, Secaucus is looking to punch well above its weight. “You have to play the [league] schedule that is in front of you, but we went out and tried to get as many good independents as we could. We booked Mahwah and Fair Lawn and we scrimmaged very good teams. Anybody that would want to play us, we want to play them,” said Secaucus head coach John Sterling. “We want to face really good teams and we'll play anybody. It is hard to get ready for that top-level competition if you are not one of these teams in the Big North that have a battle every single night.” MORE...

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