Charlie Perna scored 20 points for Morris Knolls, which won its first state sectonal title since 1994 by beating top-seeded Demarest, 64-62 in overtime, in the North 1, Group 3 final.
DEMAREST - “Elation, happiness - so happy for the whole team - and so happy for the girls,” is the way Morris Knolls coach Rob Moore described his feelings after his Golden Eagles got past NV/Demarest in overtime, 64-62, to clinch the North 1, Group 3 sectional title Friday night.
“They fought, they battled, they believed in what we were doing all year and you saw it at the end of the game,” Moore added. “They did what they needed to do.”
The game was a battle for the entire 36 minutes of play, but it took a pair of free throws with 4 seconds left in overtime by Eagles senior Vanessa Russo to decide the championship game.
Morris Knolls burst out to a 9-0 lead in the first minute of play in the first quarter when senior Charlee Perna drained a 3-pointer 13 seconds into the game and, after a Demarest turnover, she swished another trey 22 seconds later. After another turnover by the Norsewomen senior Denay Jones canned a 3-pointer of her own.
Demarest finally caught its collective breath and freshman Ava Francica got the Norsewomen on the board when she took a pass from junior Gabriella Mittelman and scored inside. On the ensuing possession sophomore Ella Peck dropped in a 3-pointer and a minute later did so again. Mittelman gave Demarest its first lead of the game, 10-9, midway through the first quarter and then the Norsewomen went on a 6-3 run to grab a 16-12 lead heading into the second quarter.
The Norsewomen opened the second quarter with a 9-3 run to up the lead to 10 points, 25-15. But the Golden Eagles went on a run of their own to close the gap. In a sequence with less than two minutes to go in the half they missed three shots but grabbed a rebound each time and Russo ended the play with a put-back to cut the Demarest lead to 26-24. Perna’s steal and coast-to-coast drive for a layup with 16 seconds to go sent the teams to intermission tied, 26-26.
“We played defense,” said Moore. “We picked up our defensive intensity when we got down 10 and we just said, ‘all right, it’s time, go.’ And we just picked up our intensity and that’s what won the game.”
“It was definitely something,” Perna added. “We knew our team could play. We pride ourselves on our defense. We knew we could go out there and play our defense and our offense would flow. And that’s what happened.”
Demarest's Ella Peck made seven 3-pointers and led all scorers with 21 points..
Demarest reasserted itself in the third quarter, out-scoring the Golden Eagles 20-12 to take an 8-point lead into the fourth quarter. Mittelman drained the first of her three 3-pointers in the quarter a minute and a half in. Peck added two more treys, including one with 10 seconds to go.
Sophomore Deana Finkelstein scored from in close to boost the Demarest lead to 10, 48-38, almost immediately in the fourth quarter, but the Eagles traded points with Demarest, while chipping away at the lead. With 2:55 to go in regulation sophomore Tessa Simone hit a shot from in close to give Morris Knolls its first lead since the first quarter, 54-53.
A few plays later Mittelman’s floater tied the game 56-all with 13 seconds left. The Eagles called a timeout with 5.5 seconds left to set up a play and a last-second shot went in and out as the buzzer sounded so the teams headed to overtime.
Francica canned a free throw for Demarest but Jones gave Morris Knolls a 58-57 lead with a drive to the basket. Peck’s seventh 3-pointer and a pair of free throws by Finkelstein gave Demarest a 62-58 lead.
The Eagles tied it 62-all with a basket from in close by Russo and, after a Demarest turnover, a drive to the basket by junior Lucia Nash. After Russo canned her free throws Demarest inbounded the ball and raced upcourt. A shot taken just past the midcourt line hit the rim and bounded away as the Eagles celebrated their victory.
Peck led all scorers with 21 points (all on 3-pointers), while Mittelman added 20. Finkelstein contributed 12 points. Demarest finished its season, 23-6, which is a new school record for wins.
Tessa Simone finished with 14 points for Morris Knolls, which will play Chatham in the Group 3 semifinals on Tuesday.
“To me,” said Demarest coach Jenny Jurjevic, “this doesn’t sting because I am so proud of the way these girls stepped up. I know a setback is a setup for something else. If we hadn’t gone through those setbacks with other players I don’t think Ella Peck would have had a game like that. I don’t think in our state run our freshman, Ava Francica, would have stepped up to the plate and gotten those rebounds and those assists. I don’t think Mittelman would have truly shined if we didn’t go through the setbacks. I’m exceptionally proud - I think everyone can see how diverse we are. We are a completely different team from the beginning of the year. This last two-week journey we have had is what I’m hoping we can expect to return next year. It’s a completely different team and I will take this team over the team in the beginning that was 13-0 any day. Better team, better players.”
Perna paced the Eagles with 20 points, Simone added 14 and Jones and Russo chipped in with 11 apiece. Morris Knolls moves on to play North 2, Group 3 champion Chatham Tuesday in the Group 3 state semifinal.
“That’s our team,” said Moore. “If you look at our team everybody is together - you can’t pick one kid. Everybody can score. It’s a pleasure with these guys.”
“We wanted it,” Perna said. “We knew from the beginning this is what we wanted. Ever since November, when the season started, this was our goal. This is what we wanted. We knew we were going to outwork any team we played. I’ve been playing with Denay Jones since freshman year. We were the two freshmen on varsity. And my best friend (Russo), with those two clutch free throws at the end put us ahead. It was so special to be playing with those girls.”
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