Freshman Sofia Cosimano hit a 3 to kick off a 12-0 Ramapo run that forced overtime in an eventual 42-41 win over top-seeded IHA in the Bergen County Tournament semifinals..
HILLSDALE -- When IHA's Addison Valdez stole the ball and scored on a breakaway layup with 4:40 to play in the game to make it a 9-point spread, it looked like Ramapo's hopes for a berth in the Bergen County Tournament championship game were dashed. The fifth-seeded Green Raiders had ridden the wave of all-county stars Camden Epstein and Toni Pernetti along with the steady inside play of Grace Saxton to reach Saturday's semifinal round, but it looked like it was finally about to crash.
With their backs against the wall and IHA focused on keeping Ramapo's trio in check to close it out, the Raiders had to look elsewhere to claw their way back into the game. Before IHA even knew what hit them freshman Sofia Cosimano nailed a 3-pointer and junior Trinity Horn followed with consecutive 3s that got Ramapo back into a tie.
When Epstein nailed a deep 3-pointer, to cap a lightning fast 12-0 run, Ramapo went from down nine to the lead in the span of just 102 seconds.
From that point on it was a game filled with twists and turns and an overtime session to decide a winner. Epstein's free throw put the Raiders ahead with 6.6 seconds left and IHA's final shot at the buzzer was just off the mark as fifth-seeded Ramapo knocked off the top seed to reach its first Bergen County Tournament final since 2010 with a thrilling 42-41 overtime victory at Pascack Valley High School in Hillsdale.
"We put on the board before every game about 'finding a way.' That's what we did today," said Ramapo head coach Sandy Gordon. "Even though we were frustrated, we stayed calm. The key was that we kept playing our game when the pressure was on."
Early on it was evident that whichever team could assert itself on the defensive end would have the upper hand. The Blue Eagles showed why they were awarded the No. 1 seed with swarming pressure on the ball. They used a handful of defenders, led by Casey McCauley, to hound Epstein all over the court and force the Raiders to start their offense further away from the basket than they are accustomed to.
IHA started to take control late in the first half when Valdez hit Lucie Schell on a diagonal cut for a layup for their largest lead of the game to that point, 19-12. The lead was six at halftime before Ramapo started to finally find its footing early in the third quarter.
Lucie Schell scoing the bucket that gave IHA its largest lead of the first half.
Senior forward Grace Saxton scored on a reverse layup and then on a pull-up jumper in the paint. Epstein followed those possessions by going 1-for-2 at the foul line to tie the game. Freshman Giuliana Huaranga was a problem for Ramapo all game long. She hit a pair of 3-pointers, the latter coming off a well-run set play on a flare cut to beat the third-quarter buzzer, that gave the Blue Eagles a 30-24 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
A big moment in the game came early in the final period when McCauley went down with an ankle injury and had to be helped off the floor. It left IHA without one of its steadiest players and one of its best on-the-ball defenders. Still, Valdez's steal and layup put the Blue Eagles up nine with 4:40 to play.
It was a crisis moment for Ramapo. With plenty of senior leadership and effective role players, this team was not about to fold its tent. Cosimano's 3-pointer from the wing got the ball rolling and breathed new life into the team.
"Coach (Sandy) Gordon is always telling me to keep shooting," said Cosimano, a freshman. "Obviously, there's a big crowd. You just have to stay in the game no matter what. We just had to keep working hard and playing Ramapo basketball."
After an IHA miss, the Green Raiders swung the ball around before finding Horn in the corner for another 3-pointer to make it a one possession game. Then, after forcing a turnover, the player whose first name (Trinity) means 'the state of being three', hit the biggest one of her life. Horn let a rainbow 3-pointer fly and nailed it to tie the game.
"Our team has so much confidence and I just wanted to do what I could to give us a spark," said Horn. "Stop and a score was what coach kept telling us. That's exactly what we focused on. It just takes one shot to get going and before you know it, you're in a zone. From there it was just an adrenaline rush and that carried us through the rest of the game."
After an IHA timeout, Ramapo would quickly get the ball back and Epstein's 3-pointer from in front of her own team's bench put Ramapo in front for the first time all game, 36-33, with 2:58 to play.
Grace Saxton pulled down a game-high 10 rebounds for Ramapo, which will play No. 2 Demarest in the county final on Saturday.
IHA clamped back down on defense, not allowing another point in regulation. Huaranga went 3-for-4 at the foul line in the latter stages of the fourth quarter and Saxton, who hit a half-court buzzer beater in last weekend's BCT quarterfinal win over Northern Valley/Old Tappan, had the chance to hit an even bigger one. It was on line, but was short as the team headed to overtime with a county final berth on the line.
Cosimano opened the scoring in overtime with a 3-pointer. IHA responded with a bucket from Huaranga and a pair of free throws to take the lead. Valdez tied the game with a free-throw and the Green Raiders looked to run clock and take the last shot of the overtime period. The Blue Eagles applied pressure on the ball to try to force a tough decision, but Epstein used the opportunity to go to the basket.
On her way into the paint, Epstein was fouled with 6.6 seconds remaining. She hit the first to put Ramapo up but missed the second with the Blue Eagles racing down court for a final chance to win the game. They got off a shot from the corner, but it bounced off the rim and harmlessly to the floor as the buzzer sounded with the Ramapo players running onto the court in celebration.
Epstein led all players with 17 points for Ramapo (21-3). Cosimano scored all of her career-high nine points from beyond the three-point arc. Saxton finished with a game-high 10 rebounds. Toni Pernetti added six points, seven rebounds, and five assists.
"I don't even have any words right now. This is amazing and I am just so proud of this team," said Epstein, who will play next season at Holy Cross. "Our senior core is really tight knit; we have played together since third grade. The chemistry that we have built through this whole season has led to this moment. We read each other so well know, we get the ball to each other in the right spots and we executed at the end."
Huaranga, a freshman, will be a player to watch over the next few years for IHA (17-5). She matched her career-high with 16 points to lead the way for the Blue Eagles.
Ramapo heads to the Bergen County Tournament championship game next Saturday at Pascack Valley for the first time since 2010. The opponent will be No. 2 seed Northern Valley/Demarest. It will be the first Bergen County final featuring two public schools since 2014.
"This season has been one of my favorite seasons ever at Ramapo," said Saxton, a three-sport standout who will play soccer next year at the University of Pennsylvania. "Everybody on the team from the bench to the starters, the seniors...even outside all of the game and practices we are just so close. We are all there for each other and there is no other group that I would want to do this with and I am so proud."
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