Heath sparks Northern Highlands 57-34 romp over Dumont

Melissa Heath supplied eight of her game high 18 points during a 2nd quarter outburst as the second-seeded Northern Highlands toppled fifteen-seeded Dumont Huskies 57-34 in the Round of 16 of the Bergen County Girls Tournament at Ridgefield Park High School. The Highlanders will play tenth-seeded Saddle River Day in the quarterfinals at Becton High School.

“Once we got into the flow of the game establishing our rotation and getting enough players into the game we eventually wore them down,” said Northern Highlands Head Coach Al Albanese.

Down 15-14 at the beginning of the 2nd quarter, Northern Highlands reeled off 14 unanswered points to take a 28-15 lead. Heath led the charge with a pair of jumpers, put back shots and a layup. Dumont put an end to the streak on a three-pointer from Tina Grady but the Highlanders enjoyed a 33-21 advantage at half time.

“We got off to a slow start but picked it up on defense in the 2nd quarter,” said Melissa Heath. “Everyone is contributing especially off the bench and we are coming together as a team.”

In the 3rd quarter, Northern Highlands put together a 14-6 closing kick widening the margin to 47-27 at the end of the quarter. The Huskies slipped into a four-minute shooting funk.

The Highlanders raced out to an 8-1 lead in the first quarter behind timely outside shooting from Mollie Walker who finished with 10 points for the game. However, Dumont responded with a 7-0 run to tie the game up at 8-8. Amber Porcett netted a game high 12 points for the Huskies.