Paramus Catholic knocks off undefeated Ramapo 60-57

The twelfth-seeded Paramus Catholic Paladins stormed back from a 28-14 halftime deficit to knock off unbeaten and fifth-seeded Ramapo 60-57 in the Round of 16 in the Bergen County Girls Basketball Tournament at Ridgefield Park High School. Nyree Grant three-point play with 7.7 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter proved to be the difference maker. Grant poured in a game high 18 points for the Paladins. Paramus Catholic will play fourth-seeded Old Tappan in the quarterfinals at Becton High School.

“The 2^nd quarter we almost lost it because we were down by 12 but we after came out of the locker room we had the determination that we could beat Ramapo,” said Nye Grant. “Coach Roth told us we had to leave a mark today to show everyone we can hang around with the competition. We were attacking the basket and making our free throws.”

Sarah Scerbak knocked down a three-pointer with 20 seconds left to tie the game up at 57-57. An important sequence occurred next as Ramapo was called for traveling after inbounding the ball giving the Paladins the ball back. Entering the 4^th, Paramus Catholic found itself down 43-36 but closed to within two points at 49-47 with 3:37 left on a steal and layup by Destinee Hall who was fouled leading to a three-point play. The Raiders increased their lead back up to 57-50 with 1:37 but Paramus Catholic responded driving to the basket, getting fouled and hitting their free throws.

“I am very proud of how our team came back against a squad that was 15-0,” said Paramus Catholic Head Coach Al Roth. “The schedule we have played has prepared us for to play game like today. We played great defense and hit key shots.”

In the 3^rd quarter, Ramapo led 35-21 but the Paladins went on a 9-0 tear as Jasmin Wilson led the charge with a couple of layups including converting a three-point play to reduce the deficit down to 35-30 with 2:48 left in the quarter. Paramus Catholic ended up outscoring the Raiders 22-15 in the 3^rd quarter.

Ramapo jumped out to a 16-4 advantage in the 1^st quarter by knocking down jump shots and driving to the basket for wide open layups. On the other hand Paramus Catholic kept on turning the ball over. In the 2^nd quarter, the Paladins found their rhythm and sliced the lead down to 21-12 on a three-point play by Wilson. However, the Raiders went on a 7-0 run to push the lead back up to double digits at 28-12.