Recapping the Bergen County Girls Basketball Tournament Round of 16

(6) Pascack Valley 57, (11) Holy Angels 41 

Holding an 18-12 lead entering the second quarter, the Pascack Valley Indians went on a 10-2 run taking a 26-15 and eventually a 44-27 lead into the locker room.

Despite a 7-0 run by Holy Angels in the fourth quarter, the Indians managed to keep the lead in double digits. Kelly Smith led Pascack Valley in scoring with 17 points while Toriana Tabasco chipped in with 15.

“This is about survive and moving on,” said Pascack Valley Head Coach Jeff Jasper. “With our high tempo we had the runs plus had good separation and the clock was on our side. Kelly Smith played very well on both ends of the floor and Toriana did a good job hitting key shots and handling the ball.”

(2) Old Tappan 54, (18) Indian Hills 38

Emily Crevani scored 13 of her game-high 21 points in the fourth quarter as Old Tappan raced by Indian Hills, 54-38. In the second quarter, Crevani scored her 1,000 career point.

A 9-0 run in the second quarter gave the Golden Knights a 23-12 cushion but the Braves responded with a 13-6 run closing the gap to 29-25 at halftime. In the third quarter, Old Tappan went on 8-0 to break the game wide open and take a 37-25 lead. Kailyn Sytsma netted 16 points.

“We clamped down on defense that gave us better opportunities on the offensive end,” said Old Tappan Head Coach Brian Dunn. “Defensively we held them to one shot and out and controlled the glass in the second half. Emily capitalized by making key shots, driving to the basket and hit foul shots.”

(5) Ramapo 57, (21) Ridgefield Park 52

A back and forth game that was not decided until the fourth quarter when the Ramapo Green Raiders went on a 9-0 to seize control after being down 42-40 to Ridgefield Park. The Green Raiders hit their free throws in the closing minutes and withstood a stellar game from Scarlets Samantha Rinaldi who poured in a game-high 27 points.

Emily Calabrese led Ramapo in scoring with 18 points while Reilly White added 13 points. Ridgefield Park led 13-7 after the first quarter but Ramapo stormed back in the second quarter taking a 16-15 lead on a three-point play from White. The Green Raiders were up 33-28 in the third quarter but behind the hot outside shooting from Rinaldi tied the game up.

“It’s county time and survive and advance,” said Ramapo Head Coach Sandy Gordon. “Not a pretty game but we were on the right side of the scoreboard. I give Ridgefield Park a lot of credit being a number 21 seed and nothing to lose. They played hard, made shots and a ballgame. We were not lighting it up from the outside in stretches so Emily got the ball and put backs,”

(4) Teaneck 56, (13) Northern Highlands 38

Only up by two points at 13-11 after the first quarter, the Teaneck Highwaywomen were tenacious in the second outscoring the Highlanders 15-5 taking a 28-16 lead into the locker room. The Highwaywomen would expand the lead in the third quarter going on a 9-2 run and never looking back en route to a 56-38 victory. Cedeja James dropped a game-high 22 points while Milan Johnson contributed 14 points.

“We realized you can’t take breaks and have to consistently work hard,” said Teaneck Head Coach Sheene Clarke. “Rebounding was big for us today regardless of how small we are because we have to play big.”

(1) Immaculate Conception 48, (16) River Dell 30

Number one seed Immaculate Conception was hot from the field in the first half, knocking down six three-pointers taking a 31-12 halftime lead versus River Dell but fell into offensive cold spell in the third quarter allowing the Hawks to trim the lead down to 11 points but the Blue Wolves charged back with a 11-0 spurt to break the game wide open and coast to a 48-30 win. Autumn Webster finished with a game-high 12 points which all came from behind the arc.

“In the fourth quarter with a little motivational speech we were much better,” said Immaculate Conception Head Coach Jeff Horohonich. “We worked a lot on our shots, ball movement and getting the ball to the post. Autumn did a good job of making the three’s.”