December
27, 2003
March 21,
HILLSDALE - When looking for the model of consistency in high school girls basketball, one goes no further than the Pascack Valley Lady Indians. For nearly three decades, they have been at the top of Bergen County hoops, and the influx of talent is continuing this season.
On a day where Holy Angles head coach Sue Liddy achieved her 500th career win in the opening game of the Joe Polli tournament, PV head coach Jeff Jasper extended his county record with number 673 coming in a 52-34 win over Ridgewood.
The victory was abetted by a new source, as sophomore Jessica Lynch grabbed 10 offensive rebounds and scored 10 points in spearheading the triumph that moves the Indians to 3-0 on the season.
"She's got that nose for the ball, and when you work to box out Kristen (Brown), Bryanne (Corra) and Heather (Zurich), and you get somebody like this, I thought she did great," Jasper commented.
Lynch came off the bench midway through the first quarter and immediately ignited Valley. Trailing 3-2 when she came in, the Indians went on a 17-0 run covering 6:44, scoring six of the points and grabbing six offensive rebounds during the run.
"She's going to be a terrific player," Jasper remarked. "She has what you can't coach, great instincts. She loves the game and when she's on the floor she's hungry. There's no complacency in what she does.
"Once her fundamentals catch up with her instincts, she'll be a terrific player."
The Maroons (0-2) fought back into the game by making free throws and getting a couple of big three point shots to trail by 30-19 at halftime.
"That last half of the third quarter, that's what killed us," Ridgewood head coach Jim Ross concurred. "We battled back, and that was a good sign."
Corra also had six points in the run and finished the game with 17 points, 5 rebounds, 3 steals and 3 assists. On a day where Kristen Brown struggled offensively (5 points, 10 rebounds), Corra was a big boost on the scoreboard.
"She's probably the most improved player," Jasper said of the senior forward. "She does so many things well, all the little things, and she's played consistently well. She gets the steal and the breakaway, hits the little eight-foot jump shot, or makes the great pass inside.
"She stays within what she does well. She's not looking to break anybody down off the dribble."
Pascack Valley maintained its lead between 9 and 13 points through the third quarter and into the fourth. With 3:45 remaining, Ridgewood's Lexi Haarmann hit one of two free throws to get the Maroons within eight at 42-34.
That would be the last point for Ridgewood, however, as Valley closed the game with the final 10 points, though their foul shooting was certainly not up to par (9 of 23 in the game and 4 for 12 in the fourth quarter).
"This game just showed how many holes we have in our game," Jasper said. "We just have to go back to practice and keep working and getting better. We've got to be better at pass and catch and defend. This is still a work in progress."
Ridgewood's Allison Cosgrove, the Maroons' leading returning scorer and a major three-point threat, managed only four uneventful second half minutes, thanks to a bout with the flu. She was obviously laboring on the floor, and Ross used her to spell a starter for a couple of minutes.
The Maroons finished just 10 of 35 from the floor (4 for 12 behind the arc), including a 4 of 16 first half, and hit 10 of 17 free throws. Haarmann was the lone double figure scorer with 12 points and Shannon McCarthy had six rebounds. Ridgewood was guilty of 23 turnovers, including a 14-3 disadvantage in the opening two quarters.
"We knew it was going to be tough the first few games," Ross noted, "and we just have to keep improving. Replacing the post player (where Katie Reilly graduated after four years) is a big assignment. We've got four girls working in there, and we'll get there. "You can't give a team two or three shots, and especially them," Ross said. "Take away the big run, and we played them even."
Pascack Valley was 21 of 56 shooting (1 for 6 from 3) and had a 32-26 rebound edge, with 19 of them coming off the offensive glass resulting in 19 second chance points.
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