February
28, 2006
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| Emily Aponte broke the all-time record for points by a girls basketball player at Dumont on a lay-up with just under five minutes to play. | |
DUMONT – Although it was a first-round state tournament game, a Dumont victory was supposed to be more about several coronations than it was to be about escaping with a win. With Emily Aponte about to break the all-time scoring record for a girls basketball player at the school and head coach Dave Cieplicki on the verge of notching his 300th career victory, it looked like it would all come easy for the Lady Huskies.
They opened up a 12-0 lead just three minutes into Monday night’s North 1, Group 2 game against Elmwood Park, but the Crusaders refused to go away. Even when the final buzzer sounded, the Huskies were celebrating a victory, but breathing a sigh of relief that their season was still alive.
Despite her toughest game of the season from the field, Aponte eclipsed the all-time girls’ scoring mark at Dumont with a bucket in the fourth quarter. But it was fellow captain Danielle Rohe who was the star on this day. She finished with a season-high 31 points as the Lady Huskies held off a late charge from Elmwood Park to advance and notch Cieplicki’s milestone victory with a hard-fought 53-48 triumph.
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| Chrystie Duran had 20 points, eight rebounds, four assists, and three blocks, all of which were team-highs for Elmwood Park. |
“We have played well the last two weeks and we got off to a great start,” said Cieplicki. “Emily (Aponte) and Jasmine (Rosa) were off, but Rohe saved the day for us. I’m really pleased to get my 300th win with Emily, Danielle, and Jen (Pleus). This has been one of my favorite teams in 24 years of coaching. I just hope we can keep advancing and make a good run here.”
Rohe is a streak shooter in Bergen County. She showed it off in a good way in the early moments. She clicked on her first two shots, both three-pointers, and hit two free throws to put Dumont in control early. The Huskies scored the first 12 points of the game and held a 14-2 lead with just over three minutes remaining.
Elmwood Park showed its big-game inexperience early, but made one of several runs to keep them within striking distance. The Crusaders scored the final nine points of the first quarter to get within three, 14-11, by the time the buzzer sounded to end the first period.
“I think we just got ahead of ourselves and got out of the rhythm that we established,” said Rohe. “We started to make some unforced turnovers and they were able to convert them into baskets. Before we knew it, they were right back in the game and had all the momentum on their side.”
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| Danielle Rohe scored a season-high 31 points as Dumont advanced to the North 1, Group 2 quarterfinals. |
The Huskies led from wire-to-wire, but they nearly gave the lead away in the second quarter. Elmwood Park had cut the lead to a single point, and had four possessions that could have given it a lead, but the Crusaders were not able to score on any of those four trips. A missed three-pointer, a missed lay-up, and two turnovers let that opportunity slip by, but EP was still in it at halftime, down just 23-20.
The first half went back and forth, but the third quarter was all Dumont. Rosa’s defensive pressure led to several turnovers. Rohe was the main beneficiary with free throws or easy lay-ups at the other end. The Crusaders had 10 turnovers in all during the period and Dumont grabbed a seemingly comfortable 16-point lead going into the fourth quarter, 41-25.
“The third quarter killed us even worse than the slow start,” said Elmwood Park head coach Artie Zilz. “I thought we were a little scared early, but that’s understandable since it’s the first state tournament game for everyone except for Chrystie Duran (a transfer from Paramus Catholic). We never gave up and played hard right to the final buzzer against a good team on their home floor. We just dug ourselves too big of a hole to climb out of.”
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| Elmwood Park got within 47-41 with 1:44 to play in the game. |
The only question seemed to be if or when Aponte would break 1991 graduate Karen Froelich’s school record of 1,415 points. She did just that on a lay-up that made it 45-27 with just under five minutes to play. With the milestone out of the way, it seemed the Huskies would cruise the rest of the way.
“It really feels great to break the record in my last home game,” said Aponte. “I’m really excited in my own way to get it done. I thought we were going to close out the game from there, but it didn’t happen that way. They just kept hitting shots and I think we relaxed a little too much.”
Once again though, the Crusaders got off the deck and fought back into the game. Duran was spectacular down the stretch in bringing her team back. She created turnovers, hit tough shots, and found open teammates for jump shots. Freshman Gina Pettigrano hit consecutive three-pointers and Duran added another to cap a 14-2 run, cutting the deficit to six points, 47-41, with 1:44 to play.
The key play came 10 seconds later when Elmwood Park forced a turnover and had the ball underneath the Dumont basket with a chance to cut the lead even further. But they were whistled for a five-second violation, giving the Huskies the ball back. Jen Murphy, Aponte, Rohe, and Rosa all hit a pair of free throws, as Dumont went 16 of 18 from the foul line in the second half to hold off the upset bid.
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| Dumont point guard Jasmine Rosa scored seven points and five steals, four rebounds, and four assists. |
“We gave it our best shot, we just ran out of time,” said Duran, EP’s junior guard. “They just came out in the third quarter and played harder and smarter than we did and that was the big difference. We came in as the underdog with nothing to lose and showed that we belonged here. It hurts a little for our season to end like this, but we are a young team that will learn from this experience.”
Rohe went 9 of 10 from the foul line and finished with a game-high 31 points, one off her career high, for seventh-seeded Dumont. Aponte struggled from the floor, but did have a game-high five steals to go with her 11 points. Rosa added seven points, five steals, four rebounds, and four assists.
Duran was the catalyst for Elmwood Park, the No. 10 seed. She shot 8 of 15 from the floor and had 20 points, eight rebounds, four assists, and three blocks, all of which were team-highs. Pettigrano came off the bench to reach double-figures with 10 points. Melissa Nicosia and Natalie Sosa each chipped in with six points apiece.
The Huskies will travel to face second-seeded Pequannock on Wednesday night. The winner of that match-up will face the winner of third-seeded Pascack Valley and Jefferson Township, the No. 6 seed.
“I hope we don’t play this inconsistent on Wednesday, or we won’t be getting together on Thursday,” added Cieplicki. “Elmwood Park did a great job and kept coming at us with their best effort. I like this team and none of us want this season to end. It wasn’t the prettiest win, but it’s a win. In the state tournament, all that matters is that you keep on winning and surviving to play another day.”
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