Sunday, January 27, 2008

By Rich Barton
NJS.com Staff Writer

Nicole Bufis and Bergenfield knocked off Queen of Peace and won their first Bergen County Tournament game since 2004.

BERGENFIELD – On opening night of the 2005-2006 season, Bergenfield head coach Erik Olson knew that he had a long road ahead of him. After scoring just 11 points in a loss to Ramapo, he had a sense of just how far the Lady Bears had to go to get back to qualifying for the Bergen County Tournament. Despite winning just three games that season, Olson was encouraged by the work ethic of his players.

They improved to eight wins last season before getting back to the county tournament with a .500 record this season. Just making the tournament and earning a first-round home game might have been enough for many programs to hang their hats on, especially those who won 11 games in their previous two seasons combined.

However, the Lady Bears were not going to settle for just that.

Olga Ndhlovu had 19 points and Nicole Bufis added 14 as the 14th seeded Lady Bears held off a late rally by Queen of Peace, the No. 19 seed, to win their first county tournament game since 2004, 48-43.

Q of P's Brittany Turner’s made a lay-up to make it a one-possession game with 41 seconds to play.

“I’m at a loss for words, I’m so excited,” said Bufis. “I’ve seen us grow and we were at the bottom of the mountain. But now we feel like we’re near the top and it’s amazing.”

After spotting the Golden Griffins the first five points of the game, Bergenfield embarked on a 22-5 run spanning the first and second quarters. Katie Lapi’s three-pointer gave them their biggest lead of the game, 22-10.

But the Golden Griffins scratched and clawed their way back into the contest. A late basket by Julie Candio-Sekel helped trim the lead down to six by halftime, 24-18.

The was cut all the way down to a single point, before Bergenfield scored five points in five seconds. Lapi nailed another triple to start the mini-spurt and Kathy Palacio stole the ensuing inbounds pass and laid it in to bump the lead back up to six.

The Bears maintained that lead until a minute into the fourth quarter when Queen of Peace point guard Stephanie Wallace hit a rainbow three-point shot to knot the score at 36.

Olga Ndhlovu had 19 points for Bergenfield, which has come a long way in the last two years.

Bergenfield responded with a 10-3 run capped by Ndhlovu’s putback to make it 46-39 with two minutes to play. The Golden Griffins were down, but they were certainly not out.

Brittany Turner’s lay-up made it a one-possession game with 41 seconds to play, 46-43. After a turnover, Queen of Peace had one last shot to tie the game. But Turner’s three-point attempt was off the mark and the ball went out of bounds to Bergenfield with 10 seconds remaining. Palacio broke the Golden Griffins’ press and Bufis laid it in for the final margin.

“We won eight games last year and we’ve already won nine this year,” said Ndhlovu. “I think we were all a little nervous and we blew a lead. But we’re a good team, we worked together, and we won the game.”

Ndhlovu’s 19 points were a game-high for Bergenfield. Bufis had 14 points and seven rebounds. Lapi ripped down a game-high 12 rebounds to go along with her eight points.

Stephanie Wallace's rainbow three-pointer got Q of P all even at 36.

Turner had an off night shooting, but managed to lead Queen of Peace with 18 points. Candio-Sekel added 14, including 3 of 5 from three-point range.

The long journey for the Lady Bears will continue next weekend in the Round of 16 when they face third-seeded IHA, a 62-29 winner over 30th seeded Lodi. For now though, Olson can breathe a sigh of relief and let his kids celebrate for the hard work they have put in over the years.

“I’m just so proud of these girls, and our senior class has worked so hard to get here,” said an exhausted Olson. “I remember two years ago in our first game when we scored eleven points on opening night. Yet, here we are in the county tournament and our post players really played great. We are well-conditioned and we never, ever stop playing. We beat a good Queen of Peace team today. A win is a win and we’re happy to move on.”

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