Monday, February 18, 2008

By Cory K. Doviak
NJS.com Editorial Director

Sara Ely scored a game-high 16 points for Pascack Valley, which reached the county final with a 50-42 win over Old Tappan.

EAST RUTHERFORD – Three times they have played now this season and not only has the outcome been the same all three times, but all three games have been remarkably similar. They were all battles of contrasting styles, they were all close well into the fourth quarter and they were all won by Pascack Valley.

The latest edition came on Sunday in the semifinals of the Bergen County Girls Basketball Tournament and Pascack Valley’s 50-42 win over Northern Valley/Old Tappan on Sunday at Becton Regional High School gave the top-seeded Indians a spot in the county final for the first time since 2005.

“This is my 22nd Final 4 appearance and it never gets old. It is fun to be here and I am happy that we are moving on to the final,” said Pascack Valley head coach Jeff Jasper, who has taken his team to the tournament for 30 straight seasons and is one win away from a record seventh county championship. “This county tournament is the apex of local basketball and to get to the final you have to be good and you have to be lucky. We were both today against a very good Old Tappan team.”

Chanel Van Dyke scored a team-high 12 points for OT.

The two teams strengths are on opposite ends of the basketball spectrum. Pascack Valley is really a five-guard team with more guards available to pour off the bench at any time. Old Tappan has the classic starting lineup of two guards, one to handle the ball and one to shoot it, two forwards and the anchor-the-paint center.

So getting a lead and working the system is of the utmost importance for both teams. When Pascack Valley surged in front by scoring eight of the final 11 points of the first half to take a 24-19 lead, the Indians had the advantage and never gave it back.

Maggie Ely made a baseline jumper to open the third quarter scoring and Sara Ely was fouled on a three-pointer that she made anyway and added the free throw to put Pascack Valley up 30-21. Rebecca Lynch added free throw the next time down the floor to put PV up by double digits with 6:24 left in the third quarter and the Indians spent the rest of the game successfully protecting the lead.

Pascack Valley had a 34-29 lead after three quarters and it went up by seven points when Terry Ely opened the fourth with a jumper from the baseline. Old Tappan kept getting close, but every time it did Pascack Valley had an answer.

Terry Ely's baseline jumper to open the third quarter gave PV a 36-29 lead.

When Sam Sinatra completed a three-point play to get the Knights back within 36-32, PV got a free throw from Terry Ely and a putback from Lynch to push the advantage back to seven points. When Chanel Van Dyke made a tough runner moving down the left side of the lane to get OT to within 41-36 with 4:58 to play, Sara Ely went coast-to-coast for a layup that moved PV back out in front by seven.

And when Alex Radetzky made two free throws to draw OT to within 44-40 with 2:29 to play, Lynch went hard to the basket for a layup that reestablished a six-point lead. Radetzky hit two more free throws with 1:03 left to get the Knights back to within four points at 46-42, but PV played strong defense and made 4 of 6 free throws in the final minute to seal the win.

“Giving them a lead, they are very good, they are very well coached and they know how to take care of the basketball,” said Old Tappan head coach Brian Dunn. “They really work some clock and force us into defensive problems at the end where they got some easy looks by playing some keep away.”

Alex Radetzky drew Old Tappan to within four points with free throws twice in the fourth quarter.

Both teams were balanced on the offensive end as Sara Ely (14 points) was the game’s high scorer and Terry Ely added 11 points for the Indians. Lynch (9 points), Allie Lombardi (8 points), Maggie Ely (5 points) and Mary Beierle, who made one of PV’s two three-pointers, rounded out the scoring.

Van Dyke led Old Tappan with 12 points and she was joined in double figures by Sinatra, who finished with 10. Jaris scored 9 points, Radetzky finished with 6 points, Alana Soumas made a three-point field goal and Karli McMenamin accounted for OT’s other two points.

So now it is off to the county final for top-seeded Pascack Valley (23-1), where it will have a rematch with No. 3 IHA, which handed the Indians their only loss of the season back on January 20. The teams will face off at Paramus Catholic High School next Sunday in a 2:00 p.m. start.

“It’s unbelievable. We have been working so hard to get there for so long and now we are finally going to get the chance to play for the county title,” said Terry Ely. “It’s a great opportunity for us and I hope we can take advantage of it.”

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