Wednesday, March 12, 2008

By Rich Barton
NJS.com Staff Writer

Rebecca Lynch scored 14 of Pascack Valley's 15 first half points and finished with 21 points and 12 rebounds as the Indians gave Trenton as run for its money in a 47-39 loss in the opening round of the Tournament of Champions.

TOMS RIVER – Losing the last game of a season, especially when it is in the state tournament, is always tough to deal with. It is something all but one team in New Jersey has to deal with. The deeper the run into the tournament, the more the loss hurts. But there are rare instances when winning or losing, is not of the utmost importance.

The real importance is that the team played the game the right way and left everything out on the court…even for a team as perennially successful as Pascack Valley.

Down by double-digits most of the first half to Trenton, which had a distinct advantage in size, quickness, and athleticism, the Indians refused to quit. Behind their senior leaders, Rebecca Lynch and Sara Ely, they battled back to tie the game with less than four minutes to play.

But they would not score again and one of Pascack Valley’s best ever seasons came to a close with a 47-39 loss to Trenton in a first-round Tournament of Champions game on Tuesday night at the Ritacco Center on the campus of Toms River North High School.

“I give them credit, they never stopped moving,” said Trenton head coach Reggie Murray. “We knew they were going to be very well-coached and well-disciplined, and they were. They had us on the ropes in the fourth quarter, but we came back swinging and fought our way out of a tough spot against a very good team.”

Trenton will play defending champion University in the T of C semifinals on Thursday.

Trenton had a size advantage with 6-2 Torrie Childs and 5-10 Queen-Tiye Jackson proving to be dominant forces on the glass. Behind those two, Trenton doubled up the Indians in rebounds during the first half and blocked six Pascack Valley shots. Only the gutsy play of Lynch kept her team in it.

The St. Peter’s College-bound guard scored 14 of her team’s 15 first-half points, including a jumper that beat the halftime buzzer, trimming Trenton’s lead to 10 at the break, 25-15. The intermission did little to cool off Lynch, who scored on Pascack Valley’s first two possessions of the second half to get her team within striking distance at 25-19.

The lead was down to five when Ashley Hines hit a circus shot at the buzzer to end the third quarter and pushed Trenton’s lead back up to seven. That could have been a backbreaking blow for the Indians, but the seasoned squad used that as just another obstacle to overcome.

“We were down by 12 or 13 in the first half, so we weren’t going to panic,” said Sara Ely. “We were getting the shots we wanted, we just had to start hitting them. Rebecca was awesome all game and she carried us in the first half. I had to step up and start hitting shots in the second half. We played hard for all (32) minutes and we gave it everything we had just to get back into the game.”

Sara Ely missed all seven of her first-half shots, but came alive when her team needed her the most. The Penn-bound senior guard went on a personal 10-4 run, capped by a 19-foot jumper to tie the game at 39 with 3:41 to play. Pascack Valley finally found an answer for Trenton’s size advantage inside with stingy team defense. However, Trenton went to an unlikely source on its next two possessions and she delivered on both occasions.

Sara Ely scored all 15 of her points over the final 14 minutes of the game for PV, which finished the season with a 30-2 record.

Alexis Sweet scored just nine points in the game and sat out most of the third and fourth quarters after getting hit with an elbow. She came back into the game with the season on the line and made an immediate impact. The senior scored twice on drives to the basket, the latter giving Trenton a four-point lead, 43-39, with 1:40 to go.

Pascack Valley tired mightily to make yet another comeback, but it was not to be this time around. Despite the season-ending loss, there were nothing but smiles and happiness among the Pascack Valley players and their coaching staff.

“I can’t imagine being more proud of a group of girls than I am of this bunch,” said Pascack Valley head coach Jeff Jasper, who won his 800th career game in Sunday’s Group 2 title victory over Rumson-Fair Haven. “We played hard every single possession, just like we have all year. Our seniors were great leaders and they played great again today. Our style has been simple but spectacular. That is because of the hard work these girls put in. Our resiliency showed today and we played our game. We have nothing to be upset about, we left it all out there on the court.”

Lynch and Sara Ely finished their fantastic careers with a bang. Lynch had game-highs of 21 points, 12 rebounds, and three steals. Ely scored all 15 of her points over the final 14 minutes of the game for Pascack Valley, which finished the season with a 30-2 record.

Allie Lombardi played well off the bench for PV, which forged a tie at 39 with 3:41 to play.

Tracey Parsons led Trenton (31-1) with 13 points. Dominique Butler added 11 points and six rebounds. Childs was held below her scoring average, but made up for it on the defensive end with 11 rebounds and five blocks. Trenton advances to the T of C semifinals and will face top-seeded and defending champion University (Newark) on Thursday.

To put this season in perspective, this year’s version ranks as one of the best teams the Pascack Valley program has ever produced. That is quite an accomplishment considering that PV has been one of the pre-eminent girls’ basketball programs in the state for the last three decades.

“We set a few goals before the season and we achieved all of them,” said Lynch. “We won the Joe Poli Tournament, we won our league (for a state record 30th straight year), we won the county tournament, we won our section, and we won Group 2. I think we believed that we could do this, but to do it is just phenomenal. We played as well as we could play all year and we stepped up in the big games. I’m so happy just to be a part of this.

“To say that we are one of the best teams that Pascack Valley has ever had is an honor that I will always take with me wherever I go.”

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