Saturday, January 16, 2010

By Cory K. Doviak
NJS.com Editorial Director

Kate Brock scored 13 points for River Dell, which took first place in the BCSL-American Division by handing Dumont a 53-40 loss.

ORADELL -- River Dell and Dumont were the last two unbeaten teams inside BCSL-American Division play heading into Friday night, but that is pretty much where the similarities end. Dumont starts three guards -- Katherine Rosa, Desiree Rosa and Jaclyn McClinton -- who can all hit the three-pointer and the Huskies live and die behind the arc. On the other hand, it is hard to tell who River Dell's go-to player is on the offensive end or what to take away to make the Golden Hawks ineffective. River Dell lets everyone touch the ball and there is strength in numbers.

All five of River Dell’s starters and the first player off its bench, sophomore Jordan Bastable, scored at least two points in a 15-0 run that the Golden Hawks used to start the second half and break open what had been a close game. Dumont had the pace of play in its favor and the first half was a stalemate, but River Dell held the Huskies scoreless for the first 4:45 of the third quarter and never looked back on the way to a 53-40 win and sole possession of first place in the BCSL-American Division.

Dumont's Katherine Rosa scored all of her game-high 15 points in the first half.

“What we wanted to do when we came out that [locker room] door in the second half was to get the momentum in our favor. We have been preparing for this for three days,” said River Dell head coach Lou Wejnert. “I told the kids that if we got the lead we could play the way we wanted to and it would be difficult for them.”

It was difficult for Dumont right out of the gate in the second half as its first three shots all came up empty of everything and River Dell answered each one with baskets. Kristen Eckert gave River Dell the lead for good at 30-28 when she drove to the basket for the first points of the third quarter. Jenna Connolly then followed with two straight hoops, a putback of a missed shot and a runner in the lane as River Dell took a six-point lead, the largest for either team to that point, and forced a Dumont timeout just 1:55 into the second half.

“We really wanted to get this win. We beat them twice last year and then they beat us in the states, so we all felt like this was an important game,” said Connolly, a junior and part of a River Dell starting lineup that does not feature a single senior. “We knew that we could get putbacks because we had the height advantage over them and once we got a couple of those, especially in the second half when we got the lead. We knew we could look for good shots and then go after the rebounds if we missed.”

Meghan Cotter had 8 points as part of River Dell's balanced offense.

Dumont turned the ball over directly out of the time out and Jill McGovern made two free throws on the other end as River Dell started to pull away. Kate Brock scored inside off an entry bounce pass by Meghan Cotter, who then made a steal and a layup to push the RD lead to 40-28.

“I was really happy with the way we played the first half. The pace was really the way we wanted it, but on the flipside we got a little bit more tired than they did today,” said Dumont head coach Dave Cieplicki. “I said before the game that we had to make at least 10 threes to be in it and how many did we end up with?’

The answer was five made three-pointers in the game for Dumont and River Dell completed its 15-0 run in signature style with an offensive possession right out of a how-to video of team basketball. All five Golden Hawks touched the ball, three of them at least twice, as they swung the ball quickly around the perimeter. It ended when Eckert, stationed on the left wing, found a cutting Bastable, who took one dribble and got right to the basket for the layup that gave River Dell a 43-28 lead with 3:15 left in the third quarter.

Desiree Rosa scored 12 points for Dumont, which dropped its first game in league play.

Desiree Rosa’s consecutive one-of-two trips to the free throw line finally got Dumont on the board in the second half and April Gucene nailed a three-pointer for a mini 5-0 Dumont run, but Brock’s two free throws gave River Dell a 45-33 lead at the end of three quarters.

Dumont got within single digits for the last time at 45-36 when Desiree Rosa made a three-pointer to start the fourth quarter scoring, but Connolly made back to back shots to restore River Dell’s double digit lead for good and it coasted home to an 8-1 record on the season and a perfect 6-0 start inside the BCSL-American Division.

Connolly and Brock led River Dell’s balanced offense with 13 points apiece and Cotter and Bastable each added 8. Eckert’s 4 points came on two second half field goals, Vanessa McAllister had a second quarter three-pointer as River Dell made five in the game to match Dumont and McGovern made two free throw attempts for the Golden Hawks who were 8 of 14 from the line in the game, but 5 of 6 in the second half.

“Winning the league is a really big goal of ours,” said McGovern. “We knew that this game was for first place and I thought we played well.”

Jordan Bastable scored 8 points off the bench for RIver Dell.

Dumont’s Katherine Rosa scored all of her game-high 15 points in the first half and Desiree Rosa finished with 12. McClinton and Carly Reitano each finished with 4 points for the Huskies, who fell to 5-3 on the season and 4-1 inside the BCSL-American. The Huskies next face Pascack Valley on Sunday morning in the opener of The Games at Pascack Valley, the six-game event being held to benefit Autism Speaks and The Juvenile Diabetes Foundation.

“If there is anything good to come out of this it was how well we did in the second half when we started trapping everywhere. We got some good things out of it defensively, but we had about seven straight empty trips on offense. We exerted a lot of energy and didn’t get points out of it,” said Cieplicki. “But that is something that we just added to the repertoire and maybe it is something that we put in place tonight and helps us down the road. But now we have PV on Sunday and that is going to be anything but easy.”

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