Saturday, February 13, 2010

By Rich Barton
NJS.com Staff Writer

North Bergen opened a 17-point lead and then held on for a 52-43 win over Kearny in the opening round of the Hudson County Tournament on Friday night.

NORTH BERGEN – When the seeds came out for the inaugural Hudson County Girls’ Basketball Tournament, North Bergen was a little shocked. Despite a 25-point win over top-seeded Bayonne and a sweep of third-seeded Lincoln, the Lady Bruins were handed the No. 7 seed. It was certainly a head scratcher for head coach like Dan Reardon, but he turned it into a positive and his kids have followed suit. North Bergen is now playing with a chip on its shoulder and it needed it on Friday night against No. 10 Kearny, which pushed the Bruins hard right to the final buzzer.

North Bergen led by 17 points with seven minutes to play, but the Kardinals came all the way back to cut the lead to five with 1:54 left. But Ashley Vazzona’s backdoor layup was the last push the Bruins needed as they held on for a 52-43 triumph in a first-round Hudson County Tournament game at North Bergen High School.

“I didn’t like we the way we finished the game, but we still came out with a win,” said Reardon. “We needed to eat some clock late; we didn’t, and it hurt us. Give Kearny credit, they played their hearts out and made a close call there at the end.”

North Bergen used a huge run spanning the first and second quarters to take control. Vazzona hit a three-pointer with a minute left in the first quarter and another to start the second half in the midst of a 15-0 run that put the Bruins ahead, 22-6. It appeared to be a mirror image of when the teams met this past Tuesday with North Bergen opening up a sizeable lead in the second quarter and cruising to a 10-point win.

Vanessa DaSilva and Kearny made North Bergen work hard right to the end.

But just as they did in the fourth quarter last night, the Lady Kardinals clawed their way back only to see their efforts fall apart in the final seconds of the first half. They stole the ball and had a 2-on-1 fastbreak, but Vazzona raced back to make a steal underneath the Bruins’ basket. She then hit a streaking Ashley Heredia for a buzzer-beating layup. Instead of trimming the lead down to four, Kearny found itself trailing by eight at the break, 25-17.

“That was a swing that hurt us mentally more than anything else,” said Kearny head coach Jody Hill. “It was a huge four-point swing. But it ended up being even more than that because it carried over into the third quarter and we ended up missing a ton of layups. There were a few possessions that if we did the little things better, it could have been a different game.”

North Bergen pulled away once again, pushing the lead up to 17 at 42-25 by the end of the third quarter. However, the Kardinals looked to their leader, junior point guard Janitza Aquino, to bring them back.

Aquino scored seven points in a 14-4 run. Her free-throw with 1:54 to play trimmed the lead down to 46-41. But Vazzona followed with a layup and Laura Muriel’s fifth steal of the game on the ensuing inbounds pass locked up the victory.

North Bergen will take on No. 2 Secaucus in the Hudson County quarterfinals.

Vazzona had 16 points, four rebounds, and four assists for North Bergen (15-5). Heredia scored eight of her 10 points in the first half, while Muriel did a solid job without filling up the scoresheet. She had six rebounds and three assists to go with her five steals.

Aquino, who recently passed the 1,000-point barrier, led all players with 18 points. Stefanie Gomes added 12 for Kearny (7-12).

North Bergen now has a chance to prove it deserved higher than a No. 7 seed when it takes on another team making their first appearance in the Hudson County Tournament, second-seeded Secaucus. It is an opportunity Reardon knows his kids have been waiting for.

“We were surprised by getting the seed that we got, but it has only motivated us to get better,” added Reardon. “It’s almost bulletin board material for us, but we use it in a good way. We’re not angry about it or anything like that. The bottom line is that if you’re going to win a county title, you’ll have to go through everyone anyway no matter what seed you are when the tournament starts.”

FOR MORE PHOTOS OF THIS EVENT OR TO BUY A COLLECTOR'S PRINT OF THIS GAME STORY, PLEASE VISIT 4FeetGrafix.com.