Monday, February 22, 2010

By Rich Barton
NJS.com Staff Writer

Jillian Crawford’s putback with less than two minutes to play helped fifth-seeded Holy Angels reach the Bergen County final with a 59-55 victory over Teaneck on Saturday.

MAHWAH – This season has been a wild roller-coaster ride for the Holy Angels basketball team with this week being as good of an example as any of how the Angels’ play can swing from scintillating to downright befuddling. After beating Northern Valley/Old Tappan in an overtime classic in last week’s Bergen County quarterfinals, they came out two days later and were beaten soundly on their home court by the same Old Tappan squad.

To ride the roller coaster track to the top again on Saturday against top-seeded Teaneck in the Bergen County Tournament semifinals, Holy Angels needed more than just one person to step up. It needed a total team effort to hold off one charge after another from the Highwaywomen; which is exactly what they got.

Jakelle King-Gilchrist hit a number of big shots in the second half as Teaneck fought valiantly throughout to keep the game close. But they were never able to take the lead as several Holy Angels’ players made big plays down the stretch.

Jakelle King-Gilchrist scored a game-high 21 points for Teaneck (20-3).

Jaclyn Jerkovich came up big in the second half and Jillian Crawford’s putback with less than two minutes to play were part of a crucial 6-0 spurt that allowed fifth-seeded Holy Angels to pull out another nailbiter to reach the Bergen County championship game with a 59-55 victory over Teaneck at Ramapo College.

“We knew we had to play really well and a good start gave us our confidence back,” said Holy Angels head coach Sue Liddy. “Teaneck is always a tough matchup because of their athleticism and their tenacious defense. Our goal was to be as aggressive as they were and hit open shots when we got them.”

Behind the versatile Nicole Pepe, the Angels got into an offensive flow early. She hit a three-pointer late in the first quarter and added another two minutes into the second to put Holy Angels ahead, 23-15. King-Gilchrist scored on a breakaway layup to trim the lead down to two, but baskets from Pepe and Crawford bumped the Angels’ lead back up to six by halftime, 34-28.

Ariana Ijuduola scored the game-winning basket with one second left last week in Teaneck’s quarterfinal win over St. Mary’s. She added consecutive buckets to cap a 6-0 burst and pull Teaneck into a 38-38 tie. Holy Angels had an answer all game long for Teaneck’s quick runs, including a jumper from Jerkovich for a 45-40 heading into the fourth quarter.

Holy Angels; Jaclyn Jerkovich tied for team-high honors with 15 points.

As they always do during crunch time, the Highwaywomen turned up the pressure defensively and King-Gilchrist took care of the rest on the other end of the floor. She hit three-pointers on consecutive possessions to bring Teaneck within a point with just over three minutes to play.

“It was such a close game, but we stayed focused on what we had to do,” said Holy Angels’ Jaclyn Jerkovich. “Our defense bent a few times, but we didn’t break. We knew we couldn’t give up the lead because that is when Teaneck would have put even more pressure on us. It definitely helped that we’re such a balanced team and whoever has the open shot is the one who takes it. I thought we handled the pressure situations really well and we scored some big baskets in the second half when we really need them.”

The lead was four when Jerkovich hit the front end of a one-and-one, but missed the second shot. Crawford snuck in to grab the rebound and score her only basket of the second half to make it 58-51 with 1:43 to play. Kasheema Besley was all over the floor defensively all game and hit a big free-throw to make it a two-possession game, 59-55, with 19 seconds to play. Holy Angels was able to run the clock on their second straight tournament upset.

“This is really amazing, I’m just so happy we won this game” added Jerkovich. “Our goal from day one has been to win a county title and now we’re one step away. It’s been a pretty up-and-down season. But to get this far and be in a position to be county champs is what we’ve been playing for and we’re excited."

Teaneck's Monique Cheek saving a ball from going out of bounds.

Jerkovich and Crawford each had 15 points and Pepe added 12 for Holy Angels (17-8). Besley chipped in with nine points, four assists, three steals, and two blocks. King-Gilchrist scored a game-high 21 points for Teaneck (20-3). Ijaduola finished with 12 points and seven rebounds.

Holy Angels moves into next Saturday’s Bergen County final against second seed and defending champion Ramapo in what will be the third installment of a classic duel. Ramapo beat Holy Angels on the season’s opening night, 52-48, before Holy Angels returned the favor 11 days ago, 59-56.

With the realignment around the state moving Holy Angels out of the NBIL, this potential rivalry will be put to rest after this season. So next week’s Bergen County final will be the ultimate rubber match with everything on the line.

“We are very happy to be moving on and we know it’s going to be another grueling game against Ramapo,” said Liddy. “There have been times this season where we didn’t what to think of ourselves. But we are starting to define ourselves as a team and come together at the right time. Our confidence grew as the game wore on and we were able to beat a very good team today. Now our confidence is sky high and we’re going to leave it all out on the court.”

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