Monday, February 13, 2012

By Rich Barton
NJS.com Staff Writer

Raquel Scott finished with 14 points and 13 rebounds for IHA, which led wire-to-wire in a 44-24 win over Holy Angels.

PARAMUS – Immaculate Heart Academy already had two victories over its archrival Holy Angels this season, yet IHA head coach Steve Silver was concerned for good reason. He knows all too well that whether it is a regular-season game, a county tournament game, or a state tournament game, any one against Holy Angels is going to require a maximum team effort for the full 32 minutes. Even with the two wins, Silver felt he did not get a full four quarters out of his talented squad. With a county semifinal berth at stake, he got just the effort and execution he was searching for as IHA continued its torrid play of late.

IHA put on a masterful defensive performance, allowing only a single field goal over the first 15 minutes of the game on its way to a wire-to-wire 44-24 triumph over Holy Angels on Saturday in the Bergen County quarterfinals played at Paramus Catholic High School.

“Our defense really clicked in that first half and it gave us a lot of offensive options off of the turnovers we created,” said Silver. “I was very satisfied with our defensive effort today and to be a championship team, that is the kind of effort you have to leave out there on the court.”

Meredith Dwyer scored 10 of Holy Angels' 24 points.

IHA (19-2) was in control right from the opening tap and got consecutive jumpers from Caitlin Roche to take an 11-3 lead at the end of one quarter. That sparked an 18-0 run in which the Blue Eagles showed off their diversity with seven different players scoring during the run en route to a 25-7 halftime lead.

Holy Angels never got closer than 15 in the second half as IHA breezed into next weekend’s BCT semifinal round.

“Anytime we play Holy Angels, we’re pumped up and we came out ready to play,” said IHA forward Raquel Scott, who will play next year at Holy Cross. “You can set a tone and win games by just focusing on not letting the other team score. We’ve been shooting to for a county title all year, but we also know that we can’t overlook any opponent, especially a rival like Holy Angels. That hard-nosed mentality we really showed today is what we have to bring for the rest of the season.”

Scott led all players with 14 points and 13 rebounds and six other IHA players scored at least four points with Samantha Wilkes and Lindsay Khoury having six apiece. Meredith Dwyer was the lone bright spot for Holy Angels (12-10), scoring 10 of her team’s 24 points.

Caitlin Roche and IHA will play No. Highlands in the semifinals.

After down-to-the-wire wins last week over Ridgewood and DePaul, the Blue Eagles were finally able to put it all together. To reach a county final though, Silver knows more work has to be done and beating a great team like third-seeded Northern Highlands, whom they beat earlier in the season (50-42) will be no easier the second time around. Regardless, he likes where his team is at currently and the direction it is headed.

“I thought this was a really sound performance by our kids on both ends of the floor,” said Silver. “Getting some stops early and knocking down a few open shots really got us off and running. This past big week was huge for us and we came out of it [3-0]. Our defense was outstanding today and it got everything else clicking. Now the challenge is to continue to steadily improve and get better every day towards our goals we set before the season.”

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