Monday, February 13, 2012

By Rich Barton
NJS.com Staff Writer

Madison Dunbar made all six of her free throws in the final two minutes as Northern Highlands held off Ridgewood, 51-45, in the Bergen County Tournament quarterfinals.

PARAMUS – Throughout this season, Northern Highlands has been known for its wide variety of strengths running the gamut from heady guard play, to outside shooting, to scoring in the paint, to tenacity on the defensive end. The Highlanders can beat a team in a multitude of ways and have left opposing teams in the dust all season long. The one area that may be considered a weakness is its shooting percentage at the charity stripe. Locked in a hard-fought battle with Ridgewood, the third meeting between the two team this season, it it was up to Northern Highlands point guard Madison Dunbar to prove that her team's free-throw shooting woes are well in the rear-view mirror.

Dunbar went 6-for-6 at the foul line in the final two minutes, including four free-throws in the final 20 seconds, as third-seeded Northern Highlands held on for 51-45 win, its third, and most important, victory over sixth-seeded Ridgewood in a Bergen County Quarterfinal game on Sunday at Paramus Catholic High School.

“It was nerve-wracking in the last minute. I just had to relax and put all my focus into making those free-throws,” said Dunbar. “There were some tense moments during the fourth quarter, but we never went into panic mode. We stayed calm, we stayed confident, and that’s how we ended up winning.”

Both teams struggled to get much going on the offensive end in the first half, but the Highlanders got just enough with a pair of three-pointers from Tori Balzano to forge a 22-13 halftime lead.

Ridgewood point guard Lauren Beausoleil kept her team in the game before fouling out late in the fourth quarter.

The Maroons were not intimidated by the Highlanders nor the nine-point deficit and quickly made up ground before taking their first lead on two free-throws from Meghan Roxas to finish off a 16-6 third quarter spurt for a 29-28 lead heading into the fourth. The score was tied at 34 until Balzano snapped it with a rainbow three-pointer from the wing and Sonya West followed with two driving layups for a 41-34 lead with 4:03 to play.

“The game could have slipped away from us, but it didn’t because we stayed aggressive going to the basket,” said West. “We had to do the little things better like running our offense quicker and boxing out better. To beat a good team, everyone has to step up and we all stepped up at various points in the game today.”

The Maroons were far from done and whittled the lead down to two before foul trouble and some missed layups proved to be their undoing. Kelci Smesko hit two free-throws to cut the lead to two and a steal on the ensuing possession led to a breakaway layup attempt that would have tied the game. But it was off the mark and turned into a fastbreak going the other way with West being fouled with 1:06 to play. That was Smesko’s fifth foul and after she went to the bench, West hit one of two for a three-point lead.

With Ridgewood looking to tie the game with a three-pointer or cut it to one with a quick two, Balzano made the defensive play of the game by stepping in to take a charge with 24 seconds to play. That not only gave the Highlanders the ball back, it also fouled steady point guard Lauren Beausoleil out of the game, leaving the Maroons without their best scoring option and their best ball handler in those final crucial moments of regulation.

Sonya West scored a game-high 17 points for Highlands, which will play No. 2 IHA in the semifinals.

Dunbar was fouled on the inbounds play and knocked down two huge free-throws with 19.6 seconds left to make it a two-possession game before icing the game seconds later with two more to send the Highlanders into the Bergen County semifinals.

Six-foot-3 center Jackie Reyneke showed off her diverse game with 14 points, 17 rebounds, three blocks, and three assists for Northern Highlands (18-2). West led all players with 17 points, while Dunbar added 10 points and six assists. Maggie Carver finished with 12 points and Smesko scored all 11 of her points in the second half for Ridgewood (11-10).

Northern Highlands will get a chance for revenge in the county semifinals against second-seeded IHA. In a meeting last month, the Highlanders held a lead going into the fourth quarter before eventually falling 50-42. While both teams appear to be peaking at the right time, something will have to give with a berth in the county final on the line.

“There will be a lot of pressure for both teams, it’s just a matter of which team will handle it better,” added Dunbar. “We know not to underestimate anyone and we hope that maybe they underestimate us a little bit, which would be to our advantage. Both teams are going to come out hard and give it everything they have. We have to keep executing the way we have been lately and do all the little things too. Getting this far is a big accomplishment and we hope to go a step further.”

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