Monday, February 20, 2012

By Rich Barton
NJS.com Staff Writer

Sonya West scored a career-high 23 points for Northern Highlands, which upset second seeded IHA, 69-58, to reach the Bergen County final for the first time in school history.

MAHWAH - Walking off the court after their game against IHA five weeks ago. It was an opportunity lost for the Northern Highlands girls basketball team. The Highlanders failed to close out a game against the defending Bergen County champion and lost out on what could have been a signature win for the program fighting to gain recognition as one of Bergen County's elite.

But it was a learning experience and even if Northern Highlands did not walk off with a win on that day early in January, it knew that it could compete with one of North Jersey's best teams and there was still time to improve. The true test of how far the Highlanders have come since that loss came on Sunday when they squared off again with IHA. Only this time, the stakes were considerably higher.

Jackie Reyneke and Sonya West combined to score 47 points as third-seeded Northern Highlands took a lead late in the first quarter and never gave it back. The Highlanders held off every run IHA, the No. 2 seed, attempted to make down the stretch and advanced to the first Bergen County Tournament final for the first time in the program's history with a 69-58 victory at Ramapo College.

Raquel Scott finished with a double-double (28 points, 11 rebounds) for IHA.

"Ever since we lost to IHA, we hoped that we would get another shot at them," said Northern Highlands point guard Madison Dunbar. "To beat a team like IHA in such a big game, you have to do a lot of things really well. You have to make open shots, you have to limit your turnovers, and you have to play 'D' for all 32 minutes."

The battle between Reyneke and IHA's Raquel Scott was highly anticipated and lived up to its billing as both players went at it from the opening whistle. Scott scored to give IHA an 11-9 lead, but Reyneke answered back with two baskets during an 8-0 run to give Northern Highlands a 17-11 lead after one quarter.

"Just for our confidence, it was really important for us to start the game on the right foot," said Reyneke. "When you're playing any team, but especially really good team, confidence is everything. I think we have a lot more confidence in ourselves and each other than when we played IHA the first time. We also had a good crowd on our side and that gave us a little extra energy boost. "

Reyneke picked up her third foul early in the second quarter and was sidelined for the remainder of the half. That did little to slow down the Highlanders though as Madison Dunbar's only basket of the half pushed the lead up to 10, but the Blue Eagles got layups from Scott and Taylor Anderson to trim that lead in half by the intermission, 32-27.

Madison Dunbar and Northern Highlands will face Teaneck in the Bergen County final.

IHA got as close as four in the second half on a layup from Samantha Wilkes. The Highlanders responded again on the interior, but this time not from Reyneke. West was quietly the best kept secret for most of the season until breaking out during the county tournament. She scored twice, including a three-point play, to bump the lead back up to 10. IHA cut it back to six and Reyneke picked up her fourth foul with 1:14 to play in the third quarter. Once again, the Highlanders answered with a key bucket.

Kasey Dunbar floated in a running one-hander over the outstretched arm of Scott to make it 48-40 heading into the fourth quarter. IHA again got to within six points on two occasions in the final stanza, but the Highlanders refused to fold this time around.

Melissa Heath came off the bench to score inside and Reyneke followed with a three-point play as the Highlanders all hit big free-throws over the final three minutes to give Northern Highlands one of the biggest wins the girls' basketball program has ever had.

"This is an amazing feeling and winning this game shows everyone what kind of team we can be when we're playing our best," said Madison Dunbar. "We have really progressed since Day 1 of the season and today was proof of that. It's been a dream of mine to play in a game like this and we get to play in another one next week, which is really exciting."

Reyneke recorded her customary double-double with 24 points and 13 rebounds for Northern Highlands (21-2). West dropped in a career-high 23 points. Dunbar and Heath each added nine, which for Heath was also a career-best.

Samantha Wilkes and IHA fell to 18-3 on the season.

Scott, who will play at Holy Cross next year, led all players with 28 points to go with 11 rebounds for IHA (18-3). Senior point guard Tiffany Weisbecker added 11 points and four assists.

With the win over IHA, Northern Highlands avenged one of its losses this season and will have a chance to do it again in the Bergen County final next Saturday when it faces top-seeded Teaneck, which won their meeting 76-63 just over a month ago, for the title. That game will also be played at Ramapo College with a 2:00 P.M. start.

Now that they have already made school history and are playing in the their first county final, the Highlanders hope they can learn from their mistakes the first time around against Teaneck and make the most of their second 'second chance'.

"The losses to IHA and Teaneck, I think they actually helped us in the long run," said Northern Highlands head coach Al Albanese. "I think going almost seven minutes without Jackie in the first half and still going into halftime with a solid lead was huge for us mentally. We learned something from the loss against IHA and used it to our advantage today. We hope to do the same next week against a great Teaneck team. This team has already made history, but we're always going to strive to make more history. Winning a county title would do just that."

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