Monday,
March 16, 2015
By Cory K. Doviak
NJS.com Editorial Director
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Alexie Piccinich pulled down 16 rebounds and scored 9 of her 11 points during a second half comeback, but it Old Tappan still fell to Middletown South, 50-42, in the Group 3 final. |
TOMS RIVER – For a couple of fleeting moments, it looked like the improbable might happen. After a horrendous start during which it scored just one first quarter point and later trailed by the ugly score of 25-5, the Northern Valley/Old Tappan girls basketball team rebounded to give itself at least a chance. Three times in the final minute-and-a-half the Golden Knights had trimmed Middletown South's once imposing lead down to six; one forced turnover, one defensive rebound or two missed free throws away from the chance to make it a one possession game and really apply the pressure.
But it was not meant to be.
Middletown South, comfortable for most of the game and then clutch at its conclusion, led wire-to-wire to claim a 50-42 victory and the first state title in program history while denying Old Tappan the chance at the same accomplishment in the Group 3 state final played on Sunday afternoon at the Pine Belt Arena on the campus of Toms River High School North.
It not that Old Tappan was intimidated by its surroundings or its opponent. It just might have been that the Golden Knights were too pumped up for the occasion as Middletown South plays with a physical edge and Old Tappan responded in kind. In the first quarter every member of Old Tappan's starting five had at least one foul, the team piled up six and had just one point to show for the effort.
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Stephanie Karcz had 16 points and 16 rebounds for Middletown South, which improved to 27-5 on the season. |
“It was a little nerves, I guess, or whatever. We were still playing hard and playing good 'D' but we were just fumbling the ball around a little too much at the beginning of the game,” said Old Tappan head coach Brian Dunn. “It is a game of runs. They had a good run in the second quarter and got a pretty good lead on us. It was just too much of a climb to get all the way back.”
Dunn burned three first half timeouts to try to buy some time for his team to settle down and that last of those came right after Haley Dalonzo scooped in a layup to with 1:55 left in the second quarter that made it 25-5. The 6-0 run that Old Tappan went on to close the first half looked modest at best, but it sounded the alarm on the Middletown South bench.
“The 6-0 run at the end of the second quarter that made it 25-11, I thought, titled the game a lot in their favor,” said Middletown South head coach Tom Brennan. “Whatever comfort zone you are referring to...I didn't feel it.”
That being said, Middletown South rebuilt its lead to 20 points three times in the third quarter at 33-13, 35-15 and 37-17 when Dalonzo scored off an inbounds play with 1:50 left in the period. Ashley Sullivan banked in an elbow jumper to get Old Tappan to within 18 points heading into the fourth quarter and the comeback was on.
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Ariana Chipolone scored a team-high 17 points for Old Tappan, which will return all five of its starters. |
The Golden Knights, finally in an offensive groove, opened the final period with a 13-3 run and Ariana Chipolone's driving layup got them to within 40-32, as close as they had been since the score was 13-5, with still 4:15 to play in the game. Included in that was a technical free throw made by Kailyn Sytsma after Dalonzo lost her cool in a physical game.
After the teams exchanged empty trips to the line Dalonzo got back in her team's good graces with a drive to the basket to bump the Eagles' lead back up to 10 points with 2:28 to go. Old Tappan scored the next four points, the last three on a step-back triple by Emily Crevani that had the Knights within 42-36, but Middletown South had the answers down the stretch.
Alexandra Balsamo made both ends of a one-and-one with 1:24 left, Angela DeBartolome did the same with 42 seconds to go and the Eagles closed it out with a pass over the top of the Old Tappan press that turned into a a Madison Curtis layup with 20 seconds to go that turned into the final points of the game.
Middletown South (26-5) was led by Stephanie Karcz, who had an emphatic double-double of 16 points and 16 rebounds before fouling out with 2:07 to play. Dalonzo finished with 10 points, DeBartolome added 9 and Curtis, Balsamo and Julia Valkos all finished with 4 for the Eagles, who advanced to the Tournament of Champions where they are the No. 5 seed and will play No. 4 Franklin, the Group 4 champ, in the quarterfinals.
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Angela DeBartolome and Middletown South will play Franklin in the first round of the Tournament of Champions. |
Old Tappan (22-8) was led by Chipolone's 17 points and Alexie Piccinich was all over the court. She finished with 11 points and 16 rebounds and lent the physical presence the Knights needed to make the second half run. Crevani scored all 7 of her points during the frenzied fourth quarter.
Middletown South lost in the Group 3 semifinals last season to Woodrow Wilson (Camden) and then made the long trip back to claim the title this season. That is the blueprint that Old Tappan will try to follow as it returns all five of its starters plus Alexandra George, the 6-foot-1 freshman who was just starting to find her stride before being lost to a knee injury in January. In fact, Sunday's game might just have been the start of a budding rivalry as nine of the 10 starters (Middletown South starts a senior, two juniors and two sophomores) who took the floor in Toms River will return next season.
It an interesting storyline, but not one that Dunn was willing to chase after the season-ending loss.
“To get to these spots, there is a lot that goes into it. You need a lot of things to go your way, the opportunities have to be there for you and you have to take advantage of them. Everything factors in from injuries to a call here or there or a bounce here or there. You can't bank on any of that,” said Dunn. “You just have to do what you have to do while you are doing it.”
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