Saturday,
February 20, 2016
By Rich Barton
NJS.com Staff Writer
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Kristina Ulrich, one of just two seniors on the Secaucus roster, helped seal the Patriots' 60-51 win over North Bergen in the quarterfinals of the Hudson County Tournament on Friday. |
NORTH BERGEN – With the graduation of four-year standouts Julia McClure, Andie Lennon, and Kendall Caruso, it was widely considered that Secaucus’ run as Hudson County champion would be short-lived. The Patriots won their first ever county title in any sport when, as a Group 1 school, they rode the Class of 2015 to the ultimate prize.
There was bound to be some rebuilding as there are just two seniors on this year’s roster, but the current squad has continued to play with the heart of a champion. Facing a talented North Bergen team on its home floor in the Hudson County Tournament quarterfinals, Secaucus showed that it is not going to be easy to wrest the trophy from its grasp.
Lindsey Mack kept the Patriots afloat with torrid shooting from 3-point range before the Ulrich sisters iced the game at the foul line. Senior Kristina Ulrich and freshman Amanda combined to hit all 10 free throws they attempted over the final 55 seconds as fifth-seeded Secaucus pulled away in that final minute for a 60-51 upset over fourth-seeded North Bergen on Friday night to advance to the Hudson County semifinals.
“This was a fun game to play in and we really wanted this win,” said Kristina Ulrich. “Last year was way different going through the county tournament than it is this year. We practice free throws all the time and we made some big shots in the fourth quarter. It’s a good feeling to work so hard for a win like this and then win the way that we did.”
Both teams got off to hot starts with a first quarter filled with end-to-end action. Amanda Ulrich and Mack both hit 3s early to give Secaucus an early lead. North Bergen answered back with a dominating performance in the paint. Destiny Cabrera scored all nine of her points in the first six minutes as North Bergen led 19-16 heading into the second quarter.
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Jillian Jover finished with 11 points and 5 assists for North Bergen. |
To show how dominating the Bruins were in the first half on the glass, both Cabrera and Leslie Hernandez individually outrebounded the entire Secaucus team. North Bergen held a whopping 26-8 edge in rebounds, but thanks to the outside shooting of Amanda Ulrich and Mack, the Patriots stayed within striking distance at the half trailing by just three points, 28-25.
“We came out with a lot of motivation after how badly we got beat on the boards in the first half,” said Amanda Ulrich. “It started with one person stepping up and making a play or a big shot. We all seem to feed off each other and things started to click.”
Mack hit a big 3-pointer from the corner late in the third quarter to tie the game. Kristina Ulrich shook off a tough first half and scored on a driving layup that put the Patriots ahead, 37-35, at the end of three quarters.
The pressure intensified in the fourth as the crowd got louder. Both teams responded well and took turns making big plays down the stretch.
North Bergen’s Jillian Jover hit a pair of 3s early that gave the Bruins a four-point lead. Mack hit her fifth 3-pointer of the night to put Secaucus in front. The Bruins needed less than a minute to grab it back on a layup by Nohelia Olivas and a pair of free throws from Hernandez.
Kristina Ulrich then used a devastating crossover to get past a defender and drive in for a layup that gave the Patriots the lead for good, 48-47, with 2:59 to play.
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Freshman Amanda Ulrich scored a game-high 23 points for Secaucus, which will play either Bayonne or Hudson Catholic in the semifinals on Wednesday. |
The lead was still a single point when the Patriots were able to dribble 1:06 off the clock before Amanda Ulrich was fouled with 55 seconds left. She calmly knocked down both ends of the one-and-one to make it 52-49. Fourteen seconds later, Amanda once again nailed both one-and-one free throws before Kristina Ulrich iced it with a pair of made foul shots of her own.
“I knew rebounding would be a problem, but I felt confident that if we kept the game close that we could hit free throws at the end,” said Secaucus head coach John Sterling. “Lindsey (Mack) kept us in the game with her shooting, Julia and Payton (Intindola) played very tough defensively and both Kristina and Amanda sealed it from the line. I’m proud of the way our girls battled in the second half and this win was a total team effort.”
Amanda Ulrich led all players with 23 points for Secaucus (18-5). Mack finished with 20 points and Kristina Ulrich scored 11 of her 13 points in the second half. The unsung hero of the game was Patriots’ guard Julia Peschetti, who was outstanding defensively and made a handful of hustle plays in the second half.
Hernandez snatched down a game-high 14 rebounds to go with eight points for North Bergen (15-6). Katelyn Andres led the way with 14 points. Jover had 11 points and five assists. Cabrera finished with nine points, 12 rebounds, and four steals.
Secaucus heads back to St. Peter’s University in Jersey City on Wednesday for the Hudson County semifinals. The Patriots will take on the winner of top-seeded Bayonne and No. 8 seed Hudson Catholic. After being a heavy favorite to win the title last year, this year’s squad is just trying to soak in every moment of this run and see where it leads.
“We want to do this for our two seniors (Kristina Ulrich and Peschetti),” said Mack. “This is their last time going through the county tournament and we’d love to send them out as back-to-back champs.”
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