Bergen County Tournament – Elite 8 – Fab 5

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Demarest HS hosted 4 games that exceeded expectations. In the round of 8, these are the girls who led their teams to victory and a spot in the Final 4 on Saturday 2/15.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='559047' first='Lexi' last='Carnegie'] &amp; Aniya Celestin - Teaneck</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>#2 Teaneck is on the Final 4 as most expected but it was not easy. After being down 32-22 at the half, Teaneck exploded for 43 2nd half points on the heels of their defense and these two stars. Lexi is the leader at both ends of the floor and her stat line showed it. She finished with 24 points, 9 rebounds, 6 rebounds and 2 assists and hit a critical 3-pointer late in the game. Her multiple level scoring and ability to get easy buckets in transition helped fuel the rally and her defense at the top of the Teaneck press is game changing. Aniya worked the interior and did it at a high level. She finished with an 18 point 10 rebound double double along with 4 blocks, 3 steals and 2 assists. Her interior presence has been a huge difference for Teaneck over the last month and they will look to feed her the ball against an undersized Demarest team in the semifinals.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='871893' first='Angelina' last='Tirado'] - Demarest</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>#6 Demarest got the advantage of a home game against #3 IHA and they used their comfort at home along with IHA's struggles on the road to pull off a big win and advance to the semifinals for the first time since 1992. IHA had no answer for Angie on Saturday. On a day when only 3 Demarest players got in the scoring column, she finished with 21 points and was not afraid to get into the paint and power off of two feet while challenging the IHA bigs. She picked a great spot to go for her 3rd 20 point game of the season and scoring more than half of her team's 40 points. Demarest will enter the semifinals with confidence as they have already knocked off Teaneck once this season. This game promises to be much more wide open than the IHA battle.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='789549' first='Sienna' last='Drullinsky'] - Old Tappan</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In a game that was close from beginning to end, #4 Old Tappan prevented the upset by holding off #5 Ramapo in a 48-44 decision. Sienna led the way with 17 points. Not a dynamic scorer or overly creative with the ball, she scored all her points in the paint or at the free throw line. She made 9 of 13 FTs and finished on a few putbacks and drives to the rim. Her defense was high level. She had several blocked shots and steals and is always willing to guard the top opposing player. Old Tappan is a bit more scoring by committee this season than in year's past, but Sienna has stepped up and taking on the lead scoring role. If the Old Tappan defense can neutralize the #1 Saddle River Day speed and shooting, we could be looking at a true battle in the semifinals.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='333330' first='Faith' last='Williamson'] - Saddle River Day</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>On a team that plays, fast, fast, fast, Faith always looks in control when leading the Rebels and that calm was on display once again under the bright lights. Faith finished with 16 points, a 3-pointer, 3 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals. As you can see, she did a little bit of everything which is what she has been asked to do all year in her first season as the top dog for Saddle River Day. She has already set a career high in scoring this season and we are not done yet. Saddle River Day will have to battle a long, physical, aggressive defense against Old Tappan in the semifinals but we all know that Faith will not be phased by the moment. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->