Bergen County Tournament Preview – Elite 8

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Bergen County Tournament is heating up. The Elite 8 are set to take the court at Demarest HS today. Let's breakdown each of the 4 matchups. All the favorites won in the Round of 16. Will we see a weekend of chalk again?</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>#1-Saddle River Day vs #8-Glen Rock - 4:30pm</strong></h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This game comes down to one thing....TEMPO. Saddle River Day wants to play fast, shoot the 3 and press. If they have success doing this, it will be a long day for Glen Rock. [player_tooltip player_id='413778' first='Faith' last='Williamson'], [player_tooltip player_id='862966' first='Grace' last='Darling'] and [player_tooltip player_id='583951' first='Brooke' last='Braen'] do the bulk of the scoring for Saddle River Day. They average 10 3-pointers a game and have 5 players averaging more than 1 per game. Faith leads that group with 68 on the season. Glen Rock has been without senior PG Emily McKegney and I don't expect her back tomorrow. This is a huge blow to Glen Rock's chances as, not only is she their primary ball handler, she one of their top perimeter defenders. Glen Rock has to slow this game down as much as possible, protect the ball and be efficient scoring on long possessions. [player_tooltip player_id='601348' first='Mia' last='Vergel De Dios'] will have to score and distribute. [player_tooltip player_id='871420' first='Abby' last='Grove'] is the X factor here. SRD does not have much size beyond seldom used [player_tooltip player_id='669307' first='Giada' last='Celetti']. Abby is big and strong and will need an effort like her 37 point 10 rebound effort against Dumont for this game to be close. I just don't think Glen Rock will be able to control the tempo against the 8-time defending champs who are built on guard play. SRDS advances.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>#2-Teaneck vs #7-River Dell</strong> <strong>- 1:30pm</strong></h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This is another game that will be a contrast of styles. Teaneck likes to make you play frantic and throw it around. If they can get turnovers with their press, they are tough to beat. [player_tooltip player_id='559047' first='Lexi' last='Carnegie'] is back and healthy after missing this matchup in the counties last year. She and [player_tooltip player_id='1158019' first='Leayana' last='Dorville'] are combining for 8+ steals per game. Recently added big Aniya Celestin fills the size void on the roster. Those 3 are the primary scorers, but [player_tooltip player_id='1202375' first='Sydney' last='Ayala'], [player_tooltip player_id='600896' first='Jillian' last='Carter'] and Shaely Espinal are all capable of putting points up. River Dell is an experienced roster and almost pulled off the upset last year against Teaneck in this round. River Dell has size in the middle and is capable of matching up inside against anyone. [player_tooltip player_id='414409' first='Morgan' last='Sconza'] is not afraid to compete in the backcourt and will face the challenge of the Teaneck pressure. I expect River Dell to sit in their zone and see if Teaneck, who averages just 2+3-pointers per game can beat them from the outside. If River Dell can handle the press, they can pull off this upset but it's a tall task. I think Teaneck finds a way here. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>#3-IHA vs #6-Demarest - 12:00pm</strong></h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The benefit for Demarest is that they get to play this game on their home court even though technically they are the visiting team. IHA gets a road game. IHA is 9-0 at home and against a very tough road/neutral game schedule they are 4-6 away from home. IHA's size is going to be an issue as Demarest does not really have an interior stopper this year and IHA loves to post up their bigs. Demarest will have to work hard and be creative to stop this. [player_tooltip player_id='333354' first='Sofia' last='Valente'], [player_tooltip player_id='559818' first='Samantha' last='Grella'], [player_tooltip player_id='959847' first='Nassiah' last='Cole-Haricha'] and Olivia Valente all post up hard. Valente is there go to scorer and she is one of the better spot up shooters in this tourney. When she gets open, she can stick it. As a team they make almost 6 3's per game. Grella can shoot it as well and is a defender with length. As you get at a parochial, it's a deep roster of basketball players. IHA will run when given the opportunity, but they are comfortable being patient in the halfcourt and running their sets until they get what they want. They like to play pressure man, but I am curious to see if they can handle Demarest's speed. Demarest wants to get the ball and go. They have a clear advantage in backcourt and will try to use that to control the game. [player_tooltip player_id='600897' first='Gabriella' last='Mittelman'] and [player_tooltip player_id='871893' first='Angelina' last='Tirado'] will do the bulk of the scoring, but [player_tooltip player_id='835246' first='Ella' last='Peck'] can shoot it [player_tooltip player_id='651513' first='Deana' last='Finkelstein'] is a workhorse at both ends for Demarest. This is one of the two true toss ups of the day. I could make a guess, but it would be a guess. Let's go with the home team in an upset. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>#4-Old Tappan vs #5-Ramapo - 3:00pm</strong></h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>There are no secrets in this one. These teams have been battling for years. Both coaches run their systems and both coaches know what the other team wants to do. Old Tappan is going to defend hard all over the court and challenge you to match their effort and physicality. If you can do that you are in the game but it's not easy to do for 32 minutes. Both teams look different from last year when OT handled Ramapo early in the season and won a thriller in sectionals. The names are different but once again OT's offense runs through their two bigs. This year its [player_tooltip player_id='789549' first='Sienna' last='Drullinsky'] and freshman Alexa Caunedo. They are big and athletic. Alexa will work inside more but Sienna will work inside out and is also their top defender. They have capable shooters in Alivia Badurina, Nina Caunedo, Sadie Murpy and Mia Derrico which makes it hard to help off on the bigs. None of their guards are exceptional ball handlers but they handle pressure collectively and do it pretty well. Defensively they will man you up and make you earn every point you get. You can expect to see [player_tooltip player_id='564268' first='Toni' last='Pernetti'] and [player_tooltip player_id='600887' first='Grace' last='Saxton'] on Drullinsky and Alexa Caunedo. They typically matchup on the top opposing scorers. It's likely that Drullinsky and Pernetti see each other at both ends. Ramapo's offense is about getting [player_tooltip player_id='559136' first='Camden' last='Epstein'] and Pernetti going. OT does a good job of trying to take away what opponents want to do on offense so it will be interesting to see how Ramapo gets them open shots. If they both get going, they are tough to beat. Kacie Gmiterek has been a surprise scoring boost and has shot it at a high clip from 3. Ramapo will need her shooting as the OT focuses on the top 2 scorers. With OT's size Ramapo will have to get quality minutes from [player_tooltip player_id='972035' first='Isla' last='Fry'] and [player_tooltip player_id='906481' first='Arianna' last='Furnari']. Furnari has averaged 4+rpg over the last 6 games and is an opportunistic scorer inside. I say Ramapo finds a way and ends their 3-game losing streak against Old Tappan and moves on to the semis.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->