Bergen County Semifinals Preview

Saturday brings up the Bergen County Tournament Semifinals. The top 3 seeds remain for what should be a great doubleheader of games at Pascack Valley HS. Let's take a look at all the matchups.   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">#1-IHA vs. #5-Ramapo - 2pm</h2>   Game #1 features two teams that last played in the Bergen County Tournament back in 2022. None of these girls were on their respective teams at this point, but it was a monumental game. #2-Ramapo blew a 4th quarter lead to #3-IHA and lost by a basket in overtime. It was a significant win for several reasons. First, it ended a 43 game Ramapo winning streak. Second, it sent IHA to the finals, where they haven't been since. Third, and most importantly, Ramapo has not beaten IHA since that game. Ramapo has lost 3 straight to IHA and the regular season game this season was cancelled due to snow. Ramapo faces an uphill battle in this one.   IHA arrives in the semifinals for the first time since 2023 on the heels of a 39-33 win over #8-Ridgewood. IHA took a double digit lead into the half and it got as close as 3 point in the 4th quarter before they held on or victory. IHA's greatest asset is their depth and the fact that they don't rely on one person to score their points. They have 6 players averaging 6ppg or more and none averaging 10ppg, though it is believed that freshman [player_tooltip player_id='1634845' first='Kaylie' last='Fitzpatrick'] will miss this game due to injury. This depth of scoring comes from sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='959125' first='Addi' last='Valdez'] (9.75ppg), freshman [player_tooltip player_id='1303615' first='Giuliana' last='Huaranga'] (8.95ppg), senior [player_tooltip player_id='559818' first='Samantha' last='Grella'] (7.9ppg), sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='1201469' first='Casey' last='McCauley'] (7.05ppg) and sophomore Ramapo transfer [player_tooltip player_id='972035' first='Isla' last='Fry'] (6.75ppg). IHA gets some additional production off the bench from juniors [player_tooltip player_id='959818' first='Stella' last='Broderick'] and [player_tooltip player_id='677063' first='Lucie' last='Schell'] and freshman Neriah Mbouyo. IHA likes to control the tempo and execute on offense. Longers possessions force the opponent to be locked into guarding 5 scoring options for an extended period. They rotate 8 players pretty evenly to keep fresh legs on the court all game and wear out their opponents. Defensively, McCauley seems to draw the opposing teams leading scorer. She and the rest of the IHA defense are very physical on D and active with their hands. A big factor in this game will be how much the officials are willing to let go. The looser the refs call it, the more it favors IHA.   As mentioned, Ramapo makes their first trip to the semifinals since 2022. They got here after pulling off the only upset of the quarterfinals when they took down #4-Old Tappan 43-34. Ramapo never trailed in a game that was much closer than the final score after trailing for 28+ minutes in the quarterfinal round against #12-Fair Lawn. Ramapo got a big performance from senior [player_tooltip player_id='559136' first='Camden' last='Epstein'] against Old Tappan. She finished with 25 points and was Ramapo's only scorer in double figures. Unlike IHA, Ramapo gets more than 60% of it's points from Epstein and fellow senior [player_tooltip player_id='564268' first='Toni' last='Pernetti']. The difference for Ramapo this year has been the timely scoring of others on the roster. Senior [player_tooltip player_id='600887' first='Grace' last='Saxton'] is averaging 9ppg in the County Tournament and junior Trinity Horn has hit 3 3-pointers in the County Tournament. Ramapo will a 3rd and even 4th scorer to help their cause in this game. Pernetti usually guards the opponent's leading scorer, but with the IHA balance it will be interesting to see what Ramapo does defensively. Junior Amelia Rubenacker has provided strong defense and extra ball hanlding the last two weeks. One thing is for sure, Ramapo will have to guard and rebound for 32 minutes the way they did against Old Tappan.   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">THE VERDICT</h2>   Ramapo is going to have to bring it on both ends to stay in this one. I'd expect a game in the 40's and whoever executes on offense and limits turnovers will prevail. If the refs let them play that will definitely favor the IHA defense. Ramapo will have to work to get the right shots for the right people but that's never easy against IHA. If Ramapo can get stops and get out in transition they may be able to create some easy scoring opportunities. At the end of the day IHA will be too much. They've beaten Ramapo for three straight years and that will continue. They are deeper, longer and more physical. After back to back years of being on the wrong end of major upsets in the counties, IHA will advance to their first championship since 2022, when they beat Ramapo to get there.   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">#2-Demarest vs #3-Teaneck - 4pm</h2>   Both teams coasted into the semifinals to setup a rematch off last year's semifinal with the roles reversed. Last year, #6-Demarest knocked off #3-IHA in the quarterfinals before taking upsetting #2-Teaneck in the semifinals. The roles will be reversed this year as Teaneck comes in as a big underdog. They are battling injuries and Demarest has beat Teaneck 4 out of 5 games over the last two years including twice this year by a combined 41 points.   Demarest is the #14 team in New Jersey and the winner's of 16 straight games. They get back to the semifinals after easily dispatching 9-time consecutive champ #10-Saddle River Day in the quarterfinals. When Junior Tenafly transfer [player_tooltip player_id='789186' first='Zoe' last='Wasserlauf']<a href="https://prepgirlshoops.com/player/zoe-wasserlauf/"></a> and senior 1,400 point scorer and Smith commit [player_tooltip player_id='600897' first='Gabriella' last='Mittelman']<a href="https://prepgirlshoops.com/player/gabriella-mittelman/"></a> get going, Demarest is tough to stop. They like to play with tempo and, though each of them average a 3-pointer per game, they are at their best getting to the rim. When they do that, they start distributing to spot up shooters like [player_tooltip player_id='835246' first='Ella' last='Peck'] and [player_tooltip player_id='964294' first='Ava' last='Francica']. Junior IHA transfer [player_tooltip player_id='959847' first='Nassiah' last='Cole-Haricha']<a href="https://prepgirlshoops.com/player/nassiah-cole-haricha/"></a> gives Demarest size to matchup with [player_tooltip player_id='1352567' first='Aniya' last='Celestin']. Nassiah can step out and shoot the 3 or score on the block. Junior [player_tooltip player_id='651513' first='Deana' last='Finkelstein']<a href="https://prepgirlshoops.com/player/deana-finkelstein/"></a> continues to do whatever is asked. She will guard the top opposing player and leads Demarest in rebounding. Demarest comes in to this game with a ton of confidence off their current winning streak and recent success against Teaneck.   Teaneck scored 20 points in the 1st quarter against #6-Glen Rock and outscored them in every quarter on their way to a 60-46 win in the quarterfinals and a 3rd straight trip to the Bergen County Semifinals. Teaneck's extremely difficult schedule has taken a toll as the team has been battling injures. Teaneck is a proud, tough squad that will not go down without a fight, but the injuries don't help them. 3rd leading scorer [player_tooltip player_id='1158019' first='Leayana' last='Dorville'] has missed 13 of 20 games this year and was seen in a walking boot at last weekend's game which does not bode well for the Highwaywomen. Senior Monmouth commit [player_tooltip player_id='559047' first='Lexi' last='Carnegie'] is the heart and soul of what Teaneck does on offense as well as defense. She is an unselfish superstar who can take over a game without scoring a ton of points. Junior big [player_tooltip player_id='1352567' first='Aniya' last='Celestin']<a href="https://prepgirlshoops.com/player/aniya-celestin/"></a> transferred to Teaneck last season and is 2nd on the team in scoring and rebounding and had 6 double doubles in her last 8 games while leading the the team in blocks. Sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='1202375' first='Sydney' last='Ayala']<a href="https://prepgirlshoops.com/player/sydney-ayala/"></a> is the team's top 3-point shooter with 20 on the season. Senior Pace commit [player_tooltip player_id='600896' first='Jillian' last='Carter']<a href="https://prepgirlshoops.com/player/jillian-carter/"></a> is the team's assists leader. She averages 7+ppg but has scored in double figures in 4 of the last 9 games after doing it just twice in the first 11 games this season.   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">THE VERDICT</h2>   This draw has been friendly to Demarest. They get another team that likes to play with tempo, but just like last week, Demarest is better at the style that both teams want to play. Teaneck thrives on turnovers in the backcourt and that is something that Demarest just won't do since they play two PGs. Teaneck might consider pulling back and making Demarest find their points in the halfcourt, but that would be a drastic change in style for Teaneck. Demarest will continue their success over Teaneck and knock them off in the semifinals for the 2nd consecutive season as they return to the championship game.

Saturday brings up the Bergen County Tournament Semifinals. The top 3 seeds remain for what should be a great doubleheader of games at Pascack Valley HS. Let's take a look at all the matchups.