Ridgefield Park pulls off comeback to advance in Bergen County tournament by Chris Iseman of The Record
OLD TAPPAN — Ridgefield Park was staring at an early exit from the Bergen County tournament.
The Scarlets trailed Ramapo by 11 points entering the fourth quarter. The Raiders were in control.
“Going into the fourth quarter we said, ‘It’s eight minutes. You have to give us everything you have because anything less isn’t good enough,'” Scarlets coach Nicole Pucciarelli said. “And they did. They gave us everything they had.”
Seventh-seeded Ridgefield Park overcame a deficit that swelled to 13 points early in the final period to earn a 48-38 victory over No. 10 Ramapo in the second round of the Bergen County tournament at NV/Old Tappan on Saturday.
Trisha Tellian scored a game-high 19 points with three three-pointers, including two huge triples in the fourth quarter. Dorian Capurso, Kelly Durand and Tatiana Bruno each added eight points for Ridgefield Park, which improved to 15-1 with the victory.
“We really knew it was going to be tough,” Capurso said. “They came out hard. I don’t think we were ready in the first quarter, but we knew what we had to do.”
Ridgefield Park’s defensive pressure in the fourth quarter led to crucial transition opportunities. The Scarlets outscored the Raiders 17-6 in the final period.
“We had to cause chaos,” Pucciarelli said. “And I think the chaos is what turned the defensive stops into points.”
Durand converted a three-point play with 7:07 left in the fourth. Tellian later made a three-pointer from the right wing before Durand hit a jumper from the lane to pull Ridgefield Park to within one.
Ramapo pushed its lead back to five points on a bucket from Sabreen Huzien, who scored a team-high nine points for Ramapo, including five in the third quarter.
But Tellian drained a three from the left wing and Bruno made two foul shots to tie the game at 36 with 20 seconds remaining.
“Everyone picked up their roll on the team and stepped up,” Capurso said.
The Raiders attempted a three-pointer just before the buzzer but missed the shot to force overtime.
Ridgefield Park scored the first six points. When the final buzzer sounded, the comeback was complete.
It continued what has been a remarkable season for the Scarlets. Their only loss was a four-point deficit to River Dell, and that helped reignite Ridgefield Park.
“We were like, ‘We’re a great team. If we play the way we know how to play, we can do this,'” Capurso said.
The Scarlets played their best basketball in the fourth quarter on Saturday.
Now they’re moving on in the county tournament.
“What I love is that they didn’t quit,” Pucciarelli said. “That shows a lot.”