The River Dell Golden Hawks Varsity Basketball Team(12-3, 6-0 Big North Patriot) squared off against the Ramsey Rams(9-6, 4-2 Big North Patriot) at River Dell High School in Oradell, New Jersey.
River Dell was coming off a 55-20 victory over Ridgefield Park at home that increased their winning streak to eight games. Junior Sofia Sanchez dropped a game-high 14 points.
The Golden Hawks fired on all cylinders from the opening tap by jumping to a 10-0 lead. River Dell was sizzling from behind the arc burying three trifectas with senior Ari Rodriguez knocking down two shots.
Ramsey could not put any points up on the scoreboard due to the Golden Hawks smothering defense in the paint and on the perimeter. The Rams finally broke the drought on a free throw at the four-minute mark.
“I was pleased with how we came out and best all year,” River Dell Head Coach Lindsay Steffner explained. The girls were excited and a league game and excited about getting back on the court and knew it was going to be a competitive game. They were excited about the match-up, and we only had a few home games left. Ramsey is a very athletic team, physical and well-coached.”
River Dell’s offense spread the wealth with scoring as Sofia Sanchez tallied five points, Mia Kilmurray notched four points, and Lily Crowder added two points. By the time the period ended, the Golden Hawks were up 17-5.
In the second quarter, River Dell expanded the lead even further. The Golden Hawks drove aggressively to the basket, leading to trips to the free-throw line.
Sophomore Morgan Sconza continued to thrive off the bench by supplying seven points. River Dell capped off an impressive first half and 31-11 advantage with Sconza firing a left-handed outlet pass to Mia Kiamurray, in turn, let loose a perfect two-handed cross-court pass to Kasey Ziegler, who finished it off with a lay-up off the glass.
“Morgan(Sconza) gives us great depth off the bench with that type of scoring,” Head Coach Lindsay Steffner described. She sees the court as well as she handles the ball. She is still young and learning the system, but this is her first time in a competitive situation on the court. To see her able to be composed out there, take the shots given to her, and be confident of knocking them down, I’m very impressed with her and where she’s at.”
“The end of the quarter situation is the kind of the same way we ended the first quarter and we passed the ball through their defense to get a lay-up by Mia(Kilmurray) in the first quarter. The girls know each other strengths and where they’re going to be and trust each other to make those plays.”
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