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Secaucus defeats Midland Park for NJIC title

East Rutherford, NJ - The effects of the prior day were evident. Try as they might they were a step slow on defensive rotations and reactions. The coach understood this and was not surprised. A day earlier the Secaucus girls defeated Hudson Catholic in the Hudson County semifinals. The game was contested on an unseasonably warm 80 degree early evening, transferring the gym into a sauna. In addition Hudson was a formidable foe. "It was a tough, physical game throughout," Secaucus coach John Sterling noted. Sterling, by his own admission as demanding, then went on to say, "if you are not ready to play at this time of year when will you be?"

] Any ‘hangover’ from the Hudson game was soon dissipated. After a slow start Secaucus got on track en route to a 76-55 victory over Midland Park, Thursday, in the championship of the NJIC Tournament held at Becton Regional High School. Secaucus is now 24-1 while Midland Park fell to 18-7.

"We were sluggish coming out," Sterling admitted. "Our pressing and passing (early) was not as good but give Midland Park a lot of credit for that." Once the offense was in gear the Patriots were on their way. A spark the latter part of the first quarter carried through the second as Secaucus went into the half with a 39-26 lead. Lindsey Mack did a great deal of the damage going 9 of 12 from the floor for 21 points that opening half. "Shooters make coaches look good," Sterling said with a laugh. "Good shooting can also cover up a lot of mistakes."

All good teams have that run in them. It is expected and a team will show its mettle by how they respond to that run. Midland Park put together that run cutting a consistent double digit deficit to six in the third quarter. At that point Junior Amanda Ulrich stepped up for Secaucus. Ulrich quieted and ended, in effect, the Panther run by hitting a few big buckets to extend the lead back to double digits. The Patriots never looked back.

"We put (Amanda) Ulrich in the high post of our zone offense," Sterling said. "There she was very effective, hitting the boards as well, as scoring. Ulrich finished with 23 points adding 14 boards and 8 assists to a well rounded outing. FDU bound Mack wound up with a game high 31 points. Sophomore guard Damaris Rodriguez contributed 17 points, 8 rebounds and 7 assists. Sterling, naturally thrilled with the trio’s contributions, also praised the work of Payton Intindola and Amanda Dehnert. "Payton and Amanda (Dehnert) round out our starting five," Sterling said. "They defend, hustle for loose balls, set screens, all the ‘other’ things that are so vital. They do not mind not scoring much or how many shots they get. The only numbers they are concerned with are on the scoreboard." The unselfishness epitomized by Intindola and Dehnert spreads throughout the program. "This is a great group," Sterling said. "We have three players (Mack, Ulrich and Rodriguez) doing a bulk of the scoring but no one minds. They all just want to win."

And win they did in convincing fashion in the NJIC final.

* Chloe Kasbarian led Midland Park with 16 points. A Senior guard, who has battled back from two knee injuries in her career, Kasbarian was instrumental during the Panthers’ rally in the early part of the second half. Midland Park coach Sean O'Connor already started discussing the state tournament that begins next week. He did give Secaucus a great deal of credit. "We tried to primarily defense their shooters and they still were effective. A few long distance shots (Lindsey) Mack attempted I just sat there and thought, ‘it’s going in’. And it usually did. They (Secaucus) are just a talented group."