Girls Hoops Stuns Top Seed North Bergen in First Round of State Tournament

Behind a 23-point fourth quarter, the girls basketball team upset top-seeded North Bergen on the road Monday night in the first round of the North 1, Group 4 state tournament.

Kristina Nieves scored 25 points for the 16th-seeded Cutters (11-16), who were initially left out of the NJSIAA tournament but after Memorial High School (West New York) dropped out. Megan Tuchler added 11 points for Fair Lawn, which trailed North Bergen (22-4) 15-8 after the first quarter.

Each team made 20 shots from the field, but the Cutters had a 20-9 advantage at the free throw line. Fair Lawn first slowly chipped away at the Bruins' lead, outscoring them 14-12 in the second quarter and 15-13 in the third, and then stormed by North Bergen 23-10 in the fourth.

Jazmin Palma led the Bruins with 11 points, and Ashley Heredia had 10.

Fair Lawn will face eighth-seeded Ridgewood on Wednesday in the second round.