Lady Raiders Advance To State Semifinals

In Tuesday’s state tournament opener against Old Tappan, Ramapo got off to a very slow start and they found themselves in a tight one that went down to the wire.  On Thursday at Jefferson, the Lady Raiders jumped out to a big 13-0 lead that the Falcons could never overcome, winning 54-40 and moving on to the sectional semifinals.

Senior Sarah Halejian talked about the importance of a hot start after the game.

“On Tuesday we didn’t come out strong and we made sure that tonight we came out strong and got out to a lead quickly and it really helped us out the rest of the way.”

Coach Sandy Gordon has preached defense all year, and it was no different against Jefferson.

Ramapo’s defense and hot shooting by Halejian (3 first quarter threes) were the keys to the Raiders hot start.

“That was the scouting report, I wanted to come out and press them.  I didn’t want to play a half court game because of their size,” said the coach.

The press gave Jefferson lots of problems early, causing them to turn the ball over nine times over the first two quarters.  Those turnovers led to easy offensive opportunities for Halejian and Deanna Devonshuk who both scored in double-digits in the first half.

The Raiders led 20-8 after one quarter, but the Falcons stayed poised and kept themselves in it thanks to strong play by center Sammy Lopsznski.  Lopsznski played determined down low, cleaning up the offensive glass and getting her team to within six in the second quarter.

Lopsznski was not getting much help from her teammates, meanwhile on the other end everyone was getting into the action for Ramapo.  Five different Raiders scored on a 10-2 run to end the half and give them a 33-21 lead.

Jefferson really missed the production of their big scorer and major shooting threat Cassie Flaherty who was held in check throughout the game.  Coach Gordon’s defensive gameplan was to shut Flaherty down and Ramapo did just that, limiting her to just seven points on the day.

The Falcons played even with the Raiders in the second half, but the opening run had already put them in too big a hole.

Getting out to an early lead proved to be key against Jefferson, and Devonshuk believes the same will be true of Saturday’s matchup against top seeded High Point.

“We’re going to have to come out with the same exact mentality we came out with today; get out to a quick lead and keep playing hard throughout the whole game.”

Ramapo was knocked off High Point three years in a row, but Gordon says throw that all out the window.  “It’s a new ballgame on Saturday and we’ll be ready,” she said.  These kids don’t want the season to end, and hopefully want a chance to win a state sectional.”

Game Notes:

• Sarah Halejian was Ramapo’s leading scorer with 19 points.
• Deanna Devonshuk scored 11 for Ramapo, all in the first half.
• Sam Klie (7), Kasey Woetzel (7), Erin O’Hagan (6), and Kaitlyn Amato (4) all chipped in for the Raiders.
• With win Lady Raiders advance to North I Group III state sectional semifinal at number one seeded High Point.