Lady Raiders Rebound With Win Over Ridgewood

After suffering a humbling 79-54 loss to Immaculate Heart Academy this past Sunday, the Ramapo girls basketball team responded Tuesday with a dominating 60-47 victory over an up-and-coming Ridgewood team.

The two teams met inside a packed Ridgewood gymnasium where the Raiders (2-1) were led by their star point guard Sarah Halejian, who poured in 24 points including 14 during a key fourth quarter run to help Ramapo pull away for the win.

"It was a very important game for us," said the senior co-captain. "After our last loss we all just wanted to get back on to the court and put together a solid team effort that we could all be proud of."

The Maroons (1-1) got off to a hot start by taking a commanding 12-4 first quarter lead in front of a raucous home crowd.

However, the senior-laden Raiders kept their composure and battled back by forcing the Maroons into 13 first-half turnovers with, many of them being converted in to easy scoring opportunities.

Eventually Ramapo took their first lead of the game thanks to an Erin O'Hagan layup to put the Raiders ahead 18-17 with just over two minutes left to play in the half.

"We have a veteran team that prides themselves on being mentally tough, so there was never any panic when we fell behind to start the game," said Raiders head coach Sandy Gordon. "The girls continued to execute and operate on a very high effort level and because of it we were able to force a lot of turnovers."

Ramapo would continue to impose its will as the team opened up a 37-30 advantage midway through the third quarter. But to Ridgewood's credit, they continued to battle the two-time defending county champion, sparked by a 5-0 scoring run to end the period.

"We're a young team, and I think we're still learning what it takes to compete at the level that they do," said Ridgewood coach Meaghan Palmer. "Ramapo's pressure defense made it very hard on us to execute our offense, and tonight they showed why they're county champions."

In the fourth quarter Ramapo pulled away as Halejian nailed a floater in the lane to give the Raiders their first double digit lead of the night, 48-38, with just five minutes left to play.

Soon there after the Maroons were forced to foul as they tried to extend the game, but it was to no avail as the Yale-bound Halejian drained six straight free throws to preserve the victory.

The Raiders will next face Immaculate Conception Monday in the Indian Hills Holiday Tournament.