Lady Raiders’ State Championship Dreams Squashed by Teaneck

The North I Group III state championship was the one missing puzzle piece that Ramapo’s seniors needed to complete the career triple crown.  On Monday the Lady Raiders had one final chance to achieve the feat but Teaneck prevented the storybook ending, defeating Ramapo 63-42.

After the game, Coach Sandy Gordon talked about an emotional Ramapo locker room; a locker room filled with a great group of girls who had played in their last game as a team.

“I said in the locker room how there’s so many great memories, you can’t just think about how we came up short,” she said. 

For seniors Sarah Halejian, Deanna Devonshuk, Sam Klie, and Erin O’Hagan that was tough to do minutes after a crushing defeat in the state sectional championship and the final game of their high school careers.

A few weeks ago Ramapo took Teaneck down to the wire in a regular season game in Franklin Lakes.  The Raiders would lose by three but they found out they could hang with the Highwaywomen and they knew that if both survived the first three rounds of the state tournament they would meet again, this time with a state championship on the line.

Unfortunately for the Raiders, Monday’s rematch did not go the way they had hoped.  The Lady Raiders never got into a good flow offensively while the Highwaywomen had everything going their way on the offensive end. 

Ramapo struggled without the usual production of Halejian, who was held scoreless in the first half and to just seven points overall.  On the other end, Teaneck showed off their great balance with three scorers reaching double-digits. 

Teaneck coach Shanae Clark showed great respect for Ramapo and for Halejian after the game, even following a 21 point win.  “We competed against one of the best teams in Bergen county, against one of the top players in Bergen county,” said Clark, talking about the two-time player of the year.  “She’s a great player.  She makes me worry because I respect her game so much.” 

Teaneck was the better team on this day, but for Coach Gordon the loss won’t make her think any less of her team, especially her seniors.

“It goes beyond the wins and the losses,” she said.  “The friendships that we’ve built, the memories; and they’re gonna have that forever.”

A former college coach at Fairleigh Dickinson, Gordon admits she wasn’t sure what to expect when she took the reins of the program four years ago.

“I came out of college coaching not sure what I was getting myself into,”  but she admitted it was better than anything she could’ve dreamed of.  “It’s been the most enjoyable four years that I’ve had,” said the former Raider.  “It’s just a special group.  I was the fortunate one to be able to coach them.”

Assistant coach Leslie Stephen also had nothing but good things to say about the seniors.

“I knew that when they came that they were going to be special,” said Stephen.  “They’re great basketball players, but they’re great people.  They are sportsmanlike, they understand the game, they have a passion for the game, and yet they have a great commitment to their teammates.  I don’t think you could ask for a better group of leaders.  I’ve been honored to coach them.”

Game Notes:

• The Raiders came out hot with a quick 6-0 run (three baskets by Kasey Woetzel) to start the game, but Teaneck called a timeout and just as quickly went on their own run, a 15-2 run to close out the quarter.
• Deanna Devonshuk led all Raiders with 11 points.
• Other Ramapo starters- Sam Klie finished with 8 points, Sarah Halejian had 7, Kasey Woetzel had 6, and Erin O’Hagan scored 3.