February 21, 2010
Claros, Bruins find the right tempo
North Bergen senior center Maria Claros led all scorers with 21 points.
Click Here for photos from North Bergen at Secaucus Girls Basketball.
By Jason Bernstein
Editorial Director
SECAUCUS – In order to knock out second-seeded Secaucus, North Bergen knew they would have to play at their preferred pace – a slow pace.
It was a game plan which the seventh-seeded Bruins were able to work to perfection as a strong defensive effort and a career game from Maria Claros led them to a 52-44 victory yesterday in the quarterfinals of the Hudson County Tournament.
“It was our big priority,” Claros said about slowing Secaucus down. “We don’t like teams running what they’re usually up to. We like our games to be slow paced and that’s what we did.”
“Their tempo was just much better than ours,” Secaucus coach John Sterling said. “They ran the floor better and their press was better than our press.
The press defense was a huge priority for the Bruins (16-7) in slowing down the Patriots (19-3) and the one-two combination of Andrea Innis and Shannon Waters. That along with a huge advantage on the glass proved to limit Secaucus and their dangerous transition game.
“Our priorities were to rebound and to play defense,” North Bergen coach Dan Reardon said. “I anticipated that they might have a hard time scoring against our half-court defense. I’ve seen them a couple of times and they like to run. Innis can throw a full-court pass from anywhere. We didn’t give up too many of those long bombs. The kids were aware of some of the things Secaucus can do and they negated it.”
While Reardon was confident in his team’s ability on defense, the performance of Claros came as a big surprise to him. The senior center had a career-high 20 points to go with 11 rebounds, showing a new-found aggressiveness in the team’s biggest game of the season.
“Best game she’s ever had,” said Reardon, calling Claros his most improved player. “She’s a very quiet type and normally she would only take four or five shots. She shoots 60-percent, but she would only take four or five shots. But today in a big game she said ‘If you give me the ball, I’ll put it in the basket. Give me the ball where I’m comfortable and I’ll put it in the basket.’
“We try to get more offense out of her, but I’m just thrilled with her rebounding and her court sense.”
With the Bruins holding a three-point lead after three quarters, Claros jumpstarted a 12-2 run to open the fourth quarter with a layup off a Jazmin Palma pass. One of many layups Claros was able to get off in the contest.
“She got a bunch of easy (baskets),” Sterling said about Claros. “She was the difference because anything inside, she can capitalize on. She hurt us on the offensive boards.”
Claros would have four points during the near five-minute stretch and Ashley Vazzona had a pair of old-fashioned three-point plays to earn a trip to Tuesday’s semifinals. Vazonna had 11 points, eight of them coming in the final quarter.
Innis had a double-double with 10 points, 13 rebounds and six assists for the Patriots in defeat. Waters led the team in scoring with 16 points and freshman Lauren Guillen added nine points.
With the win, North Bergen will face No. 2 seed Lincoln in Tuesday night’s semifinals at St. Peter’s College. The Bruins have had Lincoln’s number thus far, winning both regular season matchups.
Junior Shannon Waters (right) led the Patriots with 16 points.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| North Bergen Bruins (16-7) | 9 |
10 |
15 |
18 |
52 |
| Secaucus Patriots (19-3) | 5 |
9 |
17 |
13 |
44 |
| North Bergen | Secaucus | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| North Bergen: Claros 11 rebounds; Heredia 10 rebounds; Muriel 9 rebounds; Palma 6 assists, 5 rebounds; Vazzona 6 rebounds. Secaucus: Innis 13 rebounds, 6 assists, 4 steals; Waters 7 rebounds; Roesing 6 rebounds; Simon 4 rebounds. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||