February 28, 2012

Harrison's Bianca Martinez (right) blocks the shot attempt of Sahara May-Gonzalez. (Photo: Jason Bernstein)

North 13th Street at Harrison Girls Basketball Photo Gallery

HARRISON – When Harrison’s Briana O’Donnell was asked about her eight-point outburst in the final minutes of the third quarter, the senior forward was unaware of just how many points she had scored in the game-changing stretch.

That short memory and inability to be fazed by the pressure of state playoff basketball, proved critical as the Blue Tide overcame some nerves and bouts of inconsistency to knock off North 13th Street Tech 44-28 in the opening round of the NJSIAA North 2, Group I tournament.

“It was pretty nerve-wracking,” said O’Donnell about the game, Harrison’s first home playoff game in nearly a decade. “But we knew we had the skills to win and that’s what we did.”

“The nerves, especially for the younger girls, were huge,” head coach Al Ruiz said. “They were in a total state of shock, but a win is a win.”

Such a win might have been in peril when the visiting Cougars (12-9) ripped off six unanswered points to cut Harrison’s lead down to three. It was then when O’Donnell took over.

She pulled down an offensive rebound and converted a pair of free throws after being fouled end the scoreless drought with 4:04 left in the third. After a long two from Sarai Rivera, O’Donnell would score the next six points as part of a 10-0 run to close out the quarter. The last two of O’Donnell’s points came on a put-back with 13 second left in the period to make it 33-19 in favor the Blue Tide (17-10) and put the contest out of reach.

“That’s just her senior leadership,” Ruiz said. “She’s done it a couple times this season. Today she stepped up big time and helped us get that win.”

O’Donnell would assist on an Emmalee Lucas field goal before fouling out with 5:51 left in the game and eighth-seeded Harrison up by 16 points.

O’Donnell finished with 11 points and five rebounds. She and fellow senior co-captain Bianca Martinez (13 points, nine rebounds, seven steals) provided the type of stability the young Blue Tide needed.

“We’re leaders out there,” O’Donnell said. “So there are times we had to pick it up.”

“It’s huge for us to have those two seniors lead the way,” said Ruiz. “Just the fact that they’ve been in these situations to get the group together and say ‘we’re fine, let’s get this together.’ They were able to do that by leading by example.”

With leading scorer Rayven Lucas limited with a shoulder injury, Martinez and O’Donnell were joined in the starting lineup by two sophomores and a freshman.

Harrison endured an eight-minute scoring drought before a steal and lay-up from Martinez to tie the game early in the second quarter. The basket marked the start of eight unanswered points by the Blue Tide with Rayven Lucas scoring five in the two-minute stretch.

Fatima Camara had seven points and 11 rebounds to pace ninth-seeded North 13th Street Tech. Sahara May-Gonzalez added six points and nine steals.

Rayven Lucas finished with eight points despite being limited to roughly 14 minutes on action. Rivera and Emmalee Lucas added five points apiece.

Harrison advances to face Whippany Park in Wednesday’s quarterfinal round. Ruiz knows his team will need to play with much better consistency to knock off the section’s No. 1 seed, but was still taking in the excitement of the Blue Tide’s first state playoff win in recent memory.

“It feels good. The girls are happy, they’re proud,” Ruiz said. “I’m happy and I’m proud and we’re ready to go back to work tomorrow. I told them to enjoy the night, but it’s back to work tomorrow.”

Harrison's Briana O'Donnell scored eight of her 11 points in the third quarter. (Photo: Jason Bernstein)

North 13th Street at Harrison Girls Basketball Photo Gallery