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Sports

Lady Raiders Survive Scare In State Tourney Opener

Ramapo scored just 15 in the first half and trailed by six at the break, but battled back for a 46-41 victory behind 28 from Sarah Halejian.

With both the regular season and county playoffs concluded, Ramapo entered the state tournament knowing that it’s win or go home the rest of the way.  Despite this, the Lady Raiders didn't look like they were playing to keep their season alive over the first 16 minutes.

“Offensively we couldn’t get into any flow,” said Coach Sandy Gordon.  “We played very frustrated in the first half.”

The Raiders’ inability to get things going offensively allowed Old Tappan to build some momentum and open up a six-point lead at the half.  However, Sarah Halejian put the team on her back in the second half, scoring 19 of her game game-high 28 over the final two quarters to lead Ramapo to a 46-41 win.

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“She’s been doing that for four years,” said OT coach, Brian Dunn.  “We knew she was going to get her points, we were just hoping to keep her in check for awhile.”

The Golden Knights kept Halejian and the Raiders at bay in the first half, but the cover girl of the latest MSG Varsity Magazine was determined not let her teams’ season come to an end. 

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After scoring just 15 points in the first half, Ramapo came out and scored 13 in the third quarter as the offense finally snapped to life.

“I challenged them at halftime,” said Coach Gordon, telling her players they “couldn’t have played any worse from top to bottom.”

The teams’ response was much to the delight of their coach, coming alive in the third then finishing the game with an even stronger fourth quarter to pull away with a five point win.

“We played four quarters tonight,” said Gordon, stating how the Lady Raiders didn’t finish in the county game against IHA and let the game slip away late.

That would not happen on Tuesday, as Halejian and the Raider defense stepped up and took down the Golden Knights.

“We really played with a lot of heart,” said the Yale-bound senior.  “Erin O’Hagan was diving all over the floor; we started playing with a little more urgency.”

The Lady Raiders, especially the seniors, scratched and clawed to get back in it, but the youth of Old Tappan behind Brown (17 points) and Reilly (10 points) kept the Knights ahead.

Finally, with just over two minutes to play, Ramapo got the lead back for the first time since they were up 11-9.  Casey Woetzel (6 points) got the ball down low and made a nice turnaround move to put the Raiders up 40-38.

The defense and two free throws apiece from Halejian and Sam Klie iced it for Ramapo, sending them to Jefferson on Thursday for round two.

Coach Gordon realizes that this was probably the toughest first round game her girls have had in their four years, and she knows it won’t get any easier.  “We gotta be ready to go and we gotta play better.  These guys know there’s no tomorrow; at this point it’s survive and advance.”

The Lady Raiders hope to continue to advance so the seniors can close out storybook careers with their only missing trophy.

“The only thing we haven’t done yet is a state championship,” said Halejian.  “For the seniors and for coach we want to get a state title.”

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