River Dell Varsity Girls Basketball Team shows resilience despite regular-season finale loss to Old Tappan

The River Dell Golden Hawks Varsity Girls' Basketball Team(15-8, 9-1 Big North Patriot) wrapped up the 2024-25 regular season in a fiercely contested battle against the Old Tappan Golden Knights(16-8, 5-4 Big North National), but Old Tappan emerged victorious 63-61 at River Dell High School in Oradell, New Jersey.

Morgan Sconza totaled a game-high 19 points, while Dalia Interiano supplied 12 points, Alexa DePol contributed 11 points, and Kasey Ziegler added 10.

"I told them at the end of the game they played their butts off and to come out of a loss doesn't really make any sense, but they did everything they could have done and that's all I asked for," River Dell Head Coach Lindsay Steffner explained. "Morgan and Kasey want to win on that court, and we've been playing really well all season and that's our home court and we want to protect it."

The game started with both teams showing strong defensive play, resulting in a low-scoring quarter. River Dell took a slight lead of 10-8 at the end of the period, setting a promising tone for the game.

"Both teams were amped up for the game and coming out fast and aggressive and just not really playing at the speed they're used to," Head Coach Lindsay Steffner described. "When you get two emotionally charged teams and we wanted to come out strong and aggressive." "Last time we spotted them a 10-1 run and lose by nine and it made a difference in the first three minutes of the Joe Poli Tournament, and I reminded them of that and that was the first step."

After a brief setback, the Golden Hawks showed their aggressive side in the second quarter. They hustled for loose balls, grabbed offensive rebounds, and executed fast breaks, leading to a 21-16 advantage at the five-minute mark.

Morgan Sconza was on fire from behind the arc, burying back-to-back trifectas that boosted the lead to 28-20, and Sconza finished with eight points in the first half. Dalia Interiano flew down the court and converted a layup that increased the margin to 30-20.

Kasey Ziegler scored six points, while Val Visconti utilized her size and length to make the free throw and hit five out of six shots from the charity stripe.

The Golden Knights managed to trim the deficit slightly down to 34-28 as the teams headed to their respective locker rooms at halftime.

"Midway through the first quarter I think we settled down a little bit," Head Coach Lindsay Steffner noted. "It was almost like the team didn't want halftime to come because they were playing so well." "They played a great second quarter and settled in and hit their shots and executing on offense and defense." "They were physical and playing scrappy."

"We moved the ball very well and worked fast and I wanted the team to get out and run up a bit and we showed that in the first half and we were going to come at Old Tappan pretty hard." "The long pass Morgan throws is just so deadly and she's our quarterback and does a good job leading us." "She really sees the court and mismatches well and one of the best shooters I've ever seen on the River Dell court and has the ball in her hands for a reason."

Once the third quarter got underway, Old Tappan began exerting themselves offensively and consistently driving to the rim for layups. The Golden Knights reclaimed on two occasions, led by Mia Derrico, who scored seven points.

River Dell answered back as Alexa DePol drained a triple to tie the game at 41-41 with two and a half minutes remaining. The back-and-forth action ensued as the teams traded the lead, which resulted in Old Tappan jumping back in front 49-47 at the end of the period.

"We did a few different things on defense and with Kasey coming out we went into a zone to try to slow them down and get them out of their rhythm offensively, but they started scoring in ways that were hard to defend," Head Coach Lindsay Steffner mentioned. "With Kasey in foul trouble they attacked her inside and she couldn't be as aggressive as she wanted to be." "We shifted things around in the third quarter and credit to them they did a good job of putting the ball in the bucket."

In the fourth quarter, the intensity and physicality increased in earnest, with much jostling occurring in the paint and low post. The Golden Knights were up 51-47 early, then River Dell ignited a rebuttal with a 6-0 run.

Both teams were swinging haymakers as the score narrowed even closer. Morgan Sconza drove into the paint and flicked up a nifty one-handed shot to put the Golden Hawks up 59-57 with less than three minutes left, but Old Tappan tied the game back up.

Free throws started to play a pivotal role down the stretch, putting the Golden Knights ahead, but the patience exhibited with time winding down gave Old Tappan a 63-61 lead with 10 seconds left. Alexa Caunedo (21 points) converted a layup.

River Dell had one last opportunity with two seconds to go. Off an inbounds play underneath the Golden Knights' end of the court, Morgan Sconza curled around a screen and unleashed a three-point shot attempt that Siena Drullinsky blocked as time eventually expired.

"It came down to literally one possession and we had a chance to win it and they made a good defensive play on it and if that kid doesn't read the screening situation right and we come out with that bucket and my money's on Morgan all the time with that shot," Head Coach Lindsay Steffner cited. "It's unfortunate we didn't get a clean look at it but we executed well our game plan and we're playing good basketball right now."

"We keep trying to get these games and as I know they come up with losses, but it was a great game and showed our girls we can play with them." "We got to get one of these wins and we're knocking on the door."

"The support from the River Dell community has given to me and our players is top notch and when you see our crowd packed every single night at and isn't always the case, but people enjoy watching our girls and enjoy rooting them." "They're really fun to watch, energetic and playing a fun brand of basketball and fans enjoy that."

The Golden Hawks are now preparing for the state tournament playoffs. They will host the ninth seed(15-9, 6-6 NJAC National) in the NJSIAA North Jersey Section 1, Group 3 Tournament on Wednesday, February 26th, with tip-off set for 6 p.m. at River Dell High School.

"I have a few days to prepare and watch more film and gave the girls the weekend off to rest and recover," Head Coach Lindsay Steffner remarked." "On Monday, we go full throttle again and regroup."

"Every game in Group 3 is going to be a battle and a one to two possession game and at this point we got to do what we do best and it's going to take a little bit of luck and hard work and never know how this is going to go."