River Dell Varsity Girls Basketball Team emerges victorious after a hard-fought battle against Westwood

The River Dell Golden Hawks Varsity Girls Basketball Team(6-1, 2-0 Big North Patriot) withstood a late rally by the Westwood Cardinals(4-3, 1-1 Big North Patriot) for the 57-48 win and recorded their third straight win at River Dell High School in Oradell, New Jersey.

Hope Arturi and Dalia Interiano led the team in scoring with 15 points apiece, while Val Visconti supplied 12 points.

River Dell Head Coach Lindsay Steffner reflected on the victory. “We’re excited about this after a big emotional win at Ramsey and took a lot of effort and how to get Lex(Alexa DePol) back in the mix after being sick and how healthy is she going to be.” “Westwood and River Dell always have a very big and fun rivalry and there’s a lot of energy in the game and we haven’t been at home a whole lot basically and except for Dumont and it was nice to be back at home and there’s a lot that plays into these games emotionally.”

The Golden Hawks trailed late in the first quarter, but Dalia Interiano knocked down a jumper from behind the arc that put River Dell up 10-8 at the end of the quarter.

In the second quarter, Westwood answered back with a 5-0 run to reclaim the lead. Cameron Roche, a dominant force on the offensive end for the Cardinals, tallied eight points.

The teams were tied on a pair of occasions, then Alexa DePol hit a jump shot to put the Golden Hawks back in front, combined with Val Visconti sinking a pair of free throws to pad the lead.

The Cardinals responded with a three-point play on a stick back shot off the glass in the low post by Leah Olives with less than a minute remaining. However, River Dell ended the first half on a positive note as Hope Arturi continued to sizzle from downtown, burying a triple that made it 22-18.

“They definitely came at us ready to play and we knew they were and had some really big weapons,” Head Coach Lindsay Steffner explained. “Getting the lead at halftime was really important and we were almost in foul trouble, and they kept attacking us the same way.”

Once the third quarter commenced, the Golden Hawks came out with a burst of energy, with Val Visconti leading the charge by consistently attacking the basket on the offensive end and pulling down numerous offensive rebounds that led to layups. Visconti totaled eight points in the quarter.

River Dell exploded for an 11-2 run that resulted in a 37-25 advantage with two and a half minutes remaining. Meanwhile, the Golden Hawks' defense cranked up the intensity with a stifling defense, pressing up against the guards when attempting to pass the ball and forcing errant shots and limiting the interior play in the paint and down low.

“One thing Val is not just playing with high energy mode but she’s relentless,” Head Coach Lindsay Steffner described. “She’s playing through contact and putting so much pressure on the other team’s defense.” “Seeing her work like that it just shows the persistence and relentlessness, and she’s been huge for us and there’s not many people that can battle four quarters against her strength.”

Entering the final frame, River Dell held a 39-32 lead after the Cardinals ended the third quarter with a 5-0 spurt.

“It was a defensive game and one of those where you just want to feel out the other team a little bit and how are they going to attack us,” Head Coach Lindsay Steffner noted. “Are we changing defenses with foul trouble and we kind of played back and forth depending on what they were doing, and we changed some things.”

In the fourth quarter, Westwood kept charging forward, trimming the deficit to one point at 41-40 with five minutes left. The Golden Hawks countered the Cardinals' surge as Hope Arturi in the zone from long distance canned her second trey and ending up netting eight points in the quarter. 

“They were going to make a run at us no matter what we did, and they have Cameron Roche, Bria Charles and Jules Batelli,” Head Coach Lindsay Steffner cited.

River Dell went on a 7-0 run to create some much-needed breathing room. The back-and-forth action ensuing as Westwood fought back with an 8-2 blitz highlighted by a pearl from Sophia Collis and Bria Charles converting a three-point play with a nifty left-handed layup off glass with one and a half minutes left.

The Golden Hawks, clinging to a 51-48 lead, came up with a clutch play that swung the momentum in their favor. Off an inbounds play, Dalia Interiano took possession of the ball, then quickly dribbled past the full-court press and drove to the rim, elevating for the layup off glass.

“We work on that play in practice and it’s really hard to press us in that situation with Dalia’s speed and she’s confident with the ball and can go left or right,” Head Coach Lindsay Steffner remarked. “She’s been working hard on her strength so she doesn’t get bumped off the ball and they were going to foul her, and I said let’s just get the ball to Dalia and let her go and luckily with her speed they couldn’t catch up to her.”

River Dell managed to hit four throws in the last 35 seconds that sealed the win.