North 1, Group 3 girls basketball sectional final preview: PV vs. Old Tappan

When: Today

Location: Pascack Valley High School

Time: 4 p.m.

2016-2017 Records:

Pascack Valley (No. 1 seed): 27-1, 65.51 points per game, 36.74 opponents points per game

Old Tappan (No. 11 seed): 16-13, 46.48 points per game, 45.14 opponents points per game

Previous Meetings This Season: 

Dec. 20 — Pascack Valley 70, Old Tappan 46

Jan. 26 — Pascack Valley 48, Old Tappan 15

Jan. 28 — Old Tappan 43, Pascack Valley 41

What’s At Stake: The winner of this game will be crowned sectional champion of North 1, Group 3. Football stops at the sectional level, but most of the other sports, including basketball, continue on. After the sectional tournament, the champions from the four sections play down to a Group 3 champion, which is the true state championship (PV or OT would face the North 2 winner, either Somerville or Voorhees, with that winner facing the Central/South winner for the Group 3 title). The four public state champions then join the two parochial winners to form the six teams vying for the Tournament of Champions crown. The top two seeds receive a bye and automatically advance to the TOC semifinals. The remaining teams will then face off in the TOC, with the last team standing being deemed the best team in the state.

Bracket Breakdown: After an early exit in the Bergen County Tournament to Old Tappan this year, the Indians have responded emphatically to any criticism they have received about that upset, rattling off 11 wins a row, including state tournament wins against Tenafly, Indian Hills, and Ramapo. In those wins, PV has managed to display its scoring knack, averaging 73.67 points per game, as well as its grit, by staying in and competing in games it hasn’t started as sharply as it would like. OT has managed to get into the finals by racking off three consecutive upsets against Wayne Hills, West Essex, and most recently, No. 2 seeded Northern Highlands. Many will likely be looking to spread the wealth on offense and rely on the hot shooting of Brianna Smith, while needing to contain OT’s Sophie Downey and Jackie Kelly.

PV Perspective: Simply put, Pascack Valley has dominated the North 1 Group 3 bracket thus far. The Indians smallest margin of victory was 13 points in their 69-56 semifinal win over Ramapo and they’re averaging almost 74 points per game. Sophomore guard Brianna Smith continued to demonstrate her shooting prowess, scoring 18 points and knocking down four shots from behind the arc in the semifinal victory. She’s averaging 20.1 points per game over her last seven, and has hit 29 three-pointers in that span as well. She’s not the only contributor on a PV team that spreads the wealth as well as anyone. Brianna Wong scored 26 in the semifinal win over Ramapo, and four players, Wong (15), Smith (15), Kelly Smith (15) and Kelly Petro (10) all contributed double digit points in the round prior. While not lighting up the box score per se, senior Shannon Culloo has also been a catalyst for PV on this run, tasked with shutting down Ramapo’s Emily Calabrese in the semfinals, who was averaging a double-double a game entering play. The matchup against Old Tappan is the fourth this year for PV, which leads the season series 3-1. That one loss was a two point, 43-41 upset in the first round of the Bergen County Tournament.

Old Tappan Lowdown: The Golden Knights have pulled off three straight upsets, by a combined margin of 18 points, including a 57-56 thriller over No. 2 Northern Highlands in the semifinals. They won this section last year en route to the Group 3 state title. In that game, sophomore Jackie Kelly had 23 points, eight rebounds, two assists and six three-point field goals, and junior Sophie Downey contributed a double-double, with 12 points, 10 rebounds and also had four assists and three steals. That one point victory over the Highlanders marks the fourth time in 10 games where Old Tappan has played in a game decided by three or fewer points and the Golden Knights are 3-1 in those games. Perhaps none of OT’s upsets thus far compare to the upset it pulled off against PV in the first round of the Bergen County Tournament, where the Golden Knights won 43-41 after losing 48-15 just two days before.