Pascack Valley vs. Tenafly: Round 1 of North 1, Group 3 State Sectional Playoffs

When: Tuesday, Feb. 28

Location: Pascack Valley High School

Time: 4 p.m.

2016-2017 Records:

Pascack Valley (No. 1 seed): 24-1, 62.48 points per game, 36.12 opponents points per game

Tenafly (No. 16 seed): 10-15, 47.36 points per game, 50.12 opponents points per game

Bracket Breakdown: The Indians, the No. 1 seed and favorite of both The Record and NorthJerseySports.com, have won eight contests in a row following a 43-41 loss in the first round of the Bergen County Tournament to Old Tappan. The Golden Knights are the reigning North 1, Group 3 champions, but will have to beat PV once again, this time in the finals, to repeat as champions. Ramapo, will likely rely on forward Emily Calabrese, who has recorded 14 consecutive double-doubles. The Green Raiders draw Wayne Valley in the first round, but could meet PV in the semifinals. PV won the first meeting between the two, but only scored 46 points, the second fewest in any of PV’s 24 victories.

Round 1

PV Perspective: Pascack Valley (Ranked No. 13 in the News 12 Varsity NJ Girls Basketball Top 15) has had a season that by most measures has to be considered dominant. PV has just one loss this season—in the first round of the Bergen County Tournament, when the Indians fell to Old Tappan in a heartbreaker, 43-41. However, since the tough loss, the Indians have had no trouble getting right back on the horse and are currently on an eight game winning streak. PV’s smallest margin of victory is 15 points, while they’ve beaten six opponents by 30 or more points. The Indians have also been dominant in league play, going undefeated during the regular season and taking home a league title. While they have had a very strong season as a whole, the opening round loss to the Golden Knights in the Bergen County Tournament may have some people wondering if Old Tappan can’t pull off an upset again. The Indians have been led by a very strong junior class, notably Kelly Petro, Brianna Wong (14.6 ppg), and Kelly Smith (10.3 ppg) as well as sophomore standout Brianna Smith (11.5 ppg), who leads the team in three point field goals this season with 64. PV is 2-0 against Tenafly this season, winning by scores of 64-37 and 79-38, respectively. A win for the Indians and they face off against one of either Indian Hills or River Dell, both teams PV beat handily.

Tenafly Lowdown: After a rough 2015-2016 campaign in which it only picked up 2 wins, Tenafly has had a much improved season this year, compiling a 10-15 record. After not being in states last year, and not making the County Tournament this year, the Tigers are back in the state tournament and will be looking to make waves this year.  In the past two weeks, the Tigers have gone 2-1, taking down formidable opponents in Passaic Valley and Snyder and outscoring their opponents 147-120 in the last three games. While the Tigers have found some success against other league opponents, they have not been able to find the key to success against the Indians this season, falling to them already twice this season.  

For a complete North 1, Group 3 Tournament bracket, click here.

-Jake Aferiat also contributed to this report