ROCKAWAY TWP. - Chris Cooper isn’t going to remember Jefferson 43, Rockaway Township 42 as a loss ... he’s going to remember it as the last game a very talented group of eighth-grade girls played as a team.
Cooper, the head coach of the Rockaway Township Lady Rockets for the past two seasons and an assistant coach the previous two years, watched in disbelief as his team, leading by one with the ball and 28 seconds left to play, was forced into a turnover at mid-court allowing Jefferson to score the last two points of the game on an uncontested layup.
The one-point victory on Saturday, March 20, came in the championship game of a four-team post-season round-robin tournament hosted by the Lady Rockets at Copeland Middle School.
The two teams had met four times earlier this season with each team winning twice.
“This was a great game between two of the best eighth-grade girls travel teams in the area,” Cooper said after the game. “The game was hard fought ... the game was close throughout ... sure, we had our chances to win it, too, but this isn’t really a tough loss to take because the game was so even and each team played so well.
“One loss is not going to spoil what this team has done together ... this has been one of the best group of eighth-grade girls basketball players in North Jersey the past two seasons.”
The Lady Rockets finished the 2009-2010 season with a record of 14-0 to win the regular-season championship in the Passaic Valley League. Rockaway Township lost to Jefferson in a preseason tournament, lost to Jefferson in title game of the PVL’s post-season playoff tournament, and lost again to Jefferson on Saturday to finish the season with an overall record of 26-6, counting all tournament and regular-season games.
Last year, the Lady Rockets won the Garden State League regular-season title with a 14-2 record and lost to East Orange in the post-season playoff title game.
In the Saturday's finale, Rockaway Township took a 31-29 lead into the final period and held a one-point lead at 42-41 in the final minute of play before Jefferson forced the turnover that led to the winning points.
“We came out of a timeout and went into a stall, looking to keep the ball in the hands of our best free-throw shooters because we figured they eventually have to foul in an attempt to get back the ball,” Cooper said. “But they got the ball, scored and we couldn’t score in our last possession.
“There were a lot of tears after the game -- not because we lost the game but because this was our last game as a team.
“These girls get together all the time ... they are good friends and they love each other and have a lot of respect for each other and support each other. They all love to wear goofy clothes to school together, too -- they have a lot of fun.
“This is a special bunch and you won’t find a more hard-working, game group of eighth-graders. I shall miss working with them more than they know ... and coach Corey Green feels the same way. They are a very special group of young ladies.”
With six of the 12 Lady Rockets on the roster going to Morris Hills in September and six going to Morris Knolls, Cooper is positive fans in the area have not heard the last of this special group.
“I’m sure we’ll be reading about them soon in high school ... and I’m sure the Morris Hills-Morris Knolls games in the future will be interesting to watch for Rockaway Township fans.”
Cooper’s daughter Jacie scored 12 points and was the leading scorer for the Lady Rockets in their finale. Chelsea Amaro added 11 points, Mackenzie Hestevold had eight and Leanne Sweeny finished with six.
Ashley Lesch and Isabele Katz each had two points while Erin Bongo finished with a free throw to complete the scoring for the Lady Rockets.
Cooper, Hestevold and Lesch each had seven rebounds while Sweeny finished with six. Katz had three rebounds and Gina Aragona and Shannon Cox each had one. Cooper had a team-high six steals; Lesch had two and Danielle DiVite and Katz each had one.
Amaro, Cooper and Hestevold each had two assists while Katz and Bongo each had one. Sweeney finished with two blocked shots. Lilla Simon and Debbie Volpe also played for the Lady Rockets.
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Lady Rockets to face Jefferson for 5th time in title game
ROCKAWAY TWP. - The anticipated matchup between Rockaway Township and Jefferson will take place on the final day of the Lady Rockets post-season basketball tournament this Saturday, March 20, at Copeland Middle School in the White Meadow Lake section of the township at 4:30 p.m.
Rockaway Township defeated all three teams it faced - including Jefferson - during the tournament to reach the title game while Jefferson won two games and lost once to finish with the second-best record of the four teams invited to play in the Lady Rockets' tourney.
The Lady Rockets got their third victory in as many games on Monday, March 15, when they beat Kittatinny, 36-24, in a game played at Copeland. Rockaway Township stopped Kittatinny cold in the first period in taking a 17-0 lead that was never threatened.
"We took the big lead and then got complacent," said Lady Rockets' head coach Chris Cooper after the game. "The early blowout brought out the worst in us ... the entire team turned flat and lazy after the first period.
"We talk about playing our hardest every time out and this is usually what this team does. But tonight, I think our thoughts turned to the upcoming Jefferson game after we got that big first-quarter lead --- we certainly played like it."
Saturday's game against Jefferson will be the fifth time the two teams have met this season. The Lady Rockets lost a pre-season tournaey game to Jefferson; won the regular season meeting in the Passaic Valley League; Jefferson won the PVL playoff title game between the two teams; and Rockaway Township beat Jefferson just a week ago in this tournament.
Rockaway Township will take an overall 18-2 record into Saturday's game while Jefferson is now 17-3.
In the game against Kittatinny, Leanne Sweeney led the Lady Rockets in scoring with 10 points while Mackenzie Hestevold added eight points and Jacie Cooper finished with six points.
Isabele Katz and Gina Aragona each had three points and Chelsea Amaro, Erin Bonbo and Ashley Lesch each finished with two points.
Hestevold was the team-leader in rebounds with eight while Sweeny and Cooper each had seven. Lesch (five), Bongo (four), Deb Volpe (3), Danielle DiVite and Lilla Simon (each with two) completed the rebounding team totals.
Hestevold and Cooper each finished with four steals and three assists; Katz and Volpe each had two steals; and DiVite and Simon each added an assist. Shannon Cox was ill and did not play.
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Lady Rockets 'turn up the D' to beat Jefferson
ROCKAWAY TWP. - Playing “... the most focused team defense of the season,” early in the game, the Rockaway Township 7th/8th Grade Lady Rockets held Jefferson to nine first-half points and went on to a 52-32 victory in second-round play of the Rockaway Township Basketball Tournament on Wednesday, March 10, at Copeland Middle School here.
The four-team tournament continues Monday, March 15, with the Lady Rockets playing Kittatinny at 7:45 p.m., also at Copeland. The championship game will also be played at Copeland on Saturday, March 20, at 4:30 p.m.
“We set the tone of the game in the first five minutes with our defense,” said Lady Rockets head coach Chris Cooper after the game. “It was the most intense, the most focused team defense of the season.”
The Lady Rockets led 12-5 after one quarter and 27-9 at the half. Rockaway Township outscored Jefferson 25-23 in the second half.
Jacie Cooper, who missed a game with a sprained ankle, was back 100 percent for Jefferson and played the all-important point on the Lady Rockets’ 1-3-1 zone.
“Having Jacie back was a huge lift for us,” Cooper said. “She set the tone and everyone followed suit ... all Jefferson’s perimeter shots were contested and the girls also did a nice job of shutting down the middle.”
Mackenzie Hestevold had one of her best games of the season with 18 points, 17 rebounds and five steals. Cooper was also had a double-double with 10 points and 15 rebounds - 13 off the offensive boards.
“Mackenzie elevated her game to a new level ... those kind of numbers against a very good Jefferson team are just outstanding,” Cooper said. “Plus, with Chelsea Amaro not feeling up to par, Mackenzie ran the Lady Rockets’ offense for most of the game ... Mackenzie was a real force in this one.”
Isabele Katz finished with six points; Shannon Cox had four; Leanne Sweeny and Gina Aragona each had three points; Ashley Lesch, Chelsea Amaro, Debbie Volpe and Erin Bongo each had two points.
With Hestevold and Cooper pulling down a combined 32 rebounds, the Lady Rockets controlled the boards by a whopping 58-20 margin. Sweeny and Lesch each added seven rebounds while Cox and Volpe each had three.
Katz added two steals and Bongo and Danielle DiVite each has one. Amaro finished with three assists, Volpe had two and Lilla Simon had one.
“Our reserves played very well with Isabele Katz and Deb Volpe having their best games of the season,” Cooper said. “When the subs play as committed on defense as the starters, it’s easier to go to the bench and give them more time.
“Our ‘sixth man’ for the game was once again the crowd ... the gym was packed and the fans were awesome ... it was as good a home-court advantage as we have ever had at Copeland ... I sure hope they all come back for Monday’s game.”
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Lady Rockets stop Newton in first round of tourney
ROCKAWAY TWP. - The Rockaway Township Lady Rockets 7th/8th grade varsity travel team defeated Newton, 42-25, in the first of its three games scheduled in the post-season Lady Rockets Basketball Tournament in a game played at Copeland Middle School here on Monday, March 8.
The Lady Rockets face Jefferson on Wednesday, March 10, in a 7:45 p.m. game, also at Copeland.
Rockaway Township held a 12-2 lead at the end of the first period and led 23-16 at the half. The Lady Rockets' pressure defense held Newton without a point in the third period as Rockaway Township took a commanding 36-16 lead into the final quarter.
"Newton has a good team - they finished 10-1 in the Skylands League - but the team came into our game without three key players who got injured in its last game," said Lady Rockets coach Chris Cooper. "We were able to play all 12 of our players in the game with a lot of our reserves seeing more playing time than usual."
Chelsea Amaro was the high scorer for the Lady Rockets, finishing with 10 points. Leanne Sweeney and Gina Aragona each had seven points; Jacie Cooper had six points; Shannon Cox and Lilla Simon each had four points; and Ashley Lesch and Mackenzie Hestevold each finished with two points to complete the scoring for Rockaway Township.
Sweeney added a team-high 10 rebounds while Mackenzie finished with nine, Cox had five and Lesch added three. Isabel Katz and Amaro each had two assists and Deb Volpe had one. Hestevold finished with four steals while Cooper had three, Eric Bongo had two and Danielle DeVite had one.
"We had a packed gym and it was loud," Cooper said. "The fans really turned out in support of the team and we hope to have them back for the Jefferson game, too."
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Lady Rockets lose finale of PVL post-season tourney
ROCKAWAY TWP. - The Rockaway Township Lady Rockets 7th/8th grade travel team entered the Passaic Valley League's post-season playoff championship game against Jefferson at the Totowa PAL on Sunday, Feb. 28, with the league title and an unbeaten season on the line.
Problem was, Jacie Cooper, the point on the Lady Rockets’ 1-3-1 defense, was sidelined with a sore ankle she had injured the day before in the team's semifinal victory over Montville.
Cooper is not only the team's top defensive player, she is also the team leader in assists and steals and its second-leading scorer.
Quite a loss - especially in such an important game.
The Lady Rockets (15-1) went on to lose that championship game to Jefferson, trailing by by eight at the half and by 12 going into the final quarter before bowing, 65-51.
Their hopes for an unbeaten season and league playoff title had been squashed by a team that "... just had too many weapons for us," according to Lady Rocket head coach Chris Cooper.
"The first quarter of the game was one of the best played games I've ever been part of at this level," said Cooper, whose team led 21-20 after the first quarter. "Both teams ran their offenses well and the shooting was just beautiful on both sides.
"But every mini-run we went on was answered by a mini-run by Jefferson. They have so many weapons both inside and outside and they use their speed well and broke on us far too many times."
Jefferson used a 15-6 second-quarter run to take that eight-point halftime lead and was never threatened, increasing their lead to 12 going into the final period of play and then squashing any Lady Rocket comeback hopes by outscoring Rockaway Township 17-15 in the fourth quarter to create the final 14-point margin of victory.
Mackenzie Hestevold finished with 16 points and 14 rebounds for the Lady Rockets. Clesea Amaro had 14 points - including three 3-point field goals in the first half - and four assists.
Gina Aragona had nine points on 9-of-10 free throw shooting and added two assists. Leanne Sweeny finished with six points and 14 rebounds; Ashley Lesch had five points and 10 rebounds; and Danielle DiVite added a free throw to complete the Lady Rocket scoring. Deb Volpe had an assist and Shannon Cox, Isabele Katz and Lilla Simon also played but did not score. Erin Bongo had an important family commitment and could not make the game.
"Our girls showed a lot of poise in coming up with the efforts that they did ... I mean, Gina going 9-for-10 in free throws in a game of this importance showed a lot. Chelsea had to handle the ball all day against an aggressive Jefferson defense and she not only did that job well, but she stepped up on offense with 14 points.
"Ashley Lesch had one of her best games of the season and Mackenzie Hestevold came through with a double-double, even though she was under pressure to make up for some of Jacie’s offense.
"It would have been nice to have Jacie and Erin in there to face Jefferson full strength, but seeing the rest of the girls step up the way they need showed us how far this team has come and how it has matured in the three years of playing travel basketball together.
"The loss in the final game hurts, but we have to come out of this game proud of how hard the team played and what the team has accomplished for the season."
The Lady Rockets reached the title game with a 37-22 victory over Montville in one of the semifinals played at the Totowa PAL the day before, Saturday, Feb. 27.
Hestevold had 14 points and 20 rebounds; Cooper had 12 points, seven rebounds, six steals and three assists before injuring her ankle and having to leave the game early in the fourth period.
Aragona finished with three points and two assists; Katz had two points and two steals; Amaro had four steals; Sweeny had four rebounds and Cox had two; and DiVite, Volpe, Erin Bongo and Lilla Simon each came off the bench and each had a rebound.
Notes: Bill Nieman, the head coach of the Morris Hills High School girls varsity team, was in the stands for the title game, watching some of the players who will be coming his way in the fall ... the Lady Rockets will host a post-season tournament with Newton, Jefferson and Kitatinny in the field ... the tourney starts on Monday, March 8, with Rockaway Township facing Newton in a 6:15 p.m. game at at Copeland Middle School in the White Meadow Lake section of the township ... the Lady Rockets then play Jefferson on Wednesday, March 10 at 7:45 p.m., play Kittatinny on Monday, March 15, also at 7:45 p.m. ... the championship game will be played on Saturday, March 20, at 4:30 p.m. ...
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Lady Rockets beat Passaic Valley to reach semis
ROCKAWAY TWP. - The Rockaway Township Lady Rockets 7th/8th grade travel basketball team opened its Passaic Valley League playoffs with a 59-15 quarterfinal victory over an out-manned Pompton Lakes 7th grade team in a game played at Copeland Middle School here on Saturday, Feb. 20.
The top-seeded and unbeaten (13-0) Lady Rockets will play the winner of the Wednesday, Feb. 24, quarterfinal between No. 4 Parsippany and No. 5 Montville on Saturday, Feb. 27, at the Totowa PAL at 3:30 p.m. in the first game of a semifinal doubleheader.
Rockaway Township took a 25-3 lead over Pompton Lakes, the 12th seed in the 12-team tourney, after one period of play and then cleared the bench for the rest of the game.
"Our team is made up of mostly eighth-graders with the core of the team having played together now for three years," said Lady Rockets coach Chris Cooper after the game. "Pompton Lakes is primarily a seventh-grade team and really has no hope against a seasoned eighth-grade team ... but Pompton Lakes never quit, though, and their coaches maintained a positive attitude with the girls throughout the game.
"We were able to get major minutes for all of our subs as all 12 of our players scored. We’ll have a much tougher time next week against either Montville or Parsippany ... we beat Montville in the regular season by 20 and Parsippany by 11.
"If we get past the semifinal round, we will get either No. 2 High Point, which we beat 33-32 in the regular season, or No. 3 Jefferson, which we beat 49-45 in a regular-season game.
"But we have to take care of business in the semifinals first, and both Montville and Parsippany have been playing good ball lately."
Gina Aragona led a balanced attack with 11 points, including three 3-point field goals. She also added four rebounds and had two assists.
Chelsea Amaro scored all of her eight points in the first period, sinking two 3-point field goals and also finishing with four rebounds and two assists. Mackenzie Hestevold had six points and five rebounds; Leanne Sweeney finished with six points and nine rebounds; Ashley Lesch had four points and five rebounds; and Jacie Cooper had two points, three rebounds and two assists.
As for the reserves, Lilla Simon had eight points on 4-for-7 shooting from the floor; Shannon Cox had three points and did a solid job off the boards with 10 rebounds; Debbie Volpe finished with three points on a perfect 3-for-3 performance from the free throw line; Erin Bongo finished four points, eight rebounds and two assists; Isabelle Katz had two points and two steals; and Danielle DiVite had two points and three rebounds.
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Lady Rockets finish 12-0, gain top playoff seed
ROCKAWAY TWP. - They were nine points down going into the fourth quarter and their leading scorer was in danger of fouling out.
So what did the Rockaway Township Lady Rockets do about it? They pressed ... man-to-man ... full court, too.
Or, as head coach Chris Cooper said after the game: "It was a nasty press."
Nasty or not, it worked as the Lady Rockets 7th/8th grade girls travel basketball team went on a 23-10 fourth-quarter spree to beat Jefferson, 49-45, in a game played at Jefferson High School on Saturday, Feb. 13.
The come-from-behind victory enabled the Lady Rockets to finish unbeaten at 12-0 and clinch the regular-season championship in the Passaic Valley League by two games over Jefferson (10-2).
Rockaway Township also earned first-round bye in the league playoffs and will play its first game on Saturday, Feb. 20, at Copeland Middle School in the White Meadow Lake section of the township. Tipoff is scheduled for 9 a.m.
In the Jefferson game Saturday, the teams started slowly and were tied 7-7 after the first period. Jefferson took an 18-15 halftime advantage that it increased to 11 points at one time in the third period before taking 35-26 lead into the final period.
That's when Cooper had the Lady Rockets put on their full-court press and the strategy worked as the team created turnovers that led to enough points for Rockaway Township to earn their come-from-behind victory.
MacKenzie Hestevold finished with 17 points, 16 rebounds and had four steals even though she played most of the fourth quarter with four fouls. Eight of her points came in the Lady Rockets' 23-point fourth-quarter blitz.
Chelsea Amaro finished with 12 points and had three rebounds. She hit two key 3-point field goals in the third period to keep the Lady Rockets in the game.
Gina Aragona had eight of her 11 points in the fourth period, including two of her three 3-point field goals she had for the game.
Jacie Cooper finished with five points, five rebounds and had five assists.
Leanne Sweeney had a monster game off the boards with 21 rebounds and all four of her points came in the fourth quarter.
Isabele Katz, Ashley Lesch, Danielle DiVite, Shannon Cox, Deb Volpe, Lilla Simon and Erin Bongo also suited up for the game with Katz, Lesch and Cox each contributing a rebound and DiVite finishing with one assist.
