The Fort Lee Lady Bridgemen lost the continuation of a suspended game against the Bergenfield Lady Bears on Thursday night 65-30.

Junior guards Krystal Carvajal and Jessi Corredor invigorated Bergenfield with a combined 32 points as Fort Lee was forced to play from behind, dating all the way back to last Friday.

The two teams started the game Dec. 17 but were only able to play a single minute before referee Greg Dobbin collapsed on the court.

Dobbin was able to rise to his feet and walk off the court under his own power, but the game was suspended until Thursday with Bergenfield holding a 5-2 advantage.

The Lady Bears came out with an explosive 14-4 run to resume the game as Fort Lee fell victim to turnovers. 

"The turnovers killed us," said Fort Lee head coach Stacie Zafiris. "When you turn the ball over as many times as you do, it doesn't matter who you are playing. You are going to end up losing."

The team also missed three layups in the first quarter and an additional three jumpers that resulted in airballs.  

"Had we made a couple of those open layups and things like that, I think it would have been closer than a seventeen point lead at halftime," Zafiris said. "We're a young team. We are going to continue to make mistakes, and learn from our mistakes to hopefully improve."

Most of the Fort Lee players, like senior guard Brianna Mattessich, also noticed the mistakes, and hope to eliminate them in the future.

"The whole game we were sloppy," said the Lady Bridgeman.  "We have a lot of work to do."

It was a tougher matchup facing Bergenfield with a slashing guard like Corredor, a long-range threat in Carvajal and inside presence Ashley Marfo, but Fort Lee aspires to build a program just like the Lady Bears have.

"They are where we hope to be one day in terms of how their program has improved from the recreation level to the varsity level," Zafiris said after the game.

Now 0-2, the Fort Lee Lady Bridgemen are not where they planned to be at this point in the season, but they do have a holiday tournament to look forward to.

Last season, Fort Lee was able to win that tournament, a feat that no other team in program history has been able to match.

To start off, they will play the winner of Lyndhurst and Palisades Park on Monday night before trying to repeat as holiday tournament champions.

"We are trying to defend that title," said Zafiris. "Winning it last year meant so much to them, and I am hoping that the six seniors are able to accomplish that again."

The holiday tournament takes place at Lyndhurst High School starting Monday night and continuing through Wednesday.