Senior forward Bindi Parikh led all players with 18 points, but it was the Mahwah Lady Thunderbirds who defeated Fort Lee on Tuesday night 47-34.

Entering the contest on a three-game losing streak, the Fort Lee Lady Bridgemen were looking for a strong start in hopes of getting back in the win column.

That didn’t happen, however, as Mahwah scored the first 13 points of the game on the way to their 10^th win of the season.

“It wasn’t turnovers that were hurting us which is great,” said Fort Lee head coach Stacie Zafiris.  “We weren’t taking great shots and I don’t think we were really trying to run our offense through which ultimately hurt us. They are such a great team in transition that they kept getting us a couple times.”

When senior guard Brianna Mattessich made a pair of free throws to give Fort Lee its first points of the game, it would unexpectedly be the last points scored on the night by the Lady Bridgemen’s leading scorer as Mattessich was unable to add any more the rest of the game.

“We have a great stopper on defense and we have a lot of confidence in senior Alex Truglio,” Mahwah coach Mike Branagh said. “We felt good and know that [Mattessich] is not the first girl she shut down.”

With Brianna being tightly defended, Fort Lee started to go inside to another one of their top scorers in senior forward Bindi Parikh. The frontcourt player scored eight of the team’s 12 points in the first half as Parikh was called to step in.

“She started a little rough but then coach talked to her and said that [Bindi] had to pick it up,” junior guard Megan Gimson said. “She picked it up as a captain and a senior.”

Trailing 31-12 at the half, Fort Lee started to make their move. The Lady Bridgemen went on a 10-4 run to cut into the lead as the team’s defense also intensified.

“Our defense was good and throughout the last three quarters, we played more confidently,” said Bindi Parikh. “We came back and we played hard.”

But the double digit lead was too much to overcome as Mahwah went on to win the game 47-34.

Despite the loss, coach Zafiris was pleased with how her team played in the closing minutes.

“I definitely thought we were a different team in the second half,” she said. “If we played the first half the way we played the second half, it would have been a much closer game…We didn’t come out with that type of intensity that we did in the second half and I think that hurt us.”

Mahwah finished with seven players scoring in the game, including senior Alexa Freguletti, who finished with 11 points.

Fort Lee’s junior guard Ally Long added six points, and Megan Gimson chipped in  another four.

As the Lady Bridgemen losing streak hits four, Fort Lee is staying optimistic.

“We feel bad but that is not going to take us down,” Parikh said. “We have a long season ahead and we are looking to continue to play better.”

Fort Lee now will face a team they have already defeated this year in their next game. The Lady Bridgemen beat Westwood on the road 41-33 earlier this month, and now meet the Cardinals at home on Thursday.   

“I really don’t like to think about who we have beaten and who we have lost to,” Zafiris said. “I try to teach that to my players too. You have to come out and expect to play 100 percent because anybody can beat you on any day.”