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Sports

Game of the Week: Fort Lee Wallops Wallington 47-32

Senior guard Brianna Mattessich leads Lady Bridgemen with game-high 21 points.

With the future of the girls basketball team watching, the current Fort Lee Lady Bridgemen defeated the Wallington Panthers 47-32 at home on Thursday night.

Coach Stacie Zafiris and Fort Lee Girls Basketball League President Mike Klein invited the younger girls to come watch the game in hopes of showing what it takes to play at the high school level.

Zafiris did not want to make her team nervous before the game, but she did stress how important this game was for the program and for the girls who were watching them play.

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“I said, ‘You are the reason why we are where we are, and why you got Fort Lee basketball on the map,’ ” the head coach said before the opening tip. “But, there is a little girl out there that might be watching you for 5 seconds [or] 32 minutes and saying ‘I want to be like her.’ ”

The Lady Bridgemen showcased a 12-0 run as their first impression as Fort Lee quickly leaped ahead of Wallington.

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“When we start off well, it gives us a confidence boost for the rest of the game,” said senior Brianna Mattessich, who outscored the entire Panthers team 11-6 in the first quarter.

With the offense holding a 15-point lead, the Lady Bridgemen then displayed a scoreless second quarter defensively for the recreation players in attendance.

“We were very sporadic and [Fort Lee] was very even keel and consistent,” said Wallington’s head coach Barry Blauvelt. “Even though we didn’t score, I think we calmed down…Holding them to five points in that quarter, gave us a little momentum to build on offensively and defensively in the second half.”

Trailing 26-6 entering the third quarter, the Panthers started to close the deficit. The team rallied behind sophomore guards Tiffany Vellis and Elisa Rodriguez as the duo scored a combined 21 points after halftime.

Despite Wallington cutting the lead to 10 in the closing minutes, Fort Lee maintained the double-digit advantage to secure the victory.

With a large lead throughout the game, head coach Stacie Zafiris was able to rest her starters for extended periods as the team’s role players stepped into the spotlight.

“I am really happy with the outcome of the game and I’m happy that a lot of girls got to get in,” she said. “They work hard in practice and I am happy to see their efforts in the game.”

Eleven different players appeared in the game for Fort Lee including players that normally don’t see a lot of minutes.

“Everything was flowing and even with subbing people in, we were still going,” added co-captain Brianna Mattessich. “We were cheering and we were going crazy. It feels great to see girls off the bench just doing their thing – playing and having fun and making good plays.”

Senior guard Lindsey Clesmere added three points for the Lady Bridgemen, and fellow senior forward Genevieve Noel recorded four rebounds as well.

Even though the team was pleased with the win, Fort Lee is looking to improve on some items heading into their next contest on Saturday against Saddle Brook.

“We will continue to work on our defenses and continue to switch them up,” Zafiris said. “Just throw different things at teams.”

But in the end, Fort Lee wanted to show something to the young players watching. Brianna Mattessich likes to think that the Lady Bridgemen achieved that goal on Thursday night.

“We want to show that we’re having fun and want to be a good influence for them,” she said.

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