Greg TartagliaOne result over the past week had a massive impact on the North Jersey Top 25 girls basketball rankings.
Glen Rock’s 54-37 victory over Saddle River Day on Jan. 12 served notice on several levels. The Rebels, nine-time defending Bergen County champs, had been No. 2 in the rankings after opening the season at No. 1.
Saddle River Day rejoined the North Jersey Interscholastic Conference this season after 11 as an independent. During that span, its only losses to Bergen County competition came against Teaneck, Immaculate Conception (Lodi) and Queen of Peace – the latter two schools have since closed.
The last NJIC public school to defeat the Rebels had been Secaucus in 2015. The last NJIC public from Bergen County to top them before this winter? Midland Park on Feb. 27, 2014.
That is the kind of history that Glen Rock made. True, Saddle River Day is adjusting to a new coach, and its county-tournament win streak remains intact at 38.
But the Panthers – reigning NJIC Tournament and North 1, Group 2 sectional champions – remain the class of their conference, and their victory should impact the upcoming Bergen County tournament seeding as it did with the Top 25 rankings.
Top 25 rankings
- Immaculate Heart (10-3)
- DePaul (9-0)
- Demarest (10-2)
- Old Tappan (8-2)
- Ramapo (11-2)
- Teaneck (6-5)
- Ridgewood (8-3)
- Glen Rock (10-2)
- Saddle River Day (8-6)
- River Dell (8-2)
- Pascack Valley (9-4)
- Northern Highlands (7-5)
- Westwood (8-3)
- Mahwah (7-5)
- Ramsey (9-2)
- Eastside (8-5)
- Rutherford (7-5)
- Eastern Christian (7-3)
- Secaucus (9-4)
- Passaic Tech (8-4)
- Ridgefield Park (8-4)
- Emerson (10-2)
- Paramus (11-3)
- Leonia (6-5)
- Fair Lawn (7-5)
