WAYNE — Saddle River Day’s 20 in a row beat Morris Catholic’s 25 straight.
Behind another virtuoso performance from UNC-bound senior Paulina Paris, the top-seeded Rebels roared back to earn their fourth consecutive North Non-Public B title Thursday at Passaic Tech. They defeated Morris Catholic, 75-51, ending the second-seeded Crusaders’ 25-game win streak.
Saddle River Day (25-1) fell behind early, 12-6, but took over with a 20-0 run that spanned the first and second quarters.
“It felt like [we took control], 100 percent,” said Rebels senior Dakota Corey, who had 10 points, 10 rebounds and 5 assists. “When you’re on a 20-point flow, and it just keeps building and building – It’s like you’re on fire, and you can’t stop the flame.”
Paris scored 37 points to lead Saddle River Day into Saturday’s Non-Public B final against Rutgers Prep at Toms River North. Tipoff is scheduled for noon at the RWJBarnabas Health Arena.
“When she needs to lock it up, she does,” Rebels coach Danny Brown said of Paris. “She’s incredible, she really is.”
What it means
Going in, both teams had lost only to St. John Vianney, the No. 1 team in New Jersey. For Morris Catholic (25-2), that happened in the season opener.
Saddle River Day got to 16-0 before running into the Lancer buzzsaw but has regrouped since and successfully defended both its sectional and Bergen County titles.
The Rebels now look to reclaim the Non-Public B state championship that they held in 2018 and 2019. The 2020 NJSIAA playoffs were cancelled two days after their sectional triumph, meaning they did not get to go for three in a row. They would have faced Trenton Catholic, which beat Rutgers Prep in the South final that year.
