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Brookdale Women's Basketball Ready to Dance with 84-63 Defeat Over PassaicTia Curtis Named Tournament MVP On the heels of an MVP-worthy performance by Tia Curtis (Tinton Falls, NJ/Monmouth Regional), the Brookdale women's basketball team is heading to the NJCAA Division III National tournament with its 84-63 defeat of Passaic. The winners of 25 straight games in the 2009-10 campaign, the Jersey Blues head back to the Dance as the Division III Region XIX champions for the third time in four seasons. “The team was really prepared for this game, mentally. The women executed tonight the way they have the whole season,” commented co-head coach Joanne Cobb. “Kudos to Passaic, because they were prepared, as well. We changed our defense three different times and it worked.” After the score was tied at 18 with 10 minutes remaining in the first half, the pivotal play of the game came in the first half when Curtis was fouled on a made three-point shot. A missed free throw was rebounded by Kerrianne Casarello (Keansburg, NJ/Keansburg) who assisted a Ria Zanetich (Long Branch, NJ/Point Pleasant Beach) field goal to complete the five-point play that put the Jersey Blues up 23-18. The squad continued to string together 12 points in the ensuing four minutes, as they held Passaic County scoreless. Facing a near upset in the semifinal round, Curtis commented on the new focus of the team. “We went into this game with a totally different attitude. We realized that we need each other as a team to get out of the Region tournament and onto Nationals.” Curtis put up fifteen of her game-high 21 points in the first half, 12 of which came from beyond the arc. In addition to her scoring prowess, the guard grabbed 12 rebounds. Vicky DeTata (Brick, NJ/Brick) followed in Curtis’ footsteps with a monster outing, putting up 20 points and dishing out 10 assists for a double-double of her own. The squad had 17 total assists. Fellow co-head Marianne Campacci continued, “our team had a bulls-eye on their back and they knew it. The whole team played together – our bench supported us well, we owned the boards and made the assists when we needed to.” The Jersey Blues, who have been ranked in the top 10 in the country all season and have held the second spot since February 3rd, will anxiously wait for its seed in the eight-team tournament that begins on March 11th in Rochester, MN. “We need to keep the intensity up as we head into Nationals. We’re not going to have this comfort zone,” concluded Curtis.
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