Basketball: Girls Seeded 13th, Boys 15th

As the winter sports seasons wind down for all high school sports, preparations for postseason play commence.

The New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association announced playoff opponents today for the girls and boys basketball teams.

The Maroon girls enter the North I, Group IV playoffs seeded No. 13 with a road berth March 2. Fortunately for the girls, they'll face a Fair Lawn team they beat 77 to 70 Feb. 12.

A young club, the girls have battled to an 11-10 record. In their victory over Fair Lawn (13-8), three players hit double digits in scoring (Kelci Smesko—29 points, Meghan Roxas—19 points, and Caitlin Alvaro—14 points) on their way to a thrilling triple-overtime win.

Before its March playoff date, Ridgewood takes on Teaneck (Feb. 16), Paramus (Feb. 18), and West Milford (Feb. 23).

Despite its subpar record, the boys basketball team (8-12) has hung in to stay competitive throughout the season. As a No. 15 seed, the Maroons will face No. 2 John F. Kennedy High School in Paterson March 2.

In a mid-January game, Kennedy beat the Maroons 53-44 in Paterson. Daquere Hayes led the Knights in scoring with 15 points.

To close out its regular season, Ridgewood will play Teaneck (Feb. 16), Paramus (Feb. 18), Ramapo (Feb. 20) and West Milford (Feb. 23).

Ice Hockey

The Maroons ice hockey team has ripped off a six-game unbeaten streak to put itself on the brink of first place.

With four wins and two ties since Jan. 24, Ridgewood (11-8-2) is within a point of first place Hackensack in the Hudson/Bergen Division of the Tri-County Hockey League. During their hot streak, Ridgewood is outscoring opponents 32-11.

In their last game Feb. 13, the Maroons shut out Hudson Catholic 5-0. Peter Kloak scored twice, and Alex Santoliquido made seven saves in the shutout.

Ridgewood takes on Bayonne (Feb. 18) and Wayne Hills (Feb. 19) to end the regular season.

Wrestling

After dropping its quarterfinal state sectional match Feb. 8 verse West Orange, the Maroon wrestling team split four contests on its way to this week's district meets.

Although the team beat Wayne Hills (42-29) and River Dell (44-31), Ridgewood lost to Wayne Valley (45-27) and Paramus (56-4). The Paramus defeat earlier today was particularly painful, as Brandon Giovanetti was the only Maroon to secure a win.

Recently the team has struggled, but has still managed to post a remarkable 16-5 record this season. The Maroons will tune up through the February high school break in preparation for their Feb. 19 district tournament at Fair Lawn.