With something to prove, Nutley girls basketball tops last year’s win total

There’s no denying that the Nutley girls basketball team has experienced plenty of growth over the last 12 months. The most tangible example of that came on Thursday night when it went to arch-rival Bloomfield and defeated the Bengals, 53-50 in overtime.

Not only was it a second win over Bloomfield, a team it lost to twice a season ago, but the victory, the Maroon Raiders’ ninth of the season, exceeded the total of a year ago.

“They feel like they have something to prove and that definitely helps drive their motivation,” said first year head coach Kara McNish. “They have all these teams that they haven’t beaten in years that they’ve played against their whole life, like Bloomfield and West Essex. They kind of feel like they’re getting some redemption and that definitely helps motivate them.”

Nearly the entire roster is back from last year’s tumultuous 8-15 season, a far cry from its current 9-5 mark.

“They’ve been playing together since they were young in elementary school, through middle school,” McNish said. “And most of them (have been together) on varsity since their freshman and sophomore years.”

Leading the group so far has been senior Anna Green, who has emerged as one of Essex’s County better guards.Green has scored in double-figures in all, but one game this season, averaging 15.5 points per contest.

“This year she’s just kind of taking control of the game,” McNish said. “She’s a scoring threat, but does all the little things on defense. She gets everybody going. She’s just an all-around player and it’s hard to take her off the court.”

Joining Green in the backcourt is senior point guard Cynthis DePersio, who leads the team in assists with 49 and is an active rebounder and defender despite being just 5-foot-1.

“She is so fast and athletic and she makes these moves to the basket and draws the defenders and dished the ball,” said McNish. “She really controls the tempo of our game. And she’s so good defensively, she takes charges and her body falls everywhere. She just sacrifices every time she’s on the floor. She’s tenacious for someone that’s only 5-1.”

Grace Christie brings versatility and another perimeter shooter to the lineup. The junior 5-foot-7 is second on the team in 3-pointers with 18, but can also play with her back to the basket. That position versatility allows McNish to deploy a guard-heavy lineup with senior Riley Sebastiano coming off the bench.

Starting at center is 6-foot-0 Isabel Riccardi, who is averaging 8.1 points per game, but makes her biggest impact on the defensive end where she averages 8.4 rebounds and 3.5 blocks per contest.

“She blocks everything that comes in into her area and when we play certain teams and I know that they rely mainly on the dribble drive, we can sit in a 2-3 zone and she’s in the middle and basically denies pretty much everything that comes her way,” said McNish, an accomplished forward at Hawthorne and Mount Saint Vincent. “Isabel runs the floor so well that a lot of time we will kick it to her on a fast break.”

Both Ricardi and fellow starting forward Mina Shaw are cross country runners in the fall, allowing Nutley to play big without having to slow its pace. The 5-foot-9 senior is averaging 7.6 rebounds per game.

Adding to the depth up front is freshman Kaitlyn Nellegar, who is averaging 4.3 rebounds per game and is sure to be a name to watch in the future.

Senior Morgan Dolaghan is a key defender off the bench and sophomore Makayla Albert is a versatile athlete who can play multiple positions.

McNish also gave praise to assistants Ava Mandala and Megan Ginter, who were added to the staff after McNish moved up to head coach this past summer.

Nutley takes a three-game winning streak into Tuesday’s SEC – Liberty Division showdown against second place Glen Ridge. Last week the Raiders were awarded the 10th seed in the Essex County Tournament, earning a bye into the second preliminary round where they will face the winner of Livingston and Newark Collegiate on Thursday.

A win on Thursday will give Nutley a matchup on Saturday at seventh-seeded Caldwell.

Bloomfield also earned a bye into the second preliminary round as an 11-seed and will host the Millburn-Arts winner on Thursday. Belleville, seeded 25th, plays 24th-seeded Science Park in a preliminary round game set for Monday afternoon after The Observer’s deadline.

 

 

 

 

There’s no denying that the Nutley girls basketball team has experienced plenty of growth over the last 12 months. The most tangible example of that came on Thursday night when it went to arch-rival Bloomfield and defeated the Bengals, 53-50 in overtime.

 

Not only was it a second win over Bloomfield, a team it lost to twice a season ago, but the victory, the Maroon Raiders’ ninth of the season, exceeded the total of a year ago.

 

“They feel like they have something to prove and that definitely helps drive their motivation,” said first year head coach Kara McNish. “They have all these teams that they haven’t beaten in years that they’ve played against their whole life, like Bloomfield and West Essex. They kind of feel like they’re getting some redemption and that definitely helps motivate them.”

 

Nearly the entire roster is back from last year’s tumultuous 8-15 season, a far cry from its current 9-5 mark.

 

“They’ve been playing together since they were young in elementary school, through middle school,” McNish said. “And most of them (have been together) on varsity since their freshman and sophomore years.”

 

Leading the group so far has been senior Anna Green, who has emerged as one of Essex’s County better guards.Green has scored in double-figures in all, but one game this season, averaging 15.5 points per contest.

 

“This year she’s just kind of taking control of the game,” McNish said. “She’s a scoring threat, but does all the little things on defense. She gets everybody going. She’s just an all-around player and it’s hard to take her off the court.”

 

Joining Green in the backcourt is senior point guard Cynthis DePersio, who leads the team in assists with 49 and is an active rebounder and defender despite being just 5-foot-1.

 

“She is so fast and athletic and she makes these moves to the basket and draws the defenders and dished the ball,” said McNish. “She really controls the tempo of our game. And she’s so good defensively, she takes charges and her body falls everywhere. She just sacrifices every time she’s on the floor. She’s tenacious for someone that’s only 5-1.”

 

Grace Christie brings versatility and another perimeter shooter to the lineup. The junior 5-foot-7 is second on the team in 3-pointers with 18, but can also play with her back to the basket. That position versatility allows McNish to deploy a guard-heavy lineup with senior Riley Sebastiano coming off the bench.

 

Starting at center is 6-foot-0 Isabel Riccardi, who is averaging 8.1 points per game, but makes her biggest impact on the defensive end where she averages 8.4 rebounds and 3.5 blocks per contest.

 

“She blocks everything that comes in into her area and when we play certain teams and I know that they rely mainly on the dribble drive, we can sit in a 2-3 zone and she’s in the middle and basically denies pretty much everything that comes her way,” said McNish, an accomplished forward at Hawthorne and Mount Saint Vincent. “Isabel runs the floor so well that a lot of time we will kick it to her on a fast break.”

 

Both Ricardi and fellow starting forward Mina Shaw are cross country runners in the fall, allowing Nutley to play big without having to slow its pace. The 5-foot-9 senior is averaging 7.6 rebounds per game.

 

Adding to the depth up front is freshman Kaitlyn Nellegar, who is averaging 4.3 rebounds per game and is sure to be a name to watch in the future.

 

Senior Morgan Dolaghan is a key defender off the bench and sophomore Makayla Albert is a versatile athlete who can play multiple positions.

 

Nutley takes a three-game winning streak into Tuesday’s SEC – Liberty Division showdown against second place Glen Ridge. Last week the Raiders were awarded the 10th seed in the Essex County Tournament, earning a bye into the second preliminary round where they will face the winner of Livingston and Newark Collegiate on Thursday.

 

A win on Thursday will give Nutley a matchup on Saturday at seventh-seeded Caldwell.

 

Bloomfield also earned a bye into the second preliminary round as an 11-seed and will host the Millburn-Arts winner on Thursday. Belleville, seeded 25th, plays 24th-seeded Science Park in a preliminary round game set for Monday afternoon after The Observer’s deadline.