Starting the season with back-to-back matchups against state-ranked teams like Hudson Catholic and Bayonne might not have been an ideal way for the Kearny girls basketball team to begin its season.
And while the Kardinals started 0-2, veteran head coach Jody Hill saw enough positives that there was a confidence that better days were to come for Kearny.
“It’s tough to bounce back if you just look at it as a negative thing,” said Hill. “But we didn’t, we tried to find all the positives from it and we knew the games coming up after that were all going to be competitive and winnable games.
“We’re just moving on from it and looking for the positive things to come.”
The second week of the season brought plenty of positivity as Kearny responded with three consecutive wins. The last two coming as part of the annual Charlie Dolan Holiday Tournament, Kearny hosts. After defeating Weehawken in the first round, the Kardinals delivered its most impressive performance of the young season, a 62-35 victory over Passaic Tech in the title game on Saturday.
“We’re off to a really good start when it comes to sharing the basketball,” Hill said. “We’re super proud of how we’re making the unselfish pass. We have the concept of ‘one more,’ where if there’s one more pass to be made, somebody’s more open than you and the girls are really unselfishly making that pass.”
Leading the way for Kearny has been sophomore Makayla David, who is currently averaging 20.0 points per game and rapidly establishing herself as one of the top guards in North Jersey. David erupted for a career-high 36 points in a Dec. 23 victory over North Star Academy, then was named MVP of the Charlie Dolan Holiday Tournament after averaging 20.5 points in the two games, making four 3-pointers in each win.
“Makayla’s a very talented shooter and she has put in a tremendous amount of time to become a great shooter,” said Hill. “But what makes her difficult to defend is she knows how to move without the ball and she’s also great off the dribble. She has a nice floater, she has a nice pullup jumper. So it’s not that she can only hit wide open shots, she’s going to create for herself as well.”
Another returning starter in the back court is Mariel Ruiz, who is averaging 12.2 points per game. Ruiz, a junior, was named to the All-Tournament along with Olivia Covello, after scoring 16 points in the title game against Passaic Tech.
“When both (Mariel and Makayla) are hitting shots, we are very, very dangerous,” Hill said. “Mariel has a beautiful three point shot, but could also get to the rim and she’s a great passer for us.”
Covello, a senior committed to play soccer at Iona, is another veteran at guard, who does a little bit of everything on the court as shown in the final when she had six points, seven rebounds, four assists and four steals.
Kearny fourth starting guard, senior Krystel Gomez has emerged as the team’s lead defender and is averaging three steals per game at the top of the full-court press that has long been a staple for the Kardinals.
Kearny’s lack of size has pushed 5-foot-8 soccer standout Mason Gryckiewicz into a role where she’s often defending the other team’s top forward and has to be a presence as a rebounder. It’s a task she’s taken on, while also being a highly skilled passer as well.
Senior Johanna Escalante is the top forward off the bench and a source of rebounding and defense. Johanna’s younger sister freshman Joli Escalante is expected to bolster the front line when the 5-foot-10 sophomore returns in the upcoming days from a torn ACL suffered last January.
Senior Briana Reyes is another source of rebounding off the bench, while senior captain Jordan Bailey is an offensive spark plug and shooter.
Senior Jiante Ferreira and sophomores Casey Crown and Vanessa Ruiz bring added depth off the bench.
Kearny looks to continue its winning ways on Friday when it travels to Jersey City for a division matchup with St. Dominic before facing two more big tests with a home game against Union City on Jan. 7 and a road trip to Snyder on Jan. 9.
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Jason Bernstein | Observer Sports Writer
Jason Bernstein joined The Observer as its sports writer in March 2022, following the retirement of Jim Hague. He has a wealth of sports-writing experience, including for NJ Advance Media (nj.com, The Jersey Journal, The Star-Ledger.)