With just three returning varsity players, the High School South basketball team knew it had some work to do heading into the 2014-’15 season. The squad finished the year at 9-15, and fell to Sayreville, 54-41, in the first round of the state tournament on March 2.
“I had certainly hoped for a better season record-wise, and I think that they probably would have hoped to fare a little better too,” South coach Mika Ryan said.
Ryan wanted the team to earn some wins in the Mercer County Tournament, but the team dropped its first-round game to Trenton by just two points on February 20.
For some, Ryan said, the transition from junior varsity to varsity was not an easy one, and the majority of the young, inexperienced team made the leap.
“It’s a big step from being a JV player to being a competitive varsity player,” Ryan said. “And we had some who answered the bell and some who did not.”
Ryan said she thought Charisse Watts stood out the most among all promoted players. She finished the season with 76 points, the most of the former JV athletes.
“She just plays hard every time she steps on the court. [It] doesn’t matter who the opponent is, what time of day it is, where we’re playing, she’s just a real competitor all the time,” Ryan said. “I really think just Charisse is head and shoulders above everybody else. We’ll see more improvement over the summer and next fall.”
Rachel Goldfinger and junior twin sisters Alyssen and Alyssa Rivers have led the team as the three returning varsity players under a tri-captain system. Ryan, who called the three “fine leaders,” pointed to Goldfinger and Alyssa Rivers as two of the team’s top players. Goldfinger, the team’s only senior, scored a team-high 230 points and made 80 field goals through 21 games.
“I felt [she] really improved from last season where she played more of a supporting role than a starter, and started for us this year and I felt it really made a big impact on our team,” Ryan said.
Alyssa Rivers recorded a team-high 230 points, with 23 three-pointers, while her twin Alyssen Rivers had 218. In January the former made the switch to point guard.
“If you’re not a natural point guard and you haven’t played it most of your life, it’s a hard position to play,” Ryan said. “It’s like asking somebody to step in and be quarterback after they’ve been a wide receiver their entire career. I thought she did a tremendous job for us, always trying to get things right, get people in the right place, and very communicative.”
Goldfinger, the Rivers twins, and Watts were the only players to play in 20 games this season.
“Basketball’s just hard to play, and there were times when we just weren’t up to the challenges,” Ryan said. “It’s a tough league, and I wish we had played a little better in the middle of the year and produced a little more, a little better record.”
It was an early exit for High School North girls’ basketball as well, as the Knights also fell in the first round of the state tournament, 53-21, to Freehold Township. The team finished with an 11-15 record, and dropped both games against South this season.
North started the year on a five-game losing streak, earning its first win of the season on January 8 against Pennington, 44-37. The win sparked a seven-game streak, but the squad fell in the first round Mercer County Tournament, dropping a 49-28 decision to Steinert.
Jasmin Watson recorded a team-high 261 points, while Chrissy DiCindio had 252, and Natalie Everett added 209. Everett made 46 three-pointers to lead the team.
