Glen Ridge HS girls’ basketball team returns all five starters; looks to have another strong season

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GLEN RIDGE, NJ – With all five returning starters, the Glen Ridge High School girls’ varsity basketball team has high hopes this season.

GRHS last season finished a respectable 15-11.

The returning starters are:

• Claire McMahon, senior forward/captain.
• Jenny Lisovicz, senior guard/captain
• Sarah Cullinan, junior guard
• Haleigh Pine, junior guard
• Michaila Dowd, junior forward

McMahon, who made First Team on the All-Super Essex Conference-Colonial Division last season, is nearing 1,000 career points. Last season, she scored more than 300 points and needs approximately another 300 points to reach that milestone.

Lisovicz made Honorable Mention on the All-SEC-Colonial Division a year ago.

Other key returning players are senior forward Zipporah Hommel and sophomore guard  Olivia Carbonell.

Second-year head coach Joe Mazzarella is excited about the three freshmen on the team. They are guards Elletra Giantomenico and Holly Vincent, and forward Taylor Goffe.

Juniors Kaylie Koenig and Macy Weber-Zazzu, and sophomores Grace Bayne and  Jillian Goffe also gained valuable varsity experience last season.

The Ridgers hope to avoid a sluggish start that impacted them last season.

“One of the things that hurt us last year was getting off to such a slow start,” Mazzarella said, referring to the 3-6 start last year. The team finished the season on a 12-5 run. “I think a lot of that had to do with inexperience – we were very young last year. So that’s our main focus right now, getting off to a quick start by getting into ‘basketball mode’ now and not in January.

“Having said all of that, the girls understand the expectations of the season. They’re ready for the challenge, and I think if we keep that focus, we can win the conference and make a deep run in the section come March.”

GRHS once again will compete in the SEC-Colonial, which includes Wet Essex, Verona, Caldwell, Mount St. Dominic, Shabazz, and Orange.

Schedule

Dec. 14, Orange, 7 p.m.

Dec. 15, at David Brearley, 11:30 a.m.

Dec. 18, Shabazz, 4 p.m.

Dec. 20, at West Essex, 7 p.m.

Dec. 21, Benedictine Academy, 4 p.m.

Dec. 27, Glen Ridge Holiday Tournament, vs. People’s Prep Charter, 3:30 p.m.

Dec. 29, Glen Ridge Holiday Tournament, vs. Bloomfield, 11:30 a.m.

Jan. 3, Science Park, 7 p.m.

Jan. 4, at Central, 7 p.m.

Jan. 7, at Livingston, 4 p.m.

Jan. 10, at Mount St. Dominic, 4 p.m.

Jan. 15, at Verona, 4 p.m.

Jan. 17, Caldwell, 7 p.m.

Jan. 19, Newark Academy, 11:30 a.m.

Jan. 22, at Orange, 4 p.m.

Jan. 24, at Shabazz, 4 p.m.

Jan. 26, West Essex, 11:30 a.m.

Jan. 29, at Union, 4 p.m.

Feb. 5, Mount St. Dominic, 4 p.m.

Feb. 12, Verona, 7 p.m.

Feb. 14, at Caldwell, 4 p.m.

Feb. 19, Montclair Kimberley, 7 p.m.

Feb. 21, Ridgewood, 4 p.m.

  Glen Ridge High School girls basketball