Glen Ridge HS girls’ basketball team shows resiliency this season

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GLEN RIDGE – The Glen Ridge High School girls’ varsity basketball team enjoyed an impressive season under first-year head coach Joe Mazzarella.

The Ridgers, which finished with a 15-11 overall record, were led by All-Super Essex Conference-Colonial Division honorees Claire McMahon and Jenny Lisovicz.

McMahon, a junior, made First Team on the All-SEC-Colonial. She averaged 12 points, eight rebounds, two steals, and two blocks per game.  

Lisovicz, another junior, averaged seven points and four steals per game to earn Honorable Mention on the All-SEC-Colonial.

The Ridgers bounced back nicely after a 3-6 start to the season, going 12-5 to end the campaign. In the Essex County Tournament, the team reached the round of 16 where it lost to Newark Tech, which went on to win the county title for the second straight year.

The Ridgers also made it to the quarterfinals of the NJSIAA North Jersey Section 2, Group 1 state tournament, falling to second-seeded Dayton to finish the season.

Mazzarella was delighted with his team’s season.

“Along our journey we had some amazing wins that not only were fun and exciting for everyone this season, but certainly helped us grow as a basketball team heading into future seasons,” Mazzarella said. “Those wins include the Christmas tournament championship versus Bloomfield, our 20-point win over Montclair in the ECT, and our victory over Verona on their senior night.”

With a strong returning group, the Ridgers are looking forward to next season.

“Ten of our 12 varsity athletes will be returning to our team next year,” said Mazzarella, “so we’re very excited about all of that experience retuning and pairing it with some young talent that we have coming up next year.”