Photos by Steve Ellmore: Nutley vs. Columbia HS, Jan. 30, at Columbia HS, Maplewood.
NUTLEY, NJ – The Nutley High School girls’ varsity basketball team won the Super Essex Conference-Liberty Division championship this season.
The Raiders, under head coach Larry Mitschow, clinched the title with a 60-21 road win over Montclair Kimberley Academy on Feb. 20. Sophomore guard Abby Scheidel had 21 points; junior center Alaina Feaster had 11 points; junior forward Lindsey Norton and junior guard Courtney Wilde each scored six; junior forward Rebecca Granata and sophomore guard Jaden Long had five apiece; sophomore forward Sofia Lamond scored four and junior center Mackenzie Moraski added two for Nutley, which won its fourth straight game and seventh in the past eight games to improve to a 15-8 overall record and 13-1 in the division. The SEC-Liberty is the second-highest division among the five divisions in the conference.
For the Raiders, it marks their second division championship since 1994. The other division title came in 2012. What’s particularly impressive is that the Raiders do not have any seniors on the roster.
The win streak started after Nutley lost to Verona, 41-30, in the first round of the Essex County Tournament at home on Feb. 10. Wilde had nine points; Granata had seven; and Feaster and Scheidel each added six for the eighth-seeded Raiders. Verona was the No. 9 seed.
Nutley bounced back with a 58-24 home win over Caldwell in a SEC non-division game on Feb. 12, led by Wilde’s 25 points and Scheidel’s 14 points. Feaster had 12 points and Moraski added five points.
Nutley rallied to beat Columbia, 50-43, Feb. 14, at home. Wilde had 18 poins; Granata had 14; Scheidel had 10 and Feaster added six for the Raiders, who outscored Columbia, 17-5, in the fourth quarter.
Nutley defeated Newark Academy, 60-36, Feb. 15, at home. Wilde scored 21 points; Scheidel had 19 points; Feaster had 11; Granata netted five; and Lamond and Long each added two.
After starting the season with a 6-6 record, Nutley won nine of the next 11 games.
Other key contributors for Nutley this season are junior guard Nicole Sullivan and sophomore guard Lucia Rizzuto.
Nutley is the No. 8 seed in the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association North Jersey Section 2,Group 3 state tournament. The Raiders will host No. 9 seed Summit on Feb. 26 in the first round. The winner will face the winner of top-seeded Somerville and No. 16 seed Parsippany Hills in the quarterfinals on Feb. 28.
Mitschow, indeed, has been proud of his team’s strong second half of the season.
“I am very proud of our team this season,” he said. “The team chemistry is the best I have seen since I became head coach six years ago. The girls love playing together, and get along great off the court as well. It has been a pleasure to coach them. Our main goal this year was to win the division. That goal was in jeopardy as we fell behind Columbia by nine points late in the third quarter. We played one of our best quarters all year, to come from behind and pull away late. That was exciting to watch.The only loss the past couple weeks was to Verona in the Essex County Tournament. We just came out a little flat, and couldn’t get anything going offensively. It was just one of those days, and unfortunately it was a county game. With the states coming up, the girls are pumped, as am I. I really think if we play well, we can make some noise in the tournament.”
Leading the way for the Raiders have been Scheidel, who was averaging 14.5 points per game; Wilde, 11.4 points per game; Granata, 8.5 points per game; and Feaster, 5.5 points per game.
“These four players have had great seasons for us,” said Mitschow. “They have been consistent all year. we have no seniors, so the future is bright as well.”
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