NUTLEY, NJ – The Nutley High School girls’ varsity basketball team, under head coach Larry Mitschow, has been giving strong efforts this season.
The Raiders posted a key 50-47 home win over Newark Arts on Jan. 23 in a battle of the top two teams in the Super Essex Conference-Liberty Division. Nutley improved to a 7-6 overall record and moved into first place in the division at 6-1. The Raiders avenged a 46-31 loss to Newark Arts in their second game of the season on Dec. 19.
Mischow has acknowledged that the team has endured an up-and-down season, but has shown much improvement.
Despite not having any seniors, NHS boasts solid experience this season. The returning players from last season are:
• Courtney Wilde, junior guard
• Abby Scheidel, sophomore guard
• Rebecca Granata, junior forward
• Alaina Feaster, junior center
• Lindsey Norton, junior forward
• Mackenzie Moraski, junior center.
The key newcomers are:
• Sofia Lamond, sophomore forward
• Jaden Long, sophomore guard
• Nicole Sullivan, junior guard
• Lucia Rizzuto, sophomore guard
Wilde and Feaster serve as the captains.
Feaster scored 15 points and grabbed 21 rebounds and Granata had 13 points to lead Nutley to a 62-41 division win over Newark Collegiate Academy on Jan. 9. Scheidel had 12 points; Wilde had 10 and Moraski and Norton each had six.
Scheidel scored 19 points in the 61-22 division road win over Orange on Jan. 18. Wilde and Granata each had 10 points; Lamond had six points; and Moraski had five points.
Nutley lost at Bloomfield Tech, 55-44, Jan. 20, in West Caldwell in the team’s fourth straight road contest. Scheidel had 17 points and Long had seven.
The Raiders returned home and posted the big win over Arts, led by Scheidel, who had 20 points, including three three-pointers.
Wilde had 11 points and Granata added eight points as Nutley handed Newark Arts its first division loss. Arts moved to 10-3 overall and 5-1 in the division.
MItchow feels his team can be a strong contender.
“Even though we don’t have any seniors, there is enough experience on this team to compete in our county and in the state tournament,” he said. “We have a great group of kids who really enjoy playing with one another.”
Mitschow is looking for his team to improve on converting its layups and to finish fast-break opportunities.
‘“I know that if we play solid for four quarters, we can play with most teams in our area,” he said.
Through 12 games, Scheidel leads the team in scoring average at 13 points per game. She also leads the team in assists per game and three-pointers per game.
Wilde was averaging 11 points per game, while Granata was averaging 8 points, and Feaster and Norton were averaging 4 points per game. Feaster leads the team in rebounding.
The Essex County Tournament seeding meeting was scheduled for Jan. 29. The state tournament begins the week of Feb. 26.
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