West Orange HS girls hoops loaded this season

WEST ORANGE, NJ — With a strong returning group, the West Orange High School girls basketball team is looking to achieve another great season, after winning the county and state sectional tournament titles and finishing as the Group 4 state runner-up last season, falling to Hillsborough 55-52 at Rutgers University to end with a 26-8 record.

“The team has worked hard in the off-season to build great chemistry amongst returning players and players that are new to the program,” according to an email from WOHS assistant coach Meghan Colabella to the West Orange Chronicle. “We are focusing on playing aggressive, but smart team defense, and on the offensive side of the ball, we are emphasizing creating shots for teammates and having improved movement off of the ball.”

The Mountaineers won their season opener, defeating Dunmore, of Pennslyvaia, 37-36 on Sunday, Dec. 14, at the Electric City Madness Showcase hosted at Lackawanna College in Scranton, Pa.

Here are the WOHS key players, with comments from Colabella’s email:

Rhyan Watt. “She is our returning leading scorer. We are looking for her to continue to be aggressive offensively and also increase her assists. Defensively, we are looking for her to be one of our leaders in steals and to become more active on the defensive glass.”
London Caldwell. “She is a senior transfer and we are looking for her to be one of our top scorers this year, especially hitting spot-up threes and finishing through contact on her drives to the rim. Defensively, she brings a lot of energy that we are looking to turn into steals and easy points going the other way.”
Kennedy Curry. “We are looking for this returning varsity player to be one of our consistent threats from deep and to be able to defend both the perimeter and the post.”
Jordyn Batts. “This returning senior provides us with balanced and composed energy on both offense and defense. She is a hard worker and we are looking for her to increase her aggression on offense and continue to be one of our reliable, lock-down perimeter defenders.”
Taraji Muhammad. “She is stepping into a larger role on varsity this year. She provides quickness and tenacity on defense and is a solid offensive threat that other teams cannot sleep on.”
Lynn Charles. “She is another player who is stepping into a larger role on varsity this year. Lynn projects to be a dominant force on the boards and a major disrupter at the rim with her ability to block and alter shots.”
Elianna Denis. “She brings the hustle, good vibes and energy to our team, not to mention that she does not shy away from a big shot in a big moment!”

Watt, Caldwell, Batts and Curry have starting experience.

Caldwell had 14 points and Watt had nine points in the season opener.

Colabella said the Mountaineers’ goals and expectations are to play team basketball on both sides of the ball. Defensively, they want to make sure that players are in help side and moving on the flight of the ball, she added.

Communicating with their teammates is also emphasized.

Offensively, Colabella said the team wants to ensure that the players are focusing on creating shots for their teammates, moving off of the ball, running hard and to the proper spots in transition, and making that extra pass to get the best shot.

Colabella also included thoughts and advice on free-throw shooting in her email.

“Free-throw shooting is very important. They are uncontested shots that are not rushed. If you can’t make shots from the line, those are possessions where you are not putting points on the scoreboard for your team. If you are down in a game, they are also a way for you to score and cut into the lead without any time coming off of the clock.

“The first thing is to simply work on your shooting form to make sure that it is solid. You also want to establish a consistent routine to get you into a good rhythm. It is also important to practice free-throws when you are tired in practice and to create end of game pressure situations in practice where making key free-throws is involved. Basically, doing the best you can in practice to create those close moments at the end of games.”

Notes — Last season, the team was led by since-graduated Anaya Karriem and Kyley Gary-Grayson.

Karriem, a center, scored her 1,000th career point and grabbed her 1,000th career rebound during the Group 4 state championship game. She is playing at Division 1 North Carolina A&T.

Gary-Grayson, a guard, finished her career with 1,369 points. She is playing at Division 1 Coppin State University.