Area prep schools excited about upcoming season
The 2018-19 high school girls’ basketball season tips off Friday night when five of Mercer County’s six prep schools get into action.
Three of those teams (Peddie, Pennington and Stuart Country Day School) will take part in the twoday Peddie School Tip-Off Tournament, which begins at 6 p.m. Friday with defending Prep B champ Stuart taking on defending Prep A champ Pennington. Peddie follows at 7:30 p.m versus the Loomis Chaffee School from Windsor, Conn.
Pennington, which finished No. 2 in the area a year ago, returns three starters from that team. Head coach Jeff Eckerson added five new players, who he hopes will help the Red Raiders find the same flow they achieved last season.
“We’ll be replacing the top scorer and top rebounder in our program’s history,” Eckerson said, referring to Carly Rice and Ayanna Johnson. “We have a lot of new talent. We’ll see how we mesh together.”
He will have 6-foot-2 senior center Leah Johnson, who averaged 13.9 points per game in 2017-18; 5-5 senior point guard Diamond Christian, who averaged 10.6 ppg last season, and 5-10 senior forward Gianna Lucchesi, the club’s defensive stopper, plus a solid supporting cast back to face a challenging schedule.
Stuart, which also finished in the Top 10 a year ago, graduated its top scorer in Jalynn Spaulding, but will have 5-10 senior forward Bey-Shana Clark, who already has 1,197 career points. She will be aided by 5-9 sophomore guard/ forward Nia Melvin, who poured in 14.5 ppg last season, and 5-8 junior guard Jasmine Hansford, who chipped in 7.4 ppg.
“We’ve looked really, really good,” said Tartans head coach Justin Leith, who added 6-4 sophomore Laila Fair, a transfer from Middlesex High, and Trenton High guard Gabriela Velazquez-Gonzalez. “This is basically a young team, so we’ll have a lot to work on. The season should be challenging, but fun.”
Peddie graduated top scorer Natalie Stralkus, saw 3-point threat Kylie Favours transfer, then had top returning scorer Janayshia Brown, a 6-1 junior guard, go down with an injury, leaving head coach Sarah Venanzi looking for new scoring options. Leading the list of contenders will be 6-2 senior forward/center Katie Rodriguez with plenty of room for more scorers to step forward.
“I’m proud of how the kids have stepped up,” said Venanzi, who will have assistant coach Grant Edwards fill in for her on the sidelines until January after the birth of her and husband Anthony’s second child. “The girls have been playing with a reckless abandon that’s refreshing to see.”
The Lawrenceville School and Princeton Day School will also begin their seasons Friday under the direction of new head coaches.
Grey Simpson, who coached Hill from 20072014, moves over to Lawrenceville, while former Lehigh University player Liz Sharlow takes over at PDS.
Simpson, whose team opens at Shipley, has no seniors on his roster, so will count on juniors like 5-6 guard Heaven Figueroa, who averaged 15.9 ppg last year, and 5-8 forward Victoria Dugan, who chipped in 8.5 ppg, to lead the way.
“It’s exciting to have a young group as a new coach,” Simpson said. “We’ll have a lot of opportunities to improve.”
Sharlow, whose team opens at Hill, will also have a young squad, but has three seniors for leadership. One of those is 10.3 ppg scorer Brooke Smukler, who is a 5-8 guard/forward.
“This year our goal is to work together as a team, compete to the best of our abilities and be positive reflections of the PDS community,” Sharlow said.
Head coach Bill Holup will begin his 20th year as Hun’s head coach when the Raiders host Stuart Tuesday, Dec. 4. He will have two of his top scorers from last season returning in 5-8 senior guard/forward Jada Jones, who led the team with 15.9 ppg, and 5-9 sophomore Kennedy Jardine, who added 9.1 ppg.
“This year, we’re much smaller, but we’re adjusting,” said Holup, who has no player taller than 5-9. “The season will be a challenge, but we have a young, solid group of hard workers.”
Player
Jada Jones Leah Sutphen Erin Harrigan Nicole Angelini Emily Buckley Alexis English Kennedy Jardine
Height
5-8 5-7 5-9 5-5 5-7 5-3 5-9
Yr.
Sr. Sr. Sr. Jr. Jr. Jr. So.
Pos
G/F F F G G G G Izzy Lalo Kiera Hahn Olivia White 5-2 So. 5-7 Fr. 5-5 Fr. Bill Holup (20th season). Julie Davis.
7-15 overall, 1-4 in MAPL. The Raiders graduated two players from last season and had another not return, leaving them a little undersized this winter. Holup’s players will have to work hard at both ends of the floor, which should make them capable of surprising some teams.
Head Coach — Assistant Coach — Last Season — Outlook — Player
Heaven Figueroa Victoria Dugan Audrey Safir Maxima Molgat Jeree Murray Maddy Mario Paige Gillen Mackenzie Bunnell Alyna Balewitz Gabrielle Hemenes Taylor Simpson Campbell FitzHugh Annie Katz
Head Coach —
season). 5-6 Jr. 5-8 Jr. 5-10 Jr. 5-7 Jr. 5-6 Jr. 5-7 Jr. 5-7 So. 5-7 So. 5-9 So. 6-1 Fr. 5-8 Fr. 5-11 Fr. 5-6 Fr. Grey Simpson (first
Assistant Coaches —
Pine.
Last Season — Outlook —
8-11 overall, 3-2 in MAPL. The Big Red had two players graduate from last year’s team, but also had two players decide not to return, leaving a very young squad for new head coach Simpson, who replaces Antoine Hart after four seasons at the helm. Patience will be key as L’ville matures.
Player
Katie Rodriguez 6-2 Sr. Sarah DiLuzio 5-6 Sr. Janayshia Brown 6-1 Jr. Kharma Hall 6-1 Jr. McKenzie Guest-Hicks 5-7 Jr. Christine Markey 5-5 Jr. Julia Gorajek 5-6 Jr. Mya Ademiola 5-11 So. Ekene Owunna 5-10 So. Kayla Henry 5-9 Fr. Alexis Tamm 5-6 Fr. Melanie Hale 5-7 Fr. Ciara Loughran 5-6 Fr.
Sarah Venanzi (eighth
Head Coach —
season).
Assistant Coaches —
Grant Edwards.
7-16 overall, 3-2 in MAPL, MAPL Tournament runner-up.
Three players graduated, leaving the Falcons with an experienced lineup even though a couple returnees more will not be playing. Without its top three scorers from a year ago, Peddie will have to find a more offensive weapons to support its stingy defense.
Last Season — Outlook — Player
Leah Johnson Gianna Lucchesi Diamond Christian Emma Garry Amy Garry Taylor Blunt Erika Makela Dana Kiefer
Height Pos
Charise Hall, Jessica
Height
Eric Gustavson,
Height
6-2 5-10 5-5 5-10 5-7 5-9 5-6 5-11
Yr. Yr. Yr.
Sr. Sr. Sr. Sr. Sr. Jr. Jr. So. G G F G F F G G G G F G F G C G
Pos
F/C G G F/C G G G F G/F G/F G G G
Pos
C F G F G G G F Sophia Kavulich Ava Kavulich Jackie King Marie Kathryn Kramli Brynne Taranto Jenna Bluni
Head Coach —
season).
Assistant Coach — Last Season —
Holly Jones.
23-3 overall, Mercer County Tournament runner-up, NJISAA Prep A Tournament champion, No. 2 in Top 15.
The Red Raiders graduated four players, including two starters, so they will need a couple more to become regular contributors. Even without a couple of its stars from a year ago, Pennington should prove to be one of the best teams in the area again this winter.
Outlook — Player
Brooke Smukler 5-8 Sr. G/F Gwen Allen 6-1 Sr. F Laurie Peters-Acceus 5-7 Sr. G/F Margaret Amaral 5-9 Jr. F Carly Kunkle 5-6 Jr. G Anna Ellwood 5-6 So. G Caroline Topping 5-6 So. G Abby Weinstein 5-5 So. G Anna-Marie Zhang 5-5 So. G Elle Anhut 5-5 Fr. G/F Madeline Nowack 5-5 Fr. G/F Tyler Robinson 5-5 Fr. G/F Meghan Zarish-Yasunas 5-5 Fr. G/F Liz Sharlow (first season).
Emilie Miller, Kira
Head Coach — Assistant Coaches —
Dudeck. 5-6 So. 5-6 So. 5-6 So. 5-7 Fr. 5-6 Fr. 5-7 Fr. Jeff Eckerson (sixth
Height Yr.
G G G G G F
Pos Last Season —
B opponents.
The Panthers graduated four starters, lost a couple of expected returnees and will have a new head coach in Sharlow, who replaces Kamau Bailey after five years at the helm. With 11 newcomers, PDS will grow as a team as the season progresses.
Outlook — Player
Bey-Shana Clark Jasmine Hansford Nia Melvin Aleah James Molly Lagay Catherine Martin Jasmine Lewis
Laila Fair GabyVelazquez-Gonzalez Caroline Johnson Lauren Klein Selena Liu
Angela Cirelli
Head Coach —
season). 5-10 5-8 5-9 5-3 5-9 5-9 6-2 6-4 5-1 5-7 5-8 5-8 5-0 Justin Leith (fifth
Assistant Coaches —
Mandrele Hansford.
18-8 overall, NJISAA Prep B Tournament champion, No. 9 in Top 15.
The Tartans graduated three players, including big scorer Jalynn Spaulding, but still have talent returning this season. Though most of this team is young, Leith’s tough schedule will have the Tartans playing at a high level.
Last Season — Outlook —
5-18 overall, 1-4 vs. Prep
Height Yr.
Sr. Jr. So. So. So. So. So. So. Fr. Fr. Fr. Fr. Fr.
Meredith Leith,
Pos
F G G/F G G G/F G/F G/F G G G F G