When the 2010-2011 girls’ high school basketball season ended last March, Secaucus head coach John Sterling had to wonder where he would go next.
After all, when the Patriots played their last game in the NJSIAA North 2, Group I playoffs last season, it ended what was a remarkable run led by two of the greatest players in the history of the Patriots’ program.
Shannon Waters, who would eventually be named the Hudson Reporter Female Athlete of the Year, and Andrea Innis, who was only a three-time recipient of the Hudson Reporter Girls’ Basketball Player of the Year honors, both graduated. Innis took her 1,903 points and 1,012 rebounds to play at Centenary College in Hackettstown, while Waters took her 1,490 career points to Goldey Beacom College in Wilmington, Del., where she’s playing volleyball.
That’s losing nearly 3,400 points in one verse of “Pomp and Circumstance.”
“I don’t think you can truly replace players like Innis and Waters,” Sterling said. “They were both prolific scorers and made such an impact on this program.”
However, thanks to the arrival of some talented freshmen, the Patriots haven’t missed a beat, winning six of seven games thus far, including two big wins over River Dell and Paramus at the recent Lady Hawk Holiday Jam Classic at River Dell, before falling to Northern Highlands in the championship game.
The Patriots have been bolstered by the play of freshman point guard Andie Lennon and freshman do-everything Julia McClure. It’s almost as if the two newcomers have picked up exactly where Innis and Waters left off without missing a single beat.
McClure has been sensational, averaging close to 19 points per game in the early going. The 5-foot-5 McClure has played off-guard and small forward offensively, while defensively facing players much taller, including two players over 6 feet in the Lady Hawk Holiday tourney. McClure had a game-high 26 points in the win over Paramus and also won the game against River Dell with a game-winning basket with just four seconds remaining.
“To best describe what she’s been like is to call her an animal on the floor,” Sterling said. “She really has been that aggressive. She’s physically strong for a freshman and she has that ‘never-say-die’ attitude. She’s really tough. We asked a lot from her to defend players like a 6-foot-2 center against Northern Highlands, but she didn’t back down at all and did a great job. She’s just a battler.”
Lennon is a 5-foot-4 point guard whose older sister, Elyse, was a fine player for the Patriots a few years ago. Lennon is averaging 16.6 points and six assists per game.
“She has very good court awareness,” Sterling said of Lennon. “She has a high basketball IQ and she knows what she’s doing all the time. She makes good decisions with the ball for a freshman. She has good quickness and good skills. She’s also a look-first player, which is a key. She looks for her teammates first. She’s much tougher than I thought she would be, because she’s not a big girl.”
The fabulous freshman combo has definitely invigorated Sterling, who could not have predicted such immediate success.
“I knew we had some good girls coming up and we had some girls back,” Sterling said. “When people leave, you need the others to pick up the slack and their roles change. I was optimistic, but you never know when you lose two huge players like that. I am surprised. I knew they were good players. I saw them playing recreation and AAU over the year and I was anxious to have them get here. But to get two freshmen to step in and score like this right away? Yes, their success has even surprised me.”
McClure and Lennon have helped returning players like junior forward Danielle Roesing, a solid player in her own right. Roesing, whose older sister, Cory, was the school’s all-time leading scorer before Innis broke the record last year, is averaging seven points per game and is playing much taller than her 5-foot-7 frame.
Senior forward Ariana Simon is another returning player, but Simon has been out of action since the tourney after hitting her head on the floor and suffering concussion-like symptoms.
Senior Alyssa Lyngholm is another senior who plays a multitude of positions for the Patriots, as well as junior guard Lauren Guillen and junior forward Danielle Mitchell. Sophomore Bryanna McClure, Julia’s older sister, and another freshman, forward Kendall Caruso, play solid roles off the bench.
“I am pleasantly surprised,” Sterling said. “Especially since we did so well in the tournament, playing bigger schools, I didn’t know what to expect. It’s a tough tournament for a Group I school, but I’m very satisfied with what has happened so far. We can’t be satisfied. We have to get better as a team.” …
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The U.S. Marines Semper Fi All-American Bowl in Arizona was a big hit for the three local participants, namely Vin Ascolese of North Bergen and Brandon Napoleon and D.J. Singleton of St. Peter’s Prep. All three locals handled themselves well at the game…
Hudson Reporter Boys’ H.S. Basketball Top Five: 1. St. Anthony (6-0). 2. Hudson Catholic (5-2). 3. St. Peter’s Prep (4-2). 4. Snyder (5-2). 5. Marist (3-2).
Hudson Reporter Girls’ H.S. Basketball Top Five: 1. Bayonne (6-1). 2. Lincoln (5-1). 3. Secaucus (6-1). 4. St. Dominic Academy (3-3). 5. Union City (4-2). – Jim Hague
Jim Hague can be reached at OGSMAR@aol.com.