Caldwell (9.0 ppg last season) was one of five players to score at least 200 points for coach Jimmy Kreie’s IC Lady Lions who finished 21-9, while winning both the regular season Super Essex Conference-American Division title (9-1), and then capturing the Non-Public B state championship with a 41-30 victory over Gloucester Catholic at Rutgers.

Now, she is definitely one of the two featured players and one of the potential top scorers along with Watt for a West Orange team that will most likely be the ones to beat in Essex County next winter, while being pressed perhaps by University, a young but very experienced Caldwell team, a returning Group 1 state runner-up Glen Ridge squad, and an improving Mount, which is making rapid progress with  Dorf set to begin his second year at the helm, and top freshmen, including the quick-ascending Hailey Root, joining holdovers led by rising junior Bella Iannitelli, who was the team’s leading scorer the past two seasons, and talented, rising sophomore guard Gia McArdle.

Iannitelli, a standout infielder on the Mount’s No. 1 ranked softball team, has not been able to be with the Lions basketball squad this summer due to commitments with her top-flight, travel softball team, NJ Pride, which is directed by the Mount’s state championship coach Rob Stern.
The Mount edged a persistent Verona team, 25-23, in the first semifinal of the entertaining July 23 playoff championship evening, as another promising rising sophomore, Liv Picillo, connected on a clutch 3-pointer with 9.9 seconds remaining after McArdle had hit a driving layup which came after Verona’s rising senior Jada Bednar had given the Hillbillies a 23-20 lead with 53.4 seconds left.

Meanwhile, West Orange was able to handle Caldwell’s Chiefs quite effectively as London Caldwell was hitting bucket after bucket and ‘bigs’ Charles and Kearney were creating obstacles inside.

The same combinations also worked well in the championship game vs. the Mount, while Batts was also ever-present with her work on both ends of the floor.

“My posts are coming around really nicely,” said West Orange veteran coach Caniece Montague. “Lynn and Destiny are getting better each day and this summer has been very important for them as we look to more players who maybe didn’t get that many varsity minutes last year to really step up this season.

“London has been a tremendous addition for us and while we held Rhyan out of these playoff games as she took care of a foot injury, we know that when she is here with us we definitely have the pieces to make this a team to definitely watch next season.”

Watt was on hand to watch her teammates take home the Mount Summer League playoff title and was all smiles afterward as she enjoyed the championship celebration that included a trophy being presented to the entire Mountaineer team along with their coaches and a few key supporters.

“We have a great group of girls and our coaches know how to put all the pieces together to help make us a conference, county and state contender once again next season,” she said. “We have a really nice backcourt, including good players from last year like Jordyn and Kennedy, and our two ‘bigs’ are progressing really well.

“We are going to look to defend our county title and then go all the way and win the states this time.

“It’s a great time to be part of West Orange girls basketball, and this summer championship is a nice way to build toward fall ball!”

NOTES- There have been very positive reviews about the Mount’s first-year summer league which included eight North Jersey teams, and director Dorf is appreciative of the school’s support for the new venture. “I want to thank out athletic director, Mr. (Lorenzo) Sozio for his blessing, and our school administration for their support in making this new league happen at the Mount, and at our terrific, first-class facility in Codey Gym,” said Dorf. “We had hyper competition and our goal throughout the league season was to  just help make everyone in our league get better as they look ahead to next school year.”…Among the notables on hand to watch the July 23 playoff championship semifinal and finals action in Codey gym were Essex County Executive Joseph DiVincenzo, whose granddaughter is Hailey Root, the precocious Mount freshman; ex-Newark Tech boys coach Marques Bragg, who was also former star player at both Clifford Scott High School and Providence College; former Villanova and NBA standout Kerry Kittles, and retired Cedar Grove head girls basketball coach Bill Scanlon. Also on hand to help with running concessions in the gym’s lobby was former Caldwell standout and current Gettysburg College rising junior guard Ray Zamloot, while his former Chiefs teammate Rocco Checchetto, who now plays at Drew University, was working the scoreboard….The semis and finals also had a first-rate officiating crew in Nick Peloso, Kevin Palek and Mike Sferrazza…Caldwell’s outstanding rising junior guard Addy Keenan, who helped lead the Chiefs’ spirited efforts vs. West Orange in their semifinal contest, had recently returned from Chicago where she was one of the key performers for the Jersey Gemz U-16 squad in the Nike EYBL National Tournament…Verona, which has given the Mount a tough time in two closely-contested recent games in the summer league, was coached in its playoff semifinal by Steve Hannigan as the team’s head coach Patty Conk had to be out of town that evening with another commitment….Among the other IC Lady Lions who have found new homes after the Montclair Catholic school closed for good in June are last year’s leading scorer Jayah Curtis (now at Morris Catholic) and star point guard Nilah Rivera along with last year’s sixth man Niaja Troutman (both at Arts High School in Newark).