Keenan, who was averaging 20 points per game through the first five contests this season, hit for 18.7 ppg along with 3.6 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 4.2 steals per game last winter for a superb 26-4 Chiefs squad which went undefeated (10-0) in the SEC’s Liberty Division, while also advancing to the North 2, Group 2 state sectional final where a veteran-led and outstanding Madison team rolled to a 55-37 victory, ending an otherwise superb Caldwell season with a bit of a sour taste, but also providing much motivation for future growth from the valuable experience that was gained by the very young Chiefs.

The Dodgers’ best player, 6-foot-1 forward Charlotte Tuhy, dominated the contest scoring 26 points and grabbing 20 rebounds. She is currently the third-leading scorer at nearly 10 ppg for American University.

“Madison was a very good team and Tuhy is a great player, and even though the outcome of that game wasn’t what we wanted, it was a great atmosphere to play in that day with a packed gym, and we definitely want to experience that type of big-game setting again this season, except win this time,” said Keenan. “We had several freshmen on the roster last year, and even though we’re still a very young team this season (with only two seniors), we’re a much more experienced group and a better team.

“We may not have a lot of size, but we can definitely use our quickness and our strong defense to limit teams, and also lead to turnovers which helps our transition game.”

Keenan spearheaded the Chiefs’ tenacious defense while scoring 23 points in a dominant season-opening 56-30 victory over 2025 Group 1 state runner-up Glen Ridge, and she then scored 21 points in an SEC crossover win vs. Verona.

Perhaps her best stretch of play so far this season came in the recent WEAHHF final at Mount St. Dominic’s Codey Gym vs. neighboring rival West Essex. With the Chiefs playing poorly in the first half and trailing 34-22 early in the third quarter, Keenan went proceeded to put on an impressive individual performance as she scored 12 straight points on a variety of creative shots including on quick drives to the basket, accuracy from the perimeter, converted free throws and a breakaway basket off a steal during a torrid stretch that encompassed less than four minutes to help the Chiefs tie the contest at 34-all with 4:24 still remaining in the quarter.

She wound up with 16 points in leading a 20-3 Caldwell edge in the third quarter and finished with a season-high 28 points as the Chiefs pulled away in the fourth quarter for what wound up being a one-sided triumph over the Knights.

“We can score quickly, thanks in large part to our ability to cause turnovers when we’re playing good pressure ‘D,’” said Keenan. “We have a group of girls who love to play defense, and that’s an area my mom always stresses as so important.”

The always-fiery and legendary Bob Hurley, Sr. coached sons Bobby and Danny at national scholastic power St. Anthony as one of the more well-known parent-coaching-a-child examples in Jersey high school hoops. Meanwhile, the present-day Keenan mom-daughter coach-player tandem appears to be a bit more low-key in how it appears to move quite smoothly along, and the pair can also work together next season as well as the Chiefs look to have successful finishes before daughter Addy eventually moves off to the next level.

“We’re just used to it all at this point,” said Addy. “We have a good connection, she’s always encouraging, and most of the times we’re on the same page.

“Plus, it’s great that we both enjoy being with this team.

“I have the opportunity to play a game I love with my friends, and my mom enjoys coaching us up!” 

Among those 2025-2026 Chiefs is 4-year varsity player Tea Fiore, who was MVP of the recent WEAHHF, and is a senior leader, while others contributing to the great mix are junior Aailyah Rodriguez and sophomores Fallon Fiore and Elena Kearns who are other starters in a chemistry-laden rotation which is also enhanced with the talents of key subs such as senior Kaci Pace, sophomore Adriana Brown and freshman Scarlett Schlomann.

“I love my teammates,” said Addy. “And my mom enjoys coaching us all which makes being part of Caldwell girls basketball an experience I value each and every day!”

NOTES- The Keenan family is definitely sports-minded through and through. Dad Scott, a former multi-sport standout at Caldwell, also played college football at the University of Rhode Island. Addy’s two brothers are also quite active in their respective sports with senior Ryan currently a starting guard for the successful Chiefs boys basketball team and also a superb soccer player in the fall, while younger brother Brandon, a freshman, is embarking on a high school football, basketball and lacrosse career with the Chiefs this school year…Addy’s favorite subjects in school include Math and Chemistry while she could envision a future career in the area of sports management…Amanda’s former high school coach Ken Trimmer, the legendary, former Chiefs football coach, still helps out with the Chiefs girls basketball team as a volunteer assistant coach…One of Addy’s coaches with the Jersey Gemz, who are based at Rutgers Prep in Somerset, is former St. Peter’s of New Brunswick all-state player Kristen Somogyi, who finished her scholastic career with a state-record 3,899 points before heading to the University of Virginia and then Rutgers. She is a renowned shooting coach and the daughter of former Rutgers All-American and longtime New Jersey high school boys basketball coach John Somogyi...Tea Fiore scored a team-high 20 points and Keenan added 15 points, including three 'tri-fectas' in Caldwell's victory at University on Tuesday which marked Coach Keenan's first victory in the Phoenix's gym. 

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