Glen Ridge, making its first-ever appearance in an ECT semifinal, shows the talent of a team that will be reckoned with in the upcoming North 2, Group 1 state tournament where University is a likely top competitor once again.
O’Sullivan and 6-1 junior Ally Snyder, who had a solid floor game with 5 rebounds, 4 blocks, 2 steals and an assist to go along with 4 points, give the Ridgers a strong tandem up front while senior Katie Powers (10 points, 4 assists) is an excellent floor general.
One concern vs. West Orange was that neither key sophomore starter Caitlin Hood or junior Annabel Koss-DeFrank, who appeared to suffer an injured in the first half, saw the court much at all, and their absence definitely hindered the Ridgers, who also saw Snyder have to play while saddled with four fouls for much of the second half.
Still, West Orange’s defense had a noticeable uptick in the fourth quarter leading to critical turnovers and a climactic change in momentum in favor of the Mountaineers.
“I thought we focused much better defensively in the fourth quarter and also made more of the right decisions,” said veteran West Orange coach Caniece Williams. “We also took advantage of some of their weaknesses to help us gain the lead, and we began to shoot better as well.”
West Orange will have its hands full with IC next Saturday even with the fact that the Mountaineers recently defeated the Lions (51-42, Feb. 7) in West Orange.
It was a rare in-county loss for IC which is 57-2 vs. Essex foes in the past four seasons, which includes the Lions’ 8-1 record vs. West Orange in addition to now 10-1 vs. University after throttling the Phoenix (11-10) in Saturday’s second semifinal thanks in part to superb 3-point shooting, including seven of the team’s eight made tri-fectas coming in the first half when the Lions built a commanding 36-23 lead.
“It really came together for us today and I am proud of the way everybody played,” said Rivera, who was superb with her 21 points to go along with 3 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals. “Emotions were running high and we were definitely said when we heard about our school closing down especially since this team is a really big part of the school and the sisterhood is really strong with this group.
“While we will look to the future and definitely stay in contact with each other, we also want to focus right now on our main goals of first winning another county championship and then aim to capture a state title.”
IC’s first five with Caldwell, Rivera and fellow junior Jaya Curtis (11 points, 6 rebounds) along with senior Division I commits Nila Giraud (10 points, 10 rebounds) and Camille Wiley (9 points) is as athletic a group as coach Jimmy Kreie has had in his four seasons at the helm.
And, he was very pleased with his team’s shooting performance in Saturday’s semis as the Lions pulled away early in the contest.
“That is by far the best we’ve shot this season,” he said. “We did a couple of drills at practice yesterday where we concentrated on passing to get us in the flow and we were taking rhythm shots.
“Today was the best we’ve moved offensively all year and it’s awesome to watch the kids’ summer work now paying off.
“We played bad against West Orange and may have let the crowd get to us plus free throws were 13-1 which is interesting.
“We like the bigger stage and that’s why we do showcases and travel. That was the first time I’ve lost to West Orange since I was the freshmen coach at Newark Tech 12 years ago.
“It’s time to get back to practice and then we’ll focus on the county final.
“It was a tough week with the news about the school closing but that news also gives us the ability to write the rest of Immaculate’s page and we get to write it th way we want to.
“The girls are locked in and focused!”
NOTES- Among the IC alumni watching the Lion girls take on University in Saturday’s semifinals was longtime school assistant principal and former track coach Pat Dyer who has worked at school since 1976…West Orange sophomore Kennedy Curry is the daughter of former Seton Hall Prep basketball standout Mark Curry (Class of 2000), who played on a couple of Pirate coach Bob Farrell’s better SHP teams…While Glen Ridge’s O’Sullivan is heading to Massachusetts Institute of Technology another Ridger senior planning to play women’s college basketball at the next level is guard Jorie Boyle who is headed to Ramapo College in the fall…University senior guard Paradise Fisher, who had led the Phoenix to the last three ECT finals during a superb 4-year scholastic career, had 11 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists and 2 steals in her final ECT game on Saturday….West Caldwell Recreation director Gabe DeMasi was one of the officials for the West Orange-Glen Ridge game…Former longtime Essex County coach (Clifford Scott, West Orange, West Side) Greg Tynes was seated courtside taking in the action of the ECT girls semifinal doubleheader….Kudos to West Orange site director Stephan Zichella, the athletic director for the Mountaineers, who did a superb job hosting the semfinals along with his staff. Also shining as usual was public address announce Pat McGlynn from West Essex. Doing the official scorebook was Caldwell assistant football and basketball coach Rob Petoia, while handling the clock duties for all four games on Saturday was former Caldwell basketball standout guard Lorenzo Sozio, Jr. His dad is the ECT girls co-director and was on hand all afternoon to assist with the proceedings along with co-director Sjocquelyn Winstead, the AD at Columbia.
Essex County Girls Basketball semifinals:
(3) GLEN RIDGE (17-7) 4 12 10 12 -38
(2) WEST ORANGE (19-6) 11 5 8 19 -43
Glen Ridge: Riley O’Sullivan 6-1-1-16, Ally Snyder 1-0-2-4, Katie Powers 2-1-3-10, Caitlin Hood 0-0-0-0, Annabel Koss-Defrank 1-0-0-2, Jorie Boyle 0-2-0-6, Anabel Mira-McKenzie 0-0-0-0. Totals: 10-4-6-38
West Orange: Kyley Gary-Grayson 2-0-5-9, Rhyan Watt 6-0-4-16, Anaya Karriem 4-0-8-16, Kennedy Curry 0-0-0-0, Jordyn Batts 0-0-0-0, Taraji Muhammad 0-0-0-0, Elianna Dennis 0-0-0-0 Totals: 13-0-17-43
(4) UNIVERSITY (11-10) 9 14 14 18 -55
(1) IMMACULATE (16-7) 17 19 21 15 -72
University: Paradise Fisher 3-0-5-11, Aaliyah Littles 1-4-0-14, Brianna Holt 7-0-2-16, Taylor LaRue 3-0-0-6, Ki-Lin Thomas 0-2-0-6, Carryn Grand-Pierre 0-0-2-2, Shanaa Manning-Cook 0-0-0-0, Jayanna Hayes 0-0-0-0, Amira Corbett 0-0-0-0, Jaydah Carswell 0-0-0-0. Totals: 14-6-8-55
Immaculate: Jayah Curtis 0-3-2-11, London Caldwell 4-2-7-21, Nila Giraud 2-1-3-10, Nilah Rivera 3-2-9-21, Camille Wiley 4-0-1-9, Daiya Anderson 0-0-0-0, Niaja Troutman 0-0-0-0. Totals: 13-8-22-72
ECT Girls: Most Titles Won:
Shabazz 17
Columbia 6
Bloomfield 4
Clifford Scott 4
Immaculate 4
University 3
East Orange Campus 2
Newark Tech 2
Nutley 2
Most Appearances In Final:
Shabazz 21
University 11
Columbia 9
Clifford Scott 8
Bloomfield 6
Immaculate 6
East Orange Campus 4
West Side 3
Montclair 3
Newark Tech 3
The 49 ECT Girls Finals Year By Year:
2024: Immaculate 75 University 65
2023: Immaculate 60 University 54
2022: Immaculate 67 University 59
2021: no tourney due to covid-19
2020: University 61 Immaculate 34
2019: West Orange 36 Immaculate 25
2018: Newark Tech 71 University 62
2017: Newark Tech 55 West Orange 53 (in OT)
2016: East Orange Campus 42 Newark Tech 40
2015: East Orange Campus 51 Montclair 32
2014: Shabazz 54 Montclair 51
2013: Shabazz 61 East Orange Campus 46
2012: Shabazz 59 Montclair 33
2011: Shabazz 61 University 58
2010: Shabazz 67 Columbia 57
2009: Shabazz 61 University 50
2008: University 65 Shabazz 51
2007: Shabazz 64 University 58
2006: Shabazz 71 Bloomfield Tech 60
2005: Shabazz 70 Bloomfield Tech 55
2004: Shabazz 72 Orange 45
2003: Shabazz 81 East Orange Campus 45
2002: Shabazz 82 East Orange 31
2001: Columbia 59 Shabazz 55
2000: Bloomfield 41 West Side 26
1999: Columbia 57 Orange 45
1998: Columbia 64 Clifford Scott 52
1997: Bloomfield 53 Shabazz 47
1996: Columbia 49 Bloomfield 41
1995: Mount St. Dominic 57 Bloomfield 45
1994: Clifford Scott 59 Mount St. Dominic 53 (OT)
1993: Clifford Scott 46 Livingston 37
1992: Clifford Scott 55 West Side 36
1991: Shabazz 52 Clifford Scott 51
1990: Immaculate 51 University 48
1989: Bloomfield 58 Immaculate 46
1988: Bloomfield 65 University 50
1987: University 71 Shabazz 42
1986: Irvington 57 East Orange 50
1985: Shabazz 58 Irvington 57
1984: Shabazz 51 Belleville 46
1983: Shabazz 62 Clifford Scott 60
1982: Shabazz 61Clifford Scott 55
1981: Clifford Scott 51 East Orange 49
1980: East Orange 53 Barringer 45
1979: Columbia 38 Barringer 37
1978: Columbia 73 Glen Ridge 24
1977: Nutley 56 Columbia 34
1976: Nutley 55 Columbia 33
1975: West Side 55 West Essex 48
*ECT historical information provided by Jeff Goldberg
