WEST CALDWELL- Tea Fiore entered this week hoping that there were indeed 15 games left in her Caldwell Chiefs basketball career, which would be the maximum number of contests remaining on the current Chiefs schedule if that included appearances in the finals of both the Essex County Tournament and the upcoming NJSIAA Group 2 state tourney.
“I feel that there is still so much to look forward to and still left to accomplish as a team in my senior season,” said the veteran 5-foot-8 combo guard for the state’s No. 7 ranked, and the highest ranked public school (17-0 overall, 8-0 in the Super Essex Conference-American Division) in a recent nj.com statewide Top 20. “We know that there are some pressure-packed games left, but we’re excited about that and we continue to stay in the moment, taking it one day at a time and staying focused only on that next opponent in front of us because you can never take anything or anyone for granted.
“For me I am just trying to enjoy every moment remaining in this season, and I have great faith in each and every one of my teammates and our coaches as we continue in our quest to be county and state champs.”
The consummate leader and torch bearer for Caldwell girls basketball in terms of both enthusiasm and productivity on and off the hardwood, the 5-foot-7 Fiore is a team player first and foremost, while continuing to have some very noteworthy individual accomplishments this season for the 16-0 Chiefs, including joining junior teammate Addy Keenan in reaching the 1,000-point career plateau, and also recently registering a career-high 31 points in an impressive Jan. 29th 59-35 independent home victory over previously-undefeated Johnson.
She scored 24 points when she recorded her 1,000th point in a 56-27 victory over Mount St. Dominic on Jan. 20, and had one of her typical, all-around excellent outing with 16 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, a block and 5 steals in a 45-30 triumph at Glen Ridge on Jan. 27.
For her efforts, Tea Fiore is the latest Parisi Fairfield/Sideline Chatter Athlete of the Week.
Tea is one of just two seniors on the current very youthful Caldwell girls hoops roster with a starting lineup that includes a junior in Keenan and three sophomores, including younger sister Fallon.
Tea (pronounced ‘Tay-a), is only 4-year player on Chiefs, and her overall play has continued to be stronger each and every year. Last season she averaged 15 points, 5.2 rebounds, 4 assists and 3.2 steals per game last winter for a 26-4 Caldwell squad which reached the North 2, Group 2 state sectional final against victorious Madison.
This season she is hitting for 17 ppg and 5.3 rpg, while being one of the many Chiefs continuing to play persistent lockdown defense.
Caldwell stayed undefeated with Tuesday's (Feb. 3) impressive 63-40 conference victory against visiting University. Tea Fiore led the way with 25 points to go along with 6 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals.
“Téa is a major reason for the success our team has had this season,” said eighth-year head coach Amanda Keenan. “Her impact is felt on both ends of the floor, and her ability to step up in big moments has helped set the tone for our entire team.
“She brings leadership, toughness, and a consistently high level of execution every time she steps on the court.
“Téa is an absolute pleasure to coach and I'm excited about finishing the season strong with her.”
Tea is also a member of one of New Jersey’s great sports families. Her mom, Tara (Nattini), who stands taller than her basketball-savvy, daughters at 5-foot-10, was a standout scholastic player at Cedar Grove. Tea’s dad, Ted Fiore, Jr., was an outstanding basketball player at West Essex. His father and Tea’s grandfather, Ted Fiore, is a former star athlete at both Seton Hall Prep and Seton Hall University where he is in the Athletic Hall of Fame, and he was a former minor league baseball player in the Cincinnati Reds farm system before launching a memorable coaching career that included directing the outstanding Our Lady of the Valley of Orange basketball and baseball teams, before then guiding St. Peter’s University to a pair of appearances in the NCAA Men’s Division I National Tournament known as ‘March Madness.’
He then put in a solid decade of work guiding Montclair State University in the strong Division III New Jersey Athletic Conference.
Tea appreciates the moral support and pointers provided by her dad and grandfather.
“After our win against Johnson my Grandpa told me that I had played a superb game, which is the best thing I could have heard that day since he knows everything about the sport,” said Tea with a wide smile. “When I do something wrong - or not as well as I’ capable of - I know that he will let me know about it, as will my dad; but they are always constructive in their thoughts about how I’ve played or what else I can do to keep improving, and I appreciate their input.”
Fallon, who leads the Chiefs in both assists and steals, is another key performer for the current Caldwell squad, while there is also a younger sister, seventh-grader Kendall, who is another hoops enthusiast in the family, and a very promising, future standout Chiefs hoopster.
“She’ll be my teammate when I’m a senior,” offered Fallon. “Kendall is a very good player and will be another Fiore looking to help the Chiefs win in the years to come.”
For now, and also for the next month or so, it’s Tea who is the elder statesman for Caldwell girls basketball from the Fiore family as the 2025-2026 squad gives every indication that it will go down in history as one of the best girls basketball teams James Caldwell High School has ever produced.
“I love the girls on this team so much, and I have a great time being with them each and every day,” said Tea. “I try to be a good leader out there, and I’ll continue to approach each game as the next most important one on our schedule, and we look forward to continuing to face all the challenges ahead as the close-knit and determined team we are both on and off the court.”
NOTES- Tea said that she doesn’t know yet whether or not she will look to play college basketball, but did say she may consider walking on somewhere next fall depending on what college she winds up attending. She said she has spoken to Fairfield University and is also interested in Fordham. She has been accepted at both Seton Hall University and High Point in North Carolina and indicated that she is probably interested in a school with 7 to 10,000 students and not a big university although she said she has also applied to both the Universitys of Michigan and Virginia….She has an interest in Orthodontics among possible academic career pursuits she is still also considering with still plenty of time to make that decision…One of Tea’s aunts is Denise Fiore, Grandpa Ted’s younger sister, who is a former head women’s basketball coach at George Washington University. Another Fiore aunt was Phyllis, who passed away in 2021. She was the Sheppard family matriarch and wife of the late, great Seton Hall University baseball coach Mike Sheppard, Sr., and mother of the current, longtime highly-successful Seton Hall Prep baseball coach Mike Sheppard, Jr., who is closing in on the 900-win plateau this spring while currently standing second on the all-time victories list for the state’s high school baseball coaching fraterinity.
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