DECEMBER 22, 2015
BY CHUCK O’DONNELL
STAFF WRITER | THE RECORD
Amanda Ulrich’s first varsity basketball game will be something she’ll never forget. After all, she posted a triple-double to lead Secaucus to a 66-42 victory over Dwight-Englewood on Friday.
The freshman guard had 26 points, 14 steals and 11 rebounds, but the play she will always remember was when she fed her big sister Kristina for a basket.
“We were guarding this girl and we got the steal,” said The Record Female Athlete of the Week. “[Kristina] ran ahead. I got past a girl and got it to her and she scored. It was just a moment between us.”
There have been many moments between the sisters, and not all of them quite so warm and fuzzy. Kristina, a senior, and Amanda often played some tough one-on-one games in their back yard.
“I always told her to take it hard on me because that’s how I would get better,” Amanda said. “Ever since we were little, we would go to camps and stuff. She never took it easy on me.”
Those backyard battles aside, Amanda says Kristina has been part mentor, part cheerleader when it comes to basketball.
“If I did something wrong, she would say, ‘It’s OK, don’t worry about it. You’ve got it. You’ll get it next time,’ Amanda said. “If I was upset with how I was playing, she would make me happy by saying, ‘You’ve got it next time.’ I really look up to her.”
Ulrich credits coach John Sterling for her improvement, especially on defense. The fact she was able to anticipate and steal so many passes was “because of Coach.”
“He helps me a lot. If I do something wrong, he fixes it right away so I learn from my mistakes, and I’ve made less because he’s telling me what to do,” she said.
