With an emphasis on local schedules this season — and no state tournament — NJ Advance Media is breaking down every conference with teams to watch in 2021.
Here are the teams worth keeping tabs on in the New Jersey Interscholastic Conference:
THE CONFERENCE’S BEST:
Saddle River Day finds itself back in the NJIC because of the new rules set forth by the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association regarding this season and the safety protocols because of the coronavirus pandemic. Instead of playing a national schedule and NJIC member schools once, Saddle River Day will be competing for NJIC supremacy and enter as the overwhelming favorite because of the talent coach Danny Brown has assembled on his roster. Junior Saniah Caldwell averaged 20.6 points, 5.6 rebounds, 5 assists and 6.1 steals per game last season. Junior Cierra Pearson has six Division I offers and Paulina Paris transferred in from Albertus Magnus in New York.
ON THE CHASE:
Cresskill
Cresskill has the top returning scorer in the state in Colleen McQuillen, who averaged 25.4 points per game last season. McQuillen, a senior, has already surpassed the 2,000 point career scoring mark for coach Mike McCourt. Niamh Tobin and Angelina Doto return and will help try to take the load off of McQuillen.
Glen Rock
Glen Rock loses just one senior from a team that finished 19-9 last season and third in the Colonial Division behind Manchester Regional and Rutherford. Aly Novick led the team in scoring last season as a junior, scoring at a 9.6 points per game clip and Katie Weber was right behind Novick at 9.2 points per game.
Lyndhurst
Carley Martin is one of the top players in the NJIC, and she had a good junior campaign last season for Lyndhurst. Martin averaged 16.2 points and 5 rebounds per game as Lyndhurst finished second behind Secaucus in the Liberty Division with a 17-7 record. Martin is back for her senior season along with seniors Gianna Alberti and Alexa Borino.
Rutherford
Harmony Marquez will be among the best players in the Colonial Division this season for Rutherford. Marquez broke out last season as a sophomore, averaging 11.3 points and 7 rebounds per game last year as Rutherford finished with a 21-8 record. Her presence on the inside will be a boon to Rutherford.
Secaucus
Coach John Sterling enters his 14th season as Secacus’ head coach once again looking to replace a dynamic scoring guard. Damaris Rodriguez graduated after scoring 1,737 points in her career. To help offset the loss of Rodriguez, senior Lyndsey Ross and sophomore Daniella Peschetti will be leaned on to help carry the scoring load.
Weehawken
Weehawken returns most of its contributors from last season, led by a strong junior class. Viviana Mendez was second on the team in scoring and led Weehawken in rebounding in 2019-20. The lone senior contributor the team has to replace is Marie Eid.
IN THE HUNT:
Saddle Brook
Ella Marchesani had a solid freshman season last year for a Saddle Brook team that finished behind Weehawken and Wood-Ridge in the Meadowlands Division. Marchesani scored 297 points, an average of 11.9 per game.
Wood-Ridge
Wood-Ridge returns most of its core after finishing in second place in the Meadowlands Division with a 18-9 record. Amanda DiMase was the leading scorer averaging 12.4 points per game and forward Samantha Eckert averaged a double-double averaging 10.4 points and 10.2 rebounds per game.
You can reach Luis Torres at ltorres@njadvancemedia.com and you can follow him on Twitter @LFTorresIII.
