Vast improvement and the ability to take a lead and keep it worked out very well for the Cranford High School girls basketball team last year. The Cougar girls jumped their record in 2022 from a 12-13 record to an impressive 19-8 record and this season, they have high expectations which could lead to another successful outcome.
In their 12-13 season, the Cougars would take a lead but would follow with a deep scoring slump. Last year with the leadership of seniors Kristina Lowe, Maddy DeLong, Sophia DeMarco, Carly Lynch and Molly Devlin, the Cougars figured it out and were able to avoid those slumps which led them to the Union County Tournament (UCT) championship game and to the North Jersey, Section 2, Group 3 semifinals.
Obviously the graduations will be missed but the Cougars do return four seniors who have made impressive contributions last year. The go-to person will be senior Bella Curanovic who was the boss under the boards with a team-leading 413 points (83 free throws, 7 3-pointers), 171 rebounds and 39 blocked shots to go with 43 steals and 50 assists. Senior Ella Grady, who could hit from far away, netted 78 points and was second on the team with 20 3-pointers, while adding 49 rebounds, 15 assists, 16 steals and four blocks. Seniors Alex Werthman and Corey Botsakos will add depth so head coach Allison Skrec can easily move players on and off the court.
Another huge asset is junior Lily Costello who was second in scoring with 209 points (12 3-pointers), 81 rebounds, 48 assists, 30 steals and three blocks. Junior Courtney Toy finished with 56 points (6 3-pointers), 51 rebounds, 21 assists, six steals and a block. Junior Brooke Bentrewicz finished with 35 points, 24 rebounds, four assists, four blocks and two steals.
“I’m happy with how we have been progressing thus far; it is a quick turnaround from our first practice to opening day (December 14th), but we will be prepared,” said coach Skrec, who added, “This is a hungry group who has high expectations for themselves, and we are focused on taking things one day at a time in order to take the steps necessary to achieve the goals we have collectively set forth for ourselves.”
But the Cougars will have additional support from a pair of sophomores, who came up from the JV squad. Last year, Sienna DeStefano contributed 10 points, two assists and a rebound. Kasey Coon sank a free throw and added three rebounds and a steal.
“We’re also very excited to see the freshman to sophomore jump from Sienna DeStefano and Kasey Coon. Kasey and Sienna practiced daily with Varsity last year, while playing significant JV minutes, and they helped lead our JV team to the 2024 UCT championship. They are prepared to step into larger roles for us this season.”
The Cougars would get into the traveling mode with six straight away games, that began at Mendham on December 14. Today, Thursday, December 19, the Cougars will face the Lions of Roselle Catholic High School at 4 p.m. On Saturday, December 23, the Roselle Rams will be on the menu at 11 a.m.
