Friday, January 11, 2008

By Cory K. Doviak
NJS.com Editorial Director

Freshman Sydni Lester has stepped into the starting lineup and Teaneck hasn't skipped a beat as it improved to 9-2 on the season with a 59-14 win at Paramus Catholic on Thursday.

PARAMUS -- With a new coach who is in her first year in charge of a varsity program, with a freshman in the starting lineup and with a loss on the opening night of the season, the Teaneck girls basketball team had some issues to work through over the past couple up weeks. But judging by their performance on Thursday night at Paramus Catholic, the Highwaywomen are doing just fine.

Teaneck has won 9 of its last 10 games, including a 59-14 win over a shorthanded Paramus Catholic team, to improve to 9-2 on the season.

“It has been a great experience so far. These girls work hard for me day in and day out and I push them. I want them to execute and be the best that they can be every time they step on the floor,” said Shenee Clark, the former Ridgefield Park standout who is in her first year as Teaneck’s head coach. “We lost to Kennedy in our first game, which was a blessing in disguise because we got a wakeup call on the first day of the season that teams are going to be coming after us. I think that loss has really helped.”

Teaneck, whose only other loss this season came in an independent matchup against Trenton Central, was in no danger of a third loss against PC, which was playing without injured sophomore starters Rae Corbo and Cassidy Moore. Corbo is out with a broken fibula and Moore, a 6-1 center, is out with a high ankle sprain and their absence obviously hurt the Lady Paladins, who were held scoreless in the first quarter and to just five points in the opening half.

Junior Jessica Biggs led a short-handed PC team with 9 points.

Rachel Furman’s lone field goal of the game came 57 seconds into the game gave Teaneck the lead for good and the Highwaywomen showed off their full arsenal on both ends of the floor. Teaneck busted out a 19-point second quarter by forcing turnovers, getting out on the fastbreak and hitting the offensive boards hard to clean up their own mistakes.

Tiffany Conner, a junior who was already one of Bergen County’s best defenders and a key piece to Teaneck’s run to last season’s North 1, Group 3 state sectional final, has worked hard on her offense and it paid off against PC with an 11-point first half in which the Highwaywomen built their lead to 25 points.

“We executed very well and we worked hard on defense. We tried to step in front of their passes, get some steals and get to the other end,” said Conner, who finished with a game-high 19 points. “We have adjusted to coach’s style and it is very good, it’s intense. We are hoping to make it back to the section final and win it this year and make it further in the counties, but we know that to do that we have to play hard every game.”

The freshman who has found her way into the starting lineup is Sydni Lester, a guard who handles the ball well enough to enable senior Tamiel Murray to do less ball handling and more shooting and slashing to the basket. Lester scored 10 points against PC and she has handled the step up to the varsity level and the bumps in the road that come with it.

Teaneck's Bianca Harris going up for two of her 7 points.

“I was kind of scared coming in to the season, but I kind knew what was expected of me and what I was supposed to do for the team,” said Lester. “I make mistakes, but my teammates pick me up and that lets me just play my game and not be nervous out there.”

Thursday’s win was an all around team effort for Teaneck which had nine different players score points. Bianca Harris and Cherelle Wizzard each scored 7 points, Murray finished with 6, Tiffany Mills had two field goals and Camille Friedman and Olivia Logan each made baskets.

Jessica Biggs had three of PC’s four field goals and finished with 9 points to lead the Lady Paladins, who fell to 5-5 with the loss.

So, through 11 games, it’s a case of so far, so good for Teaneck and for Clark, who has made a smooth transition to being a head coach after being an assistant to and a player for Joe Branda at Ridgefield Park.

“It is a lot more responsibility. Dealing with colleges, making sure their grades are right, parent concerns; it’s a lot. I am blessed with the group of parents we have now because they really support the girls and the program and that has made it a little easier,” said Clark. “I was excited to get to this position and the girls and the parents were excited to have me, so it worked out great. Now we are just trying to win games one at a time and do it as a team.”

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