With the winter sports season upon us, the Hunterdon Central Girls Varsity Basketball team’s season is looking promising after a rigorous, yet triumphant three preliminary scrimmages. Big wins against Warren Hills and Trenton Central—along with a tough battle against West Chester Mendham—have proved that the team is ready for their season.
The team’s chemistry was evident on the court, as the players made connections all over the court accompanied by a strong defense. After ending last season with a winning record of 15-12, the team is ready to prove their potential and plans to find even more success this season.
Returning Varsity Senior Captain for the Red Devils this year, Jackie Dvoor, feels that the team having a smaller roster this year in no way means that they will not be bringing their A-game.
Nikki Constantini, junior, and Team Captain, feels that this season will be quite interesting, noting that “we don’t have many players, so we need to do what we can to overcome challenges throughout the season”.
Moving up divisions this year and losing three integral seniors from last year, the Red Devils will face some difficult competition, with the biggest opponents being Rutgers Prep and Gill St. Bernards.
Despite the new obstacle of a higher division, the team is prepared to set new standards and achieve new heights. They have their eyes set on some difficult goals this season, such as making the County Finals and going further in the State tournament than they did in the past year (North Jersey, Section 2, Group 4). Last season, the girls ended with a devastating 62-43 loss to the Hillsborough Raiders in the Quarter Final round of States. The Raiders are still another powerhouse in their division, but the Devils are ready to make a comeback after last year’s loss.
Some key players this year will be junior Bethany Ramos, who is the returning leading scorer (298 points last season; averaging 12.4 points/game) as well as sophomore Katie Schwartz, a lockdown defender who led the team in rebounds last year (249 rebounds last season; averaging 9.2 rebounds/game).
Costantini and Dvoor will also be fundamental players and key contributors to the Red Devils offense. Notably, there are two new additions to the team this year – sophomore Liz Kellogg and junior Naleli Coplan. Both transfers have the potential to make quite a difference for the team.
However, the freshman on the team will not only provide new talent but also enhance the team dynamic, such as Olivia Duran, a new addition this year. This season will allow her the chance to “meet new friends and bond with other people”.
Katie Schwartz’s goal for the season is to help the team in Counties. After last year’s loss to Sparta in the quarterfinal round of HWS Counties, the team is coming back with a vengeance.
Bethany Ramos feels that the team can go toe to toe with their competition in the State tournament, and her goal would be potentially finishing the tournament with a win and championship ring.
The girl’s varsity basketball team has the chance to make quite the impact in aspects of their season. The Red Devils start their regular season with some tough matchups; however, they feel properly prepared and are ready to take on the competition. Devil horns up!
