River Dell Varsity Girls Basketball Team fends off Northern Highlands in the 2023-24 regular season home opener

The River Dell Golden Hawks Varsity Girls Basketball Team(1-1) squared off against the Northern Highlands Highlanders(1-1) in the 2023-24 regular season home opener at River Dell High School in Oradell, New Jersey.

River Dell was coming off a 58-36 loss to Pascack Valley in the regular season opener at Pascack Valley High School in Hillsdale, New Jersey. Junior Morgan Sconza led the Golden Hawks in scoring with 11 points, while senior Sofia Sanchez tallied 10 points.

The Golden Hawks are coming off a 20-6 record in the 2022-23 season, undefeated in the Big North Patriot at 10-0, and winning their fourth consecutive league championship. River Dell entered this year, having graduated 13 seniors from last year's squad.

River Dell Head Coach Lindsay Steffner on this season's roster, "We have a lot of new faces out there, and it's going to take time to get used to and coach them." "We have a lot of outstanding seniors on the team, and they work hard and have been on the JV and freshman team the last couple of years." "They have gotten used to being coached by me and my practice expectations and doing a great job of learning."

"It's a very different feel overall and we have to figure out people's roles and going to show that leadership on the court." "It's a learning process and we take it day by day and game." "Our youth showed in the first game but that was first game jitters with a lot of new kids on the court." "We're still very new as far as having the offensive and defensive schemes and it's going to take a while to get our whole playbook together."

Morgan Sconza on the loss to Pascack Valley and returning for a second year, "It was definitely a tough one and hurt but we knew we had to move on." "We got a practice in on Friday, and all went out for ice cream after and were on the same page."

"Last year, we lost 13 amazing seniors who were great leaders for the team." "Coming in with the younger kids, we knew we would step up and take over that leadership role." "Over the summer, we had some great workouts, worked a camp with the little kids, and continued building that team chemistry daily in practice." "Every time we step on to that court and off the court, we're always best friends and have each other's backs."

Before the game against Northern Highlands started, the gym had plenty of electricity, with the home and away sections in the bleachers packed to total capacity—several players from last year's Golden Hawks varsity girls' basketball team were in attendance.

"It's fun to be at home and just comfortable and in your locker room," Head Coach Lindsay Steffner stated." It's great to have the alumni back and to catch up with them; having them see us play is special. The alumni's legacy are being passed down to how these girls play, and there's no place like playing at River Dell."

A low-scoring first quarter saw the Highlanders leading 8-7 at the end of the period. Morgan Sconza provided the bulk of offense for the Golden Hawks, dropping five points, including hitting a trifecta.

"I got to give it to my teammates; the guards did a great job of keeping their heads up and getting me the ball," Morgan Sconza explained." "I know I had to knock those shots down, and it was great to get that in the first quarter."

In the second quarter, River Dell responded with a 6-2 spurt to jump in front. Morgan Sconza buried her double-triple of the game. Junior Kasey Ziegler and sophomores Alexa DePol and Val Visconti contributed to the offensive and defensive end, rebounding the ball, leading to the Golden Hawks' up 18-16 at halftime.

"It was really good minutes by everyone that went in and getting some playing time early on gets the fears and jitters out because they haven't played a lot of varsity minutes and was important," Head Coach Lindsay Steffner cited. "It gives them some confidence and what we needed in that moment and go in and attack and did right away and executed."

"It's fun to watch Kasey play and what she can bring with her energy levels, and she's been with me for three years and knows what the expectation is and need from her." "She's played a smart game for two years and really physical and gets beat up diving for loose balls and sacrifices her body."

Shutout in the scoring column in the first half, Sofia Sanchez flipped the script in the third quarter, totaling nine points. Sanchez knocked down jump shots and drew fouls with drives to the basket, leading to trips to the charity stripe line and hitting four of five shots.

"I keep telling Sofia in practice if you're relying on your three-point shot to get us points to turn the momentum around, but if they're not falling, that's not the way to do it," Head Coach Lindsay Steffner described. "Where way she can be effective in getting through the defense and to the rim, and once, she got to the foul line and only missed one shot."

Heading into the fourth quarter, River Dell held a 35-31 advantage. The Golden Hawks were up 37-35 when Morgan Sconza unleashed her third pearl to extend the margin. Northern Highlands answered with a trey to trim the lead, but Alexa DePol's put-back shot bumped the lead up to four points.

"Alexa is so athletic and very reminiscent of her sister(Kayla DePol), and she's got a nose for the ball and can rebound," Head Coach Lindsay Steffner remarked. "She's got a great mid-range jump shot and very strong."

The game turned very physical down the stretch, with fouls assessed against both teams. River Dell spent most of the time at the foul line, with Morgan Sconza and Sofia Sanchez coming through in the clutch, combining to knock down nine shots that propelled the Golden Hawks to the 53-38 victory.

Morgan Sconza paced River Dell with a team-high 16 points, while Sofia Sanchez supplied 14 points. Notable contributions from Alex DePol, delivering eight points; Dalia Interiano, seven points; and Kasey Ziegler, six points.

"We practice free throws all the time in practice, I take a deep breath and hit the shots and knew we needed them in the moment," Morgan Sconza said. "Sofia(Sanchez did a great job of knocking them when we needed to."

"Every time I put that jersey on, I just want to give the best for my community and be the best player I can be, and having my family there to support me no matter what, every single game, win or lose, is amazing."

Head Coach Lindsay Steffner on the performances of Morgan Sconza and Dalia Interiano: "Morgan is falling in line with point guards that act like quarterbacks." I have been blessed over the years with many of them, and having Morgan split that time with Ari Rodriguez last year, she learned a lot, so they're different types of distributors, but she gets the ball there and passes it off the dribble and sees the court and makes those passes look easy." "There was a lot of hand checking going on, and she had her work cut out for her and handled it beautifully."

"Dalia is a coming in as a freshman but doesn't play or act like a freshman and handled herself very well in the starting role and defensive concepts." "She's asking the right questions and learning fast and got the skill set there." "It's a matter of her getting more comfortable and not putting too much pressure on herself to do so much and just need her to be a very good basketball player."

The Golden Hawks return to the hardwood court on Tuesday, December 19th, at Paramus Catholic(2-0), with tip-off set for 7 p.m. at Paramus Catholic High School in Paramus, New Jersey.

"Paramus Catholic has a new coach and we got to figure out what their style is," Head Coach Lindsay Steffner mentioned. "They have Kylie Cabana back, who's outstanding and a second/third team all-county guard/forward and very athletic and strong, and we have to slow her down." "Also, they have their point guard back who's committed to colleges and got some skill and very quick outside shooter."

"We always play them tough, a physical game and excited about the matchup." "We're so young that I'm focused on us versus other teams at this point." "My main focus is how we can get this group with the most basketball IQ and keep teaching them as much in practice and not concerned about whoever we play but it's all about us."