PGH NJ 2021-22 Season Preview: Ramapo

For a team that went a perfect 15-0 last season, Ramapo went relatively under-the-radar in New Jersey. The Raiders, with a mix of younger talent and veteran presences, made their claim as the best in the Big North Conference and they claimed it without a doubt. Ramapo was undoubtedly the best in the conference and one of the best in the region of New Jersey and they have a reloaded team with immense talent for this coming winter. Losing four seniors, including two impact players in forward Lauren Achter and guard Savannah Nowak, is going to be tough to replace. However, a returning roster headlined by senior guard [player_tooltip player_id="134639" first="Madison" last="Schiller"] is going to give the Raiders a massive boost going into the season. Prep Girls Hoops New Jersey continues its 2021-22 season preview series with a closer look at Ramapo, the class of the Big North Conference looking to defend their title. Schiller is going to be the go-to player on this team, the unquestionable team leader who’s established herself as one of the best players in the state. Averaging a double-double last season with 16.9 PPG and 10.1 RPG, along with 5.7 APG, 4.5 SPG and 1.1 BPG, she’s a mainstay on the floor. Now, building the lineup around Schiller, Ramapo will have junior guard [player_tooltip player_id="321602" first="Alexa" last="Lora"] as a backup point guard option, a solid perimeter defender and an efficient three-point shooter. Lora’s three-point shooting will increase this season and we’ll be seeing a much different player by season’s end. Down low, seniors Savannah Ring and Lexi Wolfe are going to be big pieces for this team, Ring especially. Ring was third in scoring, rebounding and steals and fourth in assists last season. She’s now the second-highest returning scorer and rebounder, so we’ll see how those numbers will translate over a full season this winter. Wolfe is going from the sixth woman to a starter and her numbers are going to drastically increase as a result. Outside of those four, the rest of the roster is a question mark coming in and someone is going to need to step up into a starting role. It looks like senior guard Lucy Taylor will be that person as she appeared in the most games outside of the main six-person rotation that Ramapo sent out last season. Junior guard Maggie Murtha also has potential to be that player, and junior forward Maddie Kellog will now be the first forward option off the bench, so her minutes should drastically increase this season. With seven potential players that will be seeing the majority of time, that gives head coach Sandy Gordon an extra player from last season to utilize and give more rest to the starters. Hopefully, more names will step up this season and become meaningful contributors for the Raiders. Only time will tell as of now.