PGH NJ 2021-22 Team Preview: Saddle River Day

New Jersey’s high school girls basketball scene has been blessed with the balance of the best programs dispersed well throughout the state. The Shore Conference has had the largest concentration of those teams, but when you start to look up into North Jersey, you’ll find the North Jersey Interscholastic Conference and Saddle River Day, a powerhouse year in and year out. The Colonial Rebels once again had a great season in the spring despite the shortened schedule, finishing with a 10-3 record.Coming into this season, they’re looking to once again pounce on the best of the best in the state. Prep Girls Hoops New Jersey continues its 2021-22 season preview series with a closer look at what to expect from Saddle River Day this season At the top, it starts and ends with [player_tooltip player_id="318906" first="Paulina" last="Paris"], the North Carolina commit who is in PGH NJ’s Top 3 prospects in the 2022 class for this season. She’s been as advertised and then some, averaging 24.4 PPG and knocking down nearly 3.0 three-pointers a game as a junior. Paris also has 2.5 SPG and 4.4 APG for good measure. Without a doubt, expect to see her name as an All-Conference selection this season. Paris has a strong group of players around her, including teammate and fellow senior [player_tooltip player_id="134628" first="Saniah" last="Caldwell"], who averaged 18.2 PPG, 4.6 APG, 2.1 SPG and 2.2 made three-pointers a game. If not for Paris being on the team, Caldwell would be talked about amongst the best of the best in the state for sure. She’s still got the superstar-level talent to dominate against anyone. Caldwell averaged 18.2 PPG, 4.7 RPG, 4.6 APG, 2.1 SPG and 2.2 made three-point field goals a game last spring. When your best two players, in this case for SRD, Paris and Caldwell, are knocking down just over five three-pointers a game, you’re in trouble. That’s just half of the impact seniors for Saddle River Day this season as [player_tooltip player_id="319318" first="Dakota" last="Corey"] and Cierra Pearson are two more guards who are going to be major players for this team. It looks like SRD is going to run a four-guard set with one forward just based on what these players did last season. Corey seems to be the most forward-like of the four guards, averaging 11.7 PPG and 5.6 RPG. Her 5.6 RPG was second on the team to senior forward Alanis Diaz, who averaged 6.9 RPG in the spring. Corey was also second on the team in steals, averaging 2.4 SPG last season. Pearson will be featured as a wing guard or shooting guard, knocking down 1.8 made three-pointers a game last season, which accounted for nearly 67 percent of her scoring as a junior. She should average well over two made three-pointers a game this season and has the ability to put up a double-digit scoring average as a starter. Diaz, as we stated above, will be SRD’s main forward this season, a player not known as much for their scoring, but more for their rebounding and in Diaz’s case, her passing, averaging 2.3 APG last season. She has help in fellow senior forward Kristina Mauthurin and sophomore center [player_tooltip player_id="325219" first="Alexis" last="Rosenfeld"], who will see more time off the bench playing in the middle. A name of note to keep an eye on is sophomore guard Julianna Almedia, who averaged 4.5 PPG, 3.4 RPG, and 0.8 SPG last season, a great freshman contributor for a high-profile program like Saddle River Day. Sophomore guard [player_tooltip player_id="325220" first="Bliss" last="Vimbor"] and junior guard Mia Walsh will be key contibutors off the bench and have potential to start as well. They’re younger talent to take notes for once this big senior class graduated after this season. Of any season, this is the one for Saddle River Day to make its claim for the best in the state, so we’ll see just how good this team can be.