2022 Greater Middlesex Conference Standouts Pt. 3

The wait for high school girls basketball in New Jersey is almost over, but fans and teams will have to wait just a bit longer until the start of this season. New state measures taken as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic have pushed back the start of the 2020/21 season to now just the 2021 season, starting in January. While basketball is starting later than usual, Prep Girls Hoops has been making best use of this time, previewing some of the best talent across the state. This article is a continuation of a multi-part series as PGH looks at the best junior standouts in the Greater Middlesex Conference. <strong>Taylor Gliese, G South Amboy:</strong> Gliese was half of South Amboy’s sophomore duo last season and was by far the Governors’ best perimeter shooter last season, draining 33 three-pointers, more than one a game. She was also the team leader in assists and recorded the second-most steals. Gliese is an impact combo guard for South Amboy, someone who has really improved her game on both sides of the ball: an effortless shooter and lock-down defender. With the production she put out as a sophomore, that’s only going to increase come January. <strong>Faith Nemeth, F South Amboy:</strong> Nemeth was the inside presence that South Amboy relied heavily on this season, the other half of the Guvs’ sophomore duo. They will be needing her to put up the same production numbers this season as this team is coming off a disappointing 3-18 season. She was one of only a few bright spots for this team that is looking for some momentum going into the 2021 season. Nemeth, with the ability she’s shown as someone who can make quick work of defenders in the paint and can cause havoc on the defensive end, will undoubtedly thrive off that success this season and crave more. <strong>Sydney Wolven, SF/PF Monroe:</strong> Wolven has a fantastic opportunity in front of her to excel and break out on a Monroe team that led the Red division, going 23-5 overall and 15-2 in the conference. The Falcons are going to be short-handed this season, losing three key seniors and over 55 percent of their scoring. Other than their new senior class, Wolven is the next up and she made her time count last season, showing her versatility on the inside and her scoring ability. That scoring gap needs to be filled and Wolven, now a veteran leader on this team, is going to be needed in order to fill the gap. Expect a massive uptick in production come 2021. <strong>Julia Stewart, PG/SG Piscataway:</strong> Like Wolven, a great opportunity has presented itself to Stewart for Piscataway this season. With a massive six-woman senior class now gone, there are a lot of patches to fill on this team, and among returning players, she’s the third-leading perimeter shooter. Stewart was a role player off the bench in 2019/20, but this year, she’s going to feature well as a shooting guard and will be part of what could be a fantastic shooting trio in her and juniors [player_tooltip player_id="159099" first="Tori" last="Fisher"] and Mia Rose. <strong>Payton Alcorn, PG/SG Old Bridge:</strong> Alcorn is the younger sister of Mia, who had her senior season last year, but Payton is arguably the better of the two and she’s only going to get better this year. She led Old Bridge, averaging nearly 2.4 three-pointers a game and was just one behind [player_tooltip player_id="134602" first="Rachel" last="Kuhl"] for the team lead. However, with Kuhl also having graduated in the spring, Alcorn will be their leading option at the point and their best perimeter shooter by far. All eyes will be on her this season to see if she can turn into the star Kuhl became in 2019/20. Continue to follow Prep Girls Hoops for more player previews and profiles as the 2021 New Jersey high school girls basketball season approaches.