Young Cranford squad forced to grow up
Cougars start one senior, one junior, three sophomores a year removed from deep playoff run.
For a Cranford girl's basketball team that starts one senior, one junior and three sophomores, the Cougars do not have "inexperience" in their vocabulary.
Youth? Yes.
Jitters? Some.
But the squad has a sectional title from last season to its name, and each of the young players had a role in the spring playoff run.
So when it comes to experience, there is plenty.
"It's not rebuilding, but we are still very young," said head coach Jackie Huber. "We had senior leaders last year who really took control of the team. Now we're asking sophomores, some freshmen and a junior to pretty much lead our team and that's a big job to fill."
Leadership will only develop over the course of the season, but the Cougars' scoring void left by graduated center Danielle Gross and forward Jamie Webb changes the complexion of the team.
The Cougars will run a fast-paced, guard-oriented offense that begins with junior Morgan Miller and sophomore Jess McCoy.
Miller scored in double digits in each of Cranford's first two games — a Friday loss to Oak Knoll and a Saturday win over Hudson Catholic — when she split point guard duties with McCoy and sophomore Jenna Goeller.
While Goeller and fellow starters Kaitlin McGovern and Sara Gagliucci each saw time in last year's run, which ended with a state semifinal loss to Pascack Valley, Miller and McCoy were influential players.
McCoy led the team with 17 points in a first-round win over Carteret.
"Me and the other sophomores, last year we were scared or nervous when we got on the court," she said. "But we definitely all know each other and can play together. It's just a matter of getting comfortable in our first couple of games and getting the jitters out."
While it may not be a product of jitters, the Cougars struggled with defensive pressure in their season-opening loss to Oak Knoll, which outscored them by 13 points in a second-half rally to win.
"As a team we just need to be poised, execute and play together," Miller said.
But this young group does have experience of playing together to lean on, and Huber is quick to admit Miller and Co. were key in their freshmen and sophomore seasons.
"They helped us out a lot in the playoff run," Huber said. "I think this year we'll be just as good."
Although that is the belief, the head coach also cautions against too many comparisons to last year's sectional title team.
The loss of key seniors forces the underclassmen into leading, not complementary, roles, and while there is plenty of experience, there is still some growing up to do.
"Because we won it last year, people are comparing last year's team to this year's team, which is completely different," Huber said. "That's something we're going to work toward."
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