Lenape Valley girls basketball team starts season with new coach

In more ways than one, it’s a brand new start for the Lenape Valley High School girls basketball program.

Not only has the regular season just gotten under way, but the Patriots have a first-year head coach, Nick Rafferty.

Rafferty has previous experience as the junior varsity coach at Lenape Valley.

The Patriots are set to begin 2023 with Northwest Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) Colonial Division road games at Hopatcong and Newton on Jan. 3 and Jan. 6, respectively. On Jan. 9, the team is scheduled to host Whippany Park.

Student athletes returning to the 2022-23 roster with varsity experience include senior Victoria Erlemann (forward), senior Alyssa Canfield (guard), senior Laney Kenny (guard), sophomore Julianne Cerulo (center) and sophomore Lindsay Fehir (guard).

Promising newcomers to the varsity level include junior Colleen Yanavok (guard), sophomore Regina Williams (guard), sophomore Callista Stevenson (guard), sophomore Addison Coles (forward) and sophomore Gianna Santana (forward).

“I look for seniors Laney Kenny, Victoria Erlemann and Alyssa Canfield to lead the team,’’ Rafferty said. “I expect these seniors to lead by example in practice and to be integral two-way players.

“I will rely on Kenny to bring up the ball as a point guard and continue to be an aggressive defender. I expect Victoria to be a force in the post offensively and to be a tenacious rebounder and defender on defense. Alyssa is expected to be a good ‘three and D’ player that we can look to when we need a three or to make a foul shot late in the game.

“The biggest impact player this year should be Julianne Cerulo, coming back as a sophomore, after starting the majority of games her freshman year. Julianne will be a force down low offensively and defensively. She is also a great shooter and has great vision of her teammates when she has the ball in her hand. Lindsay Feher is a tenacious defender who we will rely on for steals, rebounds and blocks.’’

The Patriots tallied eight wins last season. They compete in the NJAC Colonial Division along with Morris Tech, Hopatcong, Newton, Sussex Tech and Vernon.

“Our main goals this season are to improve our record from last year, compete for the division title and make the playoffs,’’ Rafferty said.

“I think we have a chance to get a lot of sophomores experience for the future and still be able to be a top contender in our conference. I think the team to beat in order to win the division this year is Morris Tech.’’