Lyndhurst, NJ - Heading into the homestretch as only two weeks remain in the Lyndhurst Summer League. Taking a look at the teams, at this point Kearny and Nutley appear to be the two best.

Kearny gets it done by utilizing team speed to push the pace on the offensive end. Jody Hill’s Kards also defend well often showing full or three quarter court pressure that forces turnovers and wears opponents down. While junior guard Mikayla David, as previously noted, has played consistently well, Kearny has a number of other contributors and good depth.

Nutley has come on strong the latter weeks. Coach Kara McNish-Natoli cited leadership as a factor. "Last season we struggled down the stretch without good leadership," she said. "So far it’s been a different situation." The Raiders are led by junior Katelyn Nellegar. A good inside player, Nellegar plays with great energy and has now stepped up and emerged as a solid all around player.

On Monday Kearny and Nutley faced each other. It was a meeting of Kearny pressure against Nutley’s size. In the end, the Kards had a chance but a missed three pointer at the buzzer saw Nutley emerge a 31-30 winner.

Several other teams have looked good. Cliffside Park with a new coach in Mark Skinner is much improved over last season. Despite battling an ankle injury, junior Leeya Ancle has been a standout.

Rutherford has played better each time out. Coach Ed Guy is relying on several incoming freshmen as part of the nucleus. Notable among them is Mackenzie Lewis, a good defender in the post. Once again, no matter who takes the court, defense is a priority for the Bulldogs.

Midland park is a sound team that pulled out several close contests. The Panthers of Sean O’Connor are led by sophomore Juliana Natoli, a good outside shooter. Midland Park shows a good deal of zone on the defensive end and overall, is a team that executes their offense and limits their mistakes.

West Essex has an ‘A" and ‘B’ team. Many schools cannot afford the luxury of having so many players available. Coach Amber Tobia has divided the Knights Into Two groups with the ‘B’ team mostly incoming freshmen , getting the chance to get their feet wet in the high school competition. The ‘A’ team led by Jordan Salisbury has been a tough out.

North Arlington, Lyndhurst and St. Mary had a rough week in the win-loss column. Chalk it all up to learning and improvement with relatively young groups. All three are in the same NJIC division this upcoming season.

Lyndhurst will have the services of an excellent post player in Brooke Harper. The 6’2" senior tore her ACL and meniscus in the Spring of 2024. She missed all, last season and said she is cleared to play come August. The summer league will be over by that time but Harper said she anxiously awaits the opportunity to play in the Lyndhurst Fall League. The Golden Bears have an incoming freshman of note who has impressed each time out. Siham Alashmahrani has played guard and forward-showing the ability to run the floor and mix it up inside.

North Arlington, who some feel will battle it out with Lyndhurst for division accolades, ran into two tough teams on Tuesday. The Vikings struggled against Columbia’s ball pressure in a 31-13 setback. Next they dropped a 34-14 decision to Rutherford who as noted has been on a roll of late.

St. Mary, as previously noted, is missing a few key players due to summer softball. Coach Janea Kelty’s younger players are getting some valuable off season experience to compliment individual workouts.

Columbia high school is coached by Aaron Breitman.

Not that Aaron Breitman. "We never met but I get some of his emails and he gets some of mine," the Columbia Aaron Breitman noted. Aaron Breitman of the media is known for his fine work with onthebanks.com a Rutgers site and hosting a Rutgers podcast.

Coach Aaron Breitman is heading into his third year directing Columbia of the SEC (Super Essex Conference). He is a veteran of 15 years on the sidelines. Breitman is optimistic about the Cougars’ chances this season. "We started off slow last year," he said. "We had a bunch of freshman that didn’t buy into the system right away. After the first five games until the end of the season we turned it around." The Cougars started 0-5 before going 12-5 after that point to finish 12-15.

Columbia’s division in the SEC has changed. "Caldwell and West Essex moved up," he said. "We still have some good competition."

One of the players that has stood out for Columbia is Lanyah Campbell, a sophomore with good speed who is a good on ball defender.

Final notes and thoughts:

As of late several games have been one-sided. On Wednesday the Kearny-Cliffside Park matchup went down to the final minute. Cliffside Park jumped out to an 11-4 lead. A switch to a 3-2 zone allowed Nutley to go on a game changing 17-2 spurt. Nutley appeared to be in command but Cliffside Park, getting some late second chance opportunities inside, would not go away. The final minute saw a two possession difference with Nutley holding on for a hard fought 36-30 victory.

All four of Columbia’s coaches are alums of the school. Head coach Aaron Breitman as well as assistants Chenae Earle, Stevana Sims and Jacob Sumner. In the small basketball world the Columbia staff keeps in close contact with Jessica Simmonds. The FDU assistant is a Columbia grad as well who was instrumental in the recruiting of former Cougar Talia Baptiste, a sophomore, playing for coach Stephanie Gaitley’s Knights.