By RICH FISHER, Contributing Editor
In the Jan. 8 top 20 high school girls state basketball poll on NJ.com, Red Bank Catholic was ranked No. 1, followed by St. John Vianney, Holmdel; Gloucester Catholic and Rutgers Prep, Somerset.
What did the 2-3-4 teams have in common? All were defeated by RBC.
So, too, were No. 16 Immaculate Heart, Washington Twp.; and No. 19 Rumson-Fair Haven. Not to mention an opening-day win over Hazleton Area, ranked No. 12 in Pennsylvania. SJV and Hazleton have suffered their only losses of the year to RBC.
Through the Caseys’ 10-1 start as of Jan. 14, the composite record of their 11 foes was 73-33 – a winning percentage of .689.
It all adds up to a No. 12 national ranking in the maxpreps.com rankings.
“When you play a schedule like this you know every night is gonna be a battle, and every night you’re gonna have to play really well,” coach Joe Montano said. “When you have seven seniors you have to give them the opportunity to play that type of schedule. They deserved it. They put themselves in a position to play these types of games.”
They did so by going 79-13 and winning a state championship during their first three seasons. Last year’s team went 27-5, won the Shore Conference Tournament title and dropped a one-point decision to Paul VI in the NJSIAA South Jersey Non-Public A final.
Amazingly, RBC has come back just as strong so far despite graduating 1,000-point scorers Tessa Carmen and Christina Liggio from that team.
“Even though the kids we have coming back were really good players, their roles changed,” Montano said. “I have to say I’m very proud and pleased they’ve accepted their new roles and stepped up to the plate and done very well.”
All seven seniors have committed to play in college, with six going to Division I programs. Leading the way is Addy Nyemchek, ranked as one of the nation’s top 25 players in her age bracket. She’s averaging 20 points, six rebounds and over three assists per game with 25 steals.
“I don’t know if I’ve had a kid that has done so many things well,” Montano said. “It’s hard to think of a part of the game that she doesn’t do well. She’s gotten better and stepped herself up; that’s been important.”
Other returning starters are Tessa Liggio (4 assists per game) and her twin sister Katie Liggio (11 points per game, 16 three-pointers).
“Tessa has been our quarterback the last three years and what’s so impressive about her is she doesn’t turn the ball over,” the coach said. “Katie Liggio stepped up scoring the ball for us from the outside, which opens up the middle of the lane for us.
“Those three girls have all improved. A lot of times as kids get older, sometimes they don’t improve. But they have and it’s been good for us.”
Sophie Smith and Daniela Maleski have gone from coming off the bench to starting. Smith has taken over Carmen’s role of strong rebounding and post defense, while Maleski has inherited Christina Liggio’s job of guarding the opposition’s best offensive player.
Lola Giordano continues to be the first player off the bench and reserve Scarlet LeVake has gotten more minutes, and both have adapted to doing some different things.
The team is not only talented, but also intelligent and religious. They pray before games, and all seven seniors have been confirmed in the Catholic faith. LeVake, Smith and Nyemchek are ranked in RBC’s academic top 20 and the others are not far behind.
Nyemchek is committed to play at Indiana, Katie Liggio to Rhode Island, Tessa Liggio to Bucknell, Maleski to Army, Smith to Harvard, Giordano to D-II East Stroudsburg and LeVake to New Hampshire. It is the highest amount of Division I commits Montano has ever had.
But before they focus on college, they will look to end high school in a big way. They have certainly had some big wins already, including Hazleton Area.
“They’re very good, they were 28-1 last year,” Montano said. “To go on the road opening night, you want to do that when you have seniors. But for me (the biggest thing is) we’ve beaten two, three and four in New Jersey. New Jersey is such a good girls basketball state.
“But it’s January, we’ve got a long way to go, we’ve got some outstanding teams in our state bracket and our Shore Conference. There’s still a lot of work to be done. There’s a lot of pressure and it requires a big-time commitment. I’m real proud of them.”