Reese wary of pre-season praise
By: Rudy Brandl
If the Hillsborough High girls’ basketball team doesn’t get caught reading its own press clippings or looking too far ahead, it should be another exciting and productive season.
The Lady Raiders return three starters from last year’s 21-5 team that won the Delaware East Division and Somerset County titles. Head coach Jim Reese knows his girls will be playing with a target on their backs this winter.
"The expectations are there and we’ll get everything that comes along with that," Reese said. "I’m not quite sold that we’re as good as people think we are."
Reese is always cautious about his pre-season praise and often carries that attitude well into the season. Last year, he wasn’t happy after an early January loss left the team at 4-3. Then came a 12-game winning streak that made the season a huge success.
Three of the team’s top players and scorers are back on the court. Senior point guard Ali DeLuca, who scored 11.3 points per game to lead the HHS girls, is back for her fourth varsity season. The 5-6 DeLuca can score in many ways and is very dangerous on the fast break. She’s also a tremendous defender.
Juniors Kelsey Kutch and Ebony Jones also return to the starting five. Kutch, at 6-0, has the versatility to play inside and outside. She’ll do a little of both in her third varsity campaign. Kutch adjusted nicely to her wing role by scoring 9.5 per game last season.
The 5-8 Jones, last year’s starting shooting guard, has similar versatility at a variety of spots. She can play any position and has the athletic ability to defend all over the court.
"A lot of them can play inside and out," Reese said. "We’ve already talked about moving them around. We can invert the offense at times by putting our guards down low and our big people on top. We’ve got a lot of people who can do that."
Reese expects seniors Kate Rainey (5-9) and Meghan Morley (5-7) to complete the starting five. Rainey saw significant varsity action last year, while Morley will be new to the team.
Others who will see action include junior shooting guard Heather Neumann (5-6), junior guard Lisa Cannellos (5-4), sophomore transfer Kaitlin Capriccio (6-1) and sophomore forward Caitlyn Katzelnick (5-8). Three players will swing between varsity and jayvee sophomores Maria DiTunnariello and Kelly Pultorak and 6-0 freshman center Janice Jeschke.
Reese will carry nine varsity regulars to go with the three swing players. However, Capriccio won’t be eligible until Jan. 17 because of the state’s transfer rules. The Lady Raiders will be a different team once she joins the rotation.
"All nine (varsity regulars) will play," Reese said. "When Kaitlin becomes eligible, it will give us another option. It will make us bigger."
The Lady Raiders are missing plenty of size from last year’s team. The graduation of front court players Christine Rash, Erin Poulter and Ashley Coheleach could have an impact. Reese knows his team will miss their toughness and leadership.
"We’re a lot quicker than last year, but those three did a lot to help us win a lot of games the last couple of years," Reese said. "Those were three tough kids. They were mentally tough and they played with a lot of intensity. We were a strong team last year."
Hillsborough has looked good in the preseason, particularly in the transition game.
"We’re running the break very well and that makes me happy," Reese said. "We’re getting a lot of good shots off the break. We’re executing the offense very well."
With Reese, however, it’s always about defense first. The Lady Raiders could be filling it up and scoring in bunches, but the veteran head coach isn’t truly happy unless the team is defending and rebounding. He has every reason to believe the Lady Raiders will be a solid defensive unit this season.
"We should be capable of playing very good defense," Reese said. "We have some kids who are exceptional defenders. We have several people who are great on-the-ball defenders. We should be able to put on ball pressure."
The Lady Raiders open the season on the road at Phillipsburg and host North Hunterdon and New Brunswick next week. They won’t begin defense of their Delaware East Division crown until Jan. 5 and they’ll have an extra varsity player in the rotation by the time the county tournament rolls around.

