NORTH CALDWELL- West Essex girls basketball has somewhat quietly put together an array of solid seasons the past three year under the guidance of coach Amber Tobia, including last winter’s solid 18-11 record, including 7-3 in the Super Essex Conference-Liberty Division.
This season brings new challenges for the Knights who have moved up to the SEC’s top division, the American, where there will be a steady diet to top-notch programs, including West Orange and neighborhood rival Caldwell.
In addition, the Knights will be working for a few weeks with the direction of assistant coaches Tim Glenn and Tiffani Hamman as Coach Tobia is on schedule to soon give birth to her first child.
In essence it is an exciting time for the West Essex girls basketball family and the Knights are excited about the highly-competitive season now underway while also wishing the best for their coach as she prepares to provide her own special delivery to the 2025-2026 season.
West Essex (1-1, 0-1) could enjoy thinking about all the positives ahead as it earned victory No. 1 of the new season with Saturday’s 50-32 triumph over visiting Montclair (2-1) in an SEC crossover contest against the Mounties who are members of the Liberty Division this season while being led by a first-year head coach in alumni Alisa Wiggins.
The Knights began the season on Thursday (Dec. 18) with a 52-38 division setback at University High School in Newark.
“It’s a big change for us now playing in the highest division in our conference and against the best teams in the county, and I think it’s good for us,” said West Essex sophomore forward Jordan Salisbury who scored 15 points, equaling the output of her senior teammate Ava Brignola, and hauled down 13 rebounds, in helping to lead the Knights to a decisive win vs. Montclair. “There will be no games off, that’s for sure, and we know that we always have to be ready to play our best basketball; and that is a good challenge for me and my teammates.
And, until coach Tobia is able to return from what she said she envisioned as quite a short 1- or 2-week maternity leave after giving birth, there is plenty of confidence that the team will be in excellent hands.
“All three of our coaches are really good and make sure that we are always working hard while running what we’re supposed to at both ends of the court,” said Brignola. “We have great chemistry, do a lot of team bonding, and we really push each other to be the best that we can be on and off the court which all the coaches do a great job of reinforcing for us.”
Brignola scored 13 of her 15 points in the first half as West Essex jumped out to a decisive lead, 17-4, after one quarter and 31-10 at the half, which paved the way to a decisive win vs. the Mounties.
“Starting quickly is important,” added the Knights senior backcourt ace, who also added 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals and a block in a superb all-around effort vs. Montclair. “Getting off to a good start and knowing that your team has a few points on the board can get everyone into a good groove so in the second half we know that we have a good baseline to work with.”
West Essex graduated one of its all-time greats in 1,000-point scorer Sasha Resnick (who is a student at the University of Miami while not playing basketball), but appears to have a nice nucleus with the rangy 5-foot-11 Salisbury leading the front line, and the ever-present Brignola setting the tone in the backcourt.
Seniors Madelyn Schlosser (4 points, 4 rebounds) and Elyana Ghattas (7 rebounds) and junior Lexi Castro (4 points, 3 rebounds) rounded out the starting lineup vs. Montclair, while a strong by the reserves was boosted with the play of seniors Brooke Balzano (3 points, 4 rebounds) and Skyla Paladines and the energizing hustle of guard Riley Guevara (4 points, 2 assists, 2 steals).
