Sophomore point guard Gabriella Mittelman led all scorers with 15 points as NV/Demarest improved to 6-2 on the season with a 52-30 win over Ramsey at the Butler Classic on Sunday.

DEMAREST – The transfer door swung in the wrong direction for the Northern Valley/Demarest girls basketball team last season. The loss of two talented players left an inexperienced roster with little depth and the result against an unrelenting league schedule was a nine win season. This year, however, the door swung in the opposite direction and it was a welcome change.

“Last year was devastating. We had two girls transfer out and we only won nine games. It was a tough thing to go through.” said Demarest head coach Jenny Jurjevic. “When we got a phone call in the spring saying, ‘Hey coach, I want to come home,’ it was kind of like our prayers were kind of answered, a total change from what we went through a year ago.”

On the other end of that phone call was junior Angie Tirado, a Closter resident who had been playing in the New York Catholic League at Monsignor Scanlon in the Bronx. The younger sister of Dayna, an All-County player at Demarest now playing at Fairfield University, Angie Tirado joins a roster that now has
hard-won experience, a wealth of young talent and a couple of seniors with a championship pedigree and leadership qualities.

Tirado joins sophomore point guard Gabriella Mittelman to form a formidable backcourt on a team that is already two-thirds of the way toward last year’s win total even before the calendar turns to the New Year. With a 52-30 win over Ramsey on Sunday morning the Butler Classic, Demarest improved to 6-2 on the season heading into league play.

“We are feeling great and we have a good record right now. We have some new pieces; some new girls have come to the team. We have a great group of freshmen that I am excited to work with and grow with and we have Angie Tirado,” said Mittelman, who sometimes looks like she is putting on a dribbling clinic while setting up the offense. “All of the returners have gotten better, I’ve been working hard on my game; we are all trying to buy in because Coach [Jurjevic] is doing an amazing job with us.’

Jules Pensari finished with a team-high 10 points for Ramsey.

Mittelman, who plays with a high-level AAU team, is pretty polished for a sophomore. She has a high basketball IQ, keeps her teammates involved and also recognizes when creating her own shot is the best shot for her team. She scored 13 of her 15 points in the first half as Demarest scored the first nine points of the game and led wire-to-wire.

Taylor Miller, the state’s Gatorade Player of the Year in volleyball, and Lilly Hamlin, the lone seniors and both three-sport athletes, have their strengths on the court and also provide the leadership.

Miller is more than a Division 1 volleyball player, who is heading to Marist College. She is a Division 1 athlete who Jurjevic said could “Play D1 basketball, no doubt, if that is what she chose to do.” She high points rebounds, blocks shots and plays at an even keel. She hit a mid-range jumper and a jumper from the corner to close out Demarest’s 9-0, game-opening run.

“Basketball is a lot more about footwork and movement. It’s definitely an adjustment from volleyball, but with my height and length I can contribute.” said Miller, who led Demarest to the Group 2 state volleyball championship. “Coming off the volleyball season when me and the rest of the seniors had such an impact on our success, I am just trying to do the same thing; mentoring the younger girls and trying to help them with the things that they have not experienced yet like the pressure of big games in high school.”

Hamlin, also a volleyball standout and the starting pitcher in softball, is a defensive stopper on the hardwood and a steadying hand for her younger teammates.

“Me and Taylor have a lot of experience playing high school sports and playing on high school teams and that is where we can help the younger girls,” said Hamlin. “All of them play basketball year round and they know the game and they are good. It’s the other parts of the game and the team-building that we can help with because we have done it, especially coming off of volleyball season.”

Taylor Miller scored 10 points for Demarest, which will travel to Teaneck for the start of league play on Tuesday.

Six different Norsewomen made at least one field goal in the first half against Ramsey with Tirado and freshman Ella Beck made in the opening period that ended with the Norsewomen in front 18-9. Freshman Deana Finkelstein opened the second quarter with a bucket in the paint that kicked off an 8-0 Demarest run that pushed the lead into double figures for good.

Demarest led 33-14 at halftime and 40-23 after three quarter, although Ramsey had its moments in the second half. The Rams are off to a strong start this season, but had trouble against Demarest’s pressure, which it sometimes extends the full length of the court. With some depth, plenty of athleticism and an eraser on the back line, Demarest forces turnovers and then turns them into points with multiple players capable of leading and finishing fastbreaks.

Ramsey stayed within touching distance with a 9-2 third quarter run, but Finkelstein close the quarter with a fastbreak bucket for a 40-23 Demarest lead.

Jules Pensari finished with a team-high 10 points for Ramsey. Charlotte Auty and Kylie Bahn each scored 7 and Hannah McGurr made two 3-pointers for Ramsey, which fell to 4-2 on the season heading into conference play this week.

Mittelman led all scorers with 15 points and Tirado (12 points) and Miller (10 points) made it three Norsewomen in double figures. Finkelstein scored all 8 of her points in the middle quarters, Lila McElroy added two second quarter field goals and Beck’s first quarter 3 rounded out the scoring for Demarest, which is heading into the meat grinder that is the Big North National Division.

“It’s an okay start and maybe our strength of schedule could have been a little bit harder in the beginning of the season, but we didn’t know we were going to have this hand,” said Jurjevic, whose team travels to Teaneck on Tuesday. “I don’t know if that is going to hurt us going into league play. Now we see Teaneck and that is a totally different ball game. We are excited, but you know our league. It is a different caliber of play. I hope that we have the athletes and the speed to compete against Teaneck and the discipline to go up against Old Tappan, P[ascack] V[alley] and even Tenafly, which is good again this year.”

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