Winter Sports Previews: Madison High School Girls Basketball

Just about everything is new for the Madison High School girls basketball team this season. A new cast of characters will look to replace the Dodgers' top three scorers, and a new slate of opponents will replace Madison's old Northern Hills Conference rivals.

And then, of course, there's Madison's new coach, Stephen Finkelstein, though he's only new to his current job.

Madison fans remember Finkelstein from his stint as head coach of the Madison boys basketball team – where he lead the 2006 Dodgers to a 22-6 record, the top seed in the Morris County Tournament and a sectional final appearance. Many of the Madison players remember Finkelstein as a social studies teacher at Madison Junior School.

"I've known some of these girls for six or seven years," Finkelstein said. "I'm the new coach, but I'm not new to them, which makes it a lot easier."

Finkelstein will try to bring over some of the magic of his run as the boys basketball coach, though it admittedly may take some time to build up the program.

Madison finished 12-13 last year, missing the state playoffs and falling to Mountain Lakes in the preliminary round of the Morris County Tournament. The key scorers from that team, Jeramie Barletta (Drew), Emily Cole (a member of North Carolina's national championship-winning field hockey team) and Abby Shoaf (Penn State), graduated.

As a result, the returning players have faced a wide-open competition for playing time during the preseason. According to Finkelstein, he's used the scrimmages to get a feel for his players, and the rotation may be flexible even after tonight's season-opener at Kittatinny. The coach believes that there are no stars on this year's team, but instead many players who can step up on a given night.

"Night to night, anybody could be a leading scorer for us," Finkelstein said. "We have enough players who can score, and they share the ball well. There is a real team concept here, without any one single go-to player."

Obvious concerns, according to Finkelstein, come in the areas of height and inexperience. The Dodgers will have to overcome those deficiencies to win with solid halfcourt defense and athleticism

"We've got a lot of tough field hockey players on our team," Finkelstein said. "We hope there's a carryover from the fall sports."

More than half of the Dodgers' projected top-eight rotation played for the Group II champion field hockey squad. Seniors Chelsea Davies and Rachel Misko will continue their field hockey careers at Division I schools Richmond and Bucknell, respectively, upon graduation.

Madison's senior-laden lineup also includes Avery Koep, who will be an option in the post, and twin sisters Ali and Evan Foulsham, also members of Madison's lacrosse team.

Nikki Caruso, a junior scorer who came on strong late last season with 12 points against St. Elizabeth and 17 against Caldwell in February, also figures to see plenty of minutes, as does another pair of twins, Mackenzie and Tori Ellis (members of the field hockey team).

"We're getting better every time we're on the court," Finkelstein said. "I think we're going to peak towards the end of the season, which is what you want."

But the biggest obstacle toward reaching a .500 record this season might be the opposition. Morris County powers Morris Catholic, Chatham, Hanover Park and Parsippany are all on the schedule twice as part of the Northwest Jersey Athletic Conference - Independence Division lineup. The Dodgers face a two-week stretch at the end of January in which they play all four teams.

"I think we play in the toughest division in Morris County," Finkelstein said. "These are some of the better teams in the state, teams that are going to go deep into the state tournament. Long term, this is going to make us better."