Lyndhurst, NJ - First order for the Lyndhurst Fall League, the standings through the games of October 13.

Sunday scores:

Hackensack 34 Lyndhurst 27

Ridgefield Park 34 Nutley 33

West Essex 29 Kearny 22

Lyndhurst competed in their matchup against Hackensack but was short on depth to begin with. It didn’t help when senior guard Sam Mayer left the game in the first half with an injury. Mayer returned late in the contest for only a few minutes. Once again senior forward Asya Akar had another solid outing for the Golden Bears. As mentioned previously, Akar is an excellent volleyball player but she is getting D3 looks for basketball.

Lyndhurst has had a solid girls program for years. This season they will not field a freshman nor a JV team. These days many schools frequently cannot get enough numbers for freshman ball. Junior varsity is another story as a number of schools are able to compete on that level. This season the numbers are low and Lyndhurst will not have JV ball. In fact the numbers are so limited that the varsity will have very little depth. The start of practice in late November may see more players come out. As it stands, Lyndhurst, which has had a number of injuries the past few seasons, cannot afford one this campaign.

In a game of spurts Kearny went nine and a half minutes before getting on the scoreboard. The Kards then went on a 9-0 run to take a three point lead. The lead was 13-10 at intermission before West Essex came on strong in the final half.

Shasna Resnick opened the scoring for West Essex. Despite getting some good looks inside, the Knights’ excellent senior forward would score only one more bucket the rest of the way. Resnick showed her value by passing and setting a screen, moving well without the ball and unselfishly looking for teammates. Her value in the victory went far behind the four points in the scorebook.

Destinee Hall is entering her first year as the Hackensack head coach. Hall observes while an assistant runs the team during the fall games. Post game, she meets with her group for a review. Hall played at Mercy College (NY) then overseas in Italy and Spain. She previously assisted at Paramus Catholic before taking over at Hackensack.

"I got hired kind of late in the game," Hall said following the Lyndhurst game. "There were a few leagues I might have wanted to get in but overall am pleased with the Lyndhurst League and how it’s run." The enthusiastic Hall continued noting," the league gives the girls a chance to work on their skills. As a team I like what I see with this group."

Senior Madisyn McNair has been impressive for the Lady Comets. The diminutive lead guard has the ability to get in the lane, break down the opposing defense and find an open teammate.

"I’ve known Madisyn since she was in seventh grade," Hall said. She played AAU ball for ‘Ozzie’ (Bogota boys coach Donald Osbourne)."

Last week Ridgefield Park dropped a close one due to coming up empty in almost every possession the final five minutes. This week the fortunes were reversed by being more efficient in those last few possessions. The Lady Scarlets, despite suffering through an eight minute scoring drought earlier in the half, scored on four of their final six possessions to earn the narrow victory. Nutley had chances but two turnovers and one for three from the charity stripe those final half dozen possessions proved the difference.

Riley Fucci played well for Ridgefield Park. The senior guard displayed a nice soft touch from the perimeter.

Playoffs are set for November 3rd. League director Perrin Mosca said the top four teams qualify. Given the parity, Mosca may expand the field for the ‘second season’.