Senior point guard, new but familiar coach lead LCM girls into new season

By BRIAN CUNNIFF

Thrust into an extremely difficult division, the inexperienced Lower Cape May Regional High School girls basketball team won just one game last season – its season finale.

Featuring a bit more experience, a new but very familiar interim head coach and a more manageable schedule, the Lady Tigers look to better compete this winter.

Pat Holden takes over as the interim head coach, after one wasn’t in place about six weeks prior to the start of preseason practice after previous head coach Mike Pittman stepped down in the spring. 

With his daughter, Lindsay, a senior standout on the team, it was a sensible move for Holden, who was previously a head boys basketball coach at Lower Cape May for 14 seasons (winning 163 games) and has been involved as an assistant coach on both the boys and girls side. He plans to step aside at the conclusion of the season.

“We have a relatively young group, but a few of them are back and kids are going to naturally get better from year to another,” Holden said. “My goal first and foremost is that I want the girls to have fun. I want to see some positive team building and I’d like to rekindle an interest again in girls playing basketball at our school.

“There’s been a lot of positive energy. I think you’d be very impressed if you came into our gym and how focused the girls are and how they’re working. It’s been a good experience so far.”

Lindsay Holden, a 5-2 guard, averaged about 15 points per game last season and is one of the top backcourt players in the CAL.

Junior Sarah Donohue (5-6 G/F) and sophomores Kaitlyn McGuigan (5-5 G) and Breanna Loper (5-7 F) also saw significant time last season.

Junior Janaya Elam (5-9 F) and sophomores Hailey Elwell (5-6 G/F) and Jadziamary Serrano (5-7 F) are in the mix for varsity minutes as well.

Lower is in the newly realigned CAL United Conference along with Middle Township, Wildwood Catholic, Egg Harbor Township, Buena, Hammonton and Our Lady of Mercy Academy. It’s a tough conference, but not nearly as daunting as last season’s pandemic-designed CAL East. Lower also has scheduled a number of non-conference games against teams similar to themselves.

“Our focus has to be about ourselves and just getting incrementally better each week,” coach Holden said. “We have to be much better in February than we are now. We want to be competitive but we’re really focused on ourselves and making goals for ourselves rather than in terms of wins and losses. Obviously we want to be competitive and I think we will be.”

Lower is scheduled to open the season Friday at Middle Township.

Holden is assisted by Scott Douglass and Jen Elwell.