March 25, 2024
Coach, Hoopsters Post Major Wins
Athletic achievements are the buzz at the Academy of the Holy Angels, where the varsity basketball team just closed out a season chock full of individual and collective accomplishments.
“Our season was a complete success,” AHA Varsity Basketball Coach Sue Liddy summarized.
Some of those successes belong to Liddy. In addition to posting her 800th career win with the Angels on December 30, 2023, Liddy received the 2024 John Wooden Legacy Award. This prestigious honor is presented by the New Jersey Basketball Coaches Association and the National High School Basketball Coaches Association.
Under her guidance, Liddy’s team posted a 17-7 overall record. The Angels became Bergen County Tournament Semifinalists and NJSIAA State Sectional Semifinalists. The team also finished second in the Big North United Division.
Liddy and her assistant coaches, Sean Liddy and Alyssa Lane, worked closely with team members Anna Calianese, Daria Coll, Julia Covino, Angelina Finnerty, Amanda Garcia, Celeste Harper, Lara Kraus, Sarah Machado, Samantha Serrano, Julia Toker, Genevieve Tuohy, and Emily Vonderhorst.
Samantha Serrano, who scored her 1,000th career point on January 2, was recently named First Team All-County, and Celeste Harper achieved Second Team All-County. Both were invited to play in the Bergen/Passaic All Star Game held March 23 in Hackensack. Serrano also played in the North/South Senior Game on March 17 at Rutgers Prep.
“We coaches are very proud of the way this team progressed and the chemistry that they had,” Liddy continued. “They played for one another and Holy Angels.”
Asked about her achievements, Liddy said, “I attribute most of my success to my great assistant coaches. They make me look good. I always try to surround myself with the best.”
She also highlighted the dedication of her players, past and present.
“All my players from over the years have had a big contribution to my success and the wins we have had,” Liddy acknowledged. “They all bought into my system and played within it. There was great chemistry on the part of each team, which is always controlled by the senior leadership.”
Coach Liddy officially retired from her full-time work at AHA in 2022, but retained her coaching duties, which she began in 1974. She also continues to run the Sue Liddy Basketball Camp, which is held each summer. She is a member of the Upper Iowa Hall of Fame, the New Jersey Coaches Hall of Fame, and the Borough of Closter’s Hall of Fame. In 2018, the floor of AHA’s gym was rededicated as “Lid’s Court.”