Staff Report

Lenape girls basketball coach Sean McAneny jokes that he didn’t hear Ryleigh Nichols speak until her sophomore year.

Not tall by basketball standards and shy by any standard, Nichols had an unassuming start to her high school career four years ago. She scored 31 points, had one rebound, a couple assists and a few steals. That season, Lenape won 19 games but lost in the sectional semifinals.

Little did she, or anyone know, that she’d end up graduating with a couple of state championships under her belt. The following year, when Nichols was a sophomore, the Indians won the state title, and after falling short her junior year, this past winter Lenape returned with a vengeance and won another Group 4 state title.

Nichols was a huge part of that, even if she rarely — if ever — got her name mentioned. Teammate El-Anita Joe-Samuel was a mega-star, scoring an incredible 807 points as a junior last winter — nearly half of the team’s entire output for the season. But she couldn’t have done all that without an experienced, smart, playmaking point guard.

“When Ryleigh was a freshman, I didn’t know what her voice sounded like. She was very shy. She’s always been an outstanding shooter, but over the course of her four years we talked about what else could we do with her? And she got better at creating space and she ran our offense beautifully,” McAneny said after Lenape’s win over Franklin in the state semifinals in March. “I was really impressed with her physicality on the defensive side, too, because she’s always ended up with a matchup where the girl is taller than her. Her physicality and strength that she brings to the defensive side of the ball — she got a lot of rebounds for us.

“She’s a kid who plays with so much heart. She makes the hustle plays when we need them the most. I love having a kid like her out there. We have a lot of girls who can handle the ball, but what separates Ryleigh from other point guards I’ve seen is she’s so cerebral. She’s so smart out there. She knows when to get the play going, and even when to go away from an option,” he added. “Over four years, you get to trust a player like that. It’s not easy when you’re a 14-year-old freshman to know all the reads and decisions. Her senior year she was outstanding for us. She plays so hard every game, and I love that about her.”

Nichols finished her career with nearly 500 points, more than 100 rebounds, 112 three-pointers made, 84 assists and 93 steals in 95 career games. More importantly, she was a winner, leading the Indians to a 98-29 record during her career.

— Staff Writer Dave O’Sullivan