A Record Night for Abby Scheidel

Coming into the 2019-2020 season, senior Abby Scheidel was about 160 points away from reaching 1,000 career points. Abby has been on the girls' varsity basketball team since her freshman year and now is one of the few seniors on the team. With Abby being one of the only seniors on the team, she has to take most of the workload this season and score the majority of the points. Having Abby as the main scorer has worked well for the Raiders so far this season, as they sit at a record of 12 wins and 5 losses and are the four seed in the Essex County Tournament. 

January 13, 2020 was a very special day for Abby and the Raiders as she scored her 1,000th career point against Payne Tech High School in Newark, New Jersey. Abby hit a three pointer to eclipse the mark. Even though she scored her 1,000th point, Abby was still not satisfied. “I was relieved because I played a terrible game, but after I was really happy and proud of myself.” After scoring her 1,000th point her main focus is to make sure her and the team make it far in the state and county tournament. 

Abby began to play basketball when she was around the age of 8  while in the third grade. Her dad introduced her to the game, but it did not take long for her to fall in love with it. Although she played other sports such as softball, basketball was her true passion as she played for Nutley and a separate travel team all the way throughout high school.  Abby thanks her dad for being her biggest influence to play the game.“He always encouraged me to practice and he signed me up for everything,” Abby said. 

As for the Raiders finishing up the season, Abby looks to lead them to a State and County Championship. The Raiders are the fourth seed in the county tournament and the second seed in the state tournament in large part due to Abby’s play this season. Abby is currently averaging 17.9 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 3.6 assists per game for the Raiders. Her 17.9 points per game are fifth in the conference. Abby looks to continue to put up similar stats as the season continues. 

After her final season comes to an end, Abby will attend Muhlenberg University in Allentown, Pennsylvania and will play basketball there as well. “I'm really sad, but I’m happy that I am able to play in college,” Abby said.

We wish Abby and the Raiders best of luck as they try and bring a championship home for Nutley.