The Lady Golden Griffins have a new coach as Michael Isabella replaced Joe Ferreiro, who was fired by the school, and they have some new key offensive ingredients to replace the power offense of senior-graduated Courtney Keegan.

Despite Isabella taking over just last month, Queen of Peace has adapted to Isabella’s systems quickly as the Golden Griffins have jumped out to a 3-0 mark in the early going. "The team has really picked up the offense very well," said Isabella. "We’re playing well and the team has to keep fighting and keep fighting. I think we will make some noise this season."

While three of the starters return this season, their role has increased with Keegan graduated. Senior forward Brittany Turner (5-feet-9-inches), senior point guard Stephanie Wallace (5-5) and senior forward Julie Candio-Sekel (5-8) have seen their roles increase in 2007-08 and so far the mix has worked out well. The Golden Griffins were 3-0 as of midweek with victories over Ridgefield Park, Dickinson and Westwood.

Rounding out the starting five are junior guard Samantha Murphy (5-5) and senior forward Mary Kat Cana (5-7).

Before the season started Queen of Peace’s rotation took a hit as senior center Christine Fernandez was lost for the season after tearing her ACL in a scrimmage against Paterson Catholic.

Junior Nicole Duarte (5-9) though returned to the court last week after recovering from an ankle injury. Sophomore center Dana Thomas (5-9) and sophomore guard Danielle Kearns (5-4) will get extensive playing time off the bench.

While Turner, Wallace and Candio-Sekel are the main scoring options, Isabella points out to several players being able to score and 10 players scored in the recent win over Dickinson. "We like to pass around the ball," said Isabella. "I’m proud of the kids. Everybody chips in and everybody touches the ball."

Five players scored in the Golden Griffins 51-45 win in Westwood on Nov. 18. Candio-Sekel was smoking from beyond the three-point line with four threes and led the team against the Lady Cardinals with 21 points.

Turner and Wallace chipped in a dozen and 11 points respectively. "Her (Wallace) skill is to control the tempo and we have been doing a lot of this," said Isabella "She (Wallace) keeps us focused…she (Turner) likes to slash to the basket.

The result has been a hot start and putting the Golden Griffins into the mix for the top of the BCSL American.

This season Isabella is making his team push the ball down the floor and playing a lot of full-court press on defense. "The goal is to establish the defense and get a lot of baskets off of the turnovers.," said Isabella who also added. "One of the goals is to fight every second on the floor."

Coming up, Queen of Peace will get good preparation for the Bergen County tournament in the Joe Poli Tournament this week. The Golden Griffins take on Bergen County powerhouse Pascack Valley in the first round game. Also, Rutherford and St. Mary’s are in the multi-team tournament, considered one of the best in the area.

"We’re looking forward to the challenge," said Isabella.

In terms of the BCSL American, the new Queen of Peace head coach knows that the favorite is Rutherford. The Golden Griffins will get another challenge on Jan. 4 when they host the Lady Bulldogs in one of the bigger American games of the season. It will be an interesting game of offenses with Queen of Peace trying to push the ball and the Lady Bulldogs half-court strength.