Warwick Valley High school basketball ends winning season

The Warwick Valley High School basketball programs (girls and boys teams) each had their own unique journey and found their own success this recently concluded season.

Warwick Valley girls basketball

The Wildcats tallied a very good overall record of 16-7 with a mark of 10-2 against divisional competition.

“We played a challenging schedule with many close games,’’ Warwick Valley head coach James O’Brien said. “We beat Newburgh, Pine Bush, Middletown, Wallkill, FDR and Hillcrest Missouri. We lost to Kingston, Cornwall and Nyack. All of those games were hard fought and well-contested and most were one possession games. Regardless of the result, we always battled and played tough.’’

Strong leadership was ever present on the court for the Wildcats.

“Emily Romig and Resse Girardi led the team in scoring and minutes played,’’ O’Brien said. “But many players such as Sofia Mazza, Mckenzie Decker, Kelsy Larney and Carly McLaughlin all showed leadership skills.

“Two athletes that stand out in terms of level of improvement were Sofia Mazza and Cameron Knox. Mazza stepped up when we had injuries and illness on the team. Knox became an excellent sub with energy and defense.’’

The future appears bright for Warwick Valley girls basketball.

“We hopefully have four players coming back who played a lot of minutes,’’ O’Brien said. “We have four players coming back that are excited for more. Our JV and modified team also did very well.’’

Warwick Valley boys basketball:

The Wildcats also finished up with a strong record for the 2025-2026 season.

“We finished our season 15-7 and there were a few impressive wins that stood out along the way,’’ Warwick Valley head coach Joseph Mackey said. “We won tough games on the road against Middletown and Pine Bush. And we finished the regular season by beating Newburgh at home on Senior Night. It was the first time beating Newburgh since 2008.

“Lastly, we won a really tough semifinal game on the road against Valley Central. I was impressed with the toughness and resilience our team showed.’’

Leadership was prevalent in a positive way for the Wildcats.

“Our captains Jake Cosco, Sean Perez and Danny Lupkovich did an amazing job keeping our team focused throughout the year,’’ Mackey said. “We had a few rough patches early but our captains kept the team together. And at the end of the year, their leadership helped lead us to six straight wins including a semifinal win against Valley Central in the playoffs.’’

Plenty of student athletes on the roster steadily improved throughout the course of this recently ended season.

“I was really impressed with how our juniors Danny Lupkovich and Sean Perez continued to improve throughout the season on the offensive end,’’ Mackey said. “The biggest improvement I saw was by sophomore Lucas Miller. He started the year as a role player, and finished the season as a starter that guarded the opponent’s best player. Lucas also contributed significantly on offense, including a key eight points in our semifinal victory over Valley Central.’’

The 2026-2027 season should prove to be yet another very productive one for the Wildcats.

“We lose two key seniors in Quenten Liciaga and Ayden Ward,’’ Mackey said. “But we are tremendously optimistic about next season because we return 11 players from this year’s team. Our Junior Varsity Team also had an amazing season (15-3) thanks to the leadership of coach Phil Dunn. So we are excited to add a few players from JV as well.

“This year’s team had a tremendous season and gained valuable experience along the way. I believe we will be even better next year.’’