They are two teams with some definite similarities: short rosters, short benches, as well as some inexperience and youth.

And that’s not just the players on the floor, it’s the two head coaches.

Middlesex is led by 2016 grad Zakiya Beckles, who was here under Stew Lester, who left after last season to coach the boys at Middletown North. Marissa Liberato is the head coach at Jonathan Dayton in Springfield; she’s a 2015 Toms River North grad, and spent the past six years under longtime head coach Dave Rennie.

The two teams will square off Saturday morning at 11:30 in Middlesex, in a game you can hear live on Central Jersey Sports Radio. Mike Pavlichko and Chris Tsakonas will be on the call; pregame starts at 11:15; click here to listen.

For Middlesex, it’s getting used to life after Jess Devine, even if her sister, Kaylee, could be her doppelganger. Devine graduated in June as the all-time leading scorer at the school, girls’ or boys.

Middlesex is scrappy defensively. Ball control against the Blue Jays is an absolute must. That’s one big reason they’re 11-7, playing as a Group 1 school in the GMC’s Red National Division.

Another big reason is Sophomore Avery Iskra, who’s taken baton as the team’s scoring leader this season, averaging 11.8 points a game, while senior Alyssa Young – the team’s only 12th grader – is leading the squad with 30 treys.

But a senior is something Dayton won’t even have this year. Their only one – Bella Pintardo, with two years’ varsity experience – is out due to injury. That leaves two juniors, two sophomores, and four freshmen – eight players, the same as Middlesex – in the scorebook for Saturday’s game.

The top two scorers are sophomores. Maggie Hildebrand is averaging 10.3 points per game, tied for the team lead with 4.7 rebounds per contest, and leads the squad with 15 from downtown, and 16 assists. Aria Molinelli is second with 8.8 points per game, and has been the top scorer in six of 14 games so far. Hildebrand has led in the other eight.

The schedule also hasn’t been kind to small-school Dayton, a Group 1 program which is just 2-12, but has played a brutal slate including Elizabeth – the largest high school in the state – as well as Linden. Their wins have come over Whippany Park and South Plainfield.

But in a number of games, they’ve been that close, including a four-point defeat at the hands of Oak Knoll on January 6th. They also fell three points shy at Elizabeth last Saturday, and came within seven of Summit.

Click below for interviews with both head coaches previewing Saturday’s Middlesex-Dayton game: