Girls' Courtside Review
The No. 1 seed was a dominant force in the South Jersey public school girls’ basketball tournament. Three of the four champions were top seeds, while the only Non-No. 1 seed to win was No. 2 Cherokee’s 51-40 win over No. 1 Lenape in the South Jersey Group 4 championship. Here is a look at the four groups:
Group 1
For top-seeded Haddon Township, it was all about defense. The Hawks allowed just 28.5 points per game in the four playoff wins, culminated by a 42-32 win over No. 3 seeded Wildwood in the sectional final.
Senior Alli Kamulda led the Hawks in the final with 16 points. The key win for the Hawks was a 46-44 semifinal victory over No. 4 Woodstown. Haddon Township trailed by five points with under three minutes left, but went on a 10-0 run to assume control. The Hawks won their three other playoff games by double digits.
Group 2
This was a dominant run by top-seeded Middle Township. The Panthers won every game by at least 14 points. Middle Township sealed the deal with a 56-31 win over No. 3 seed Haddon Heights in the championship game.
Junior guard Reagen Powell tied her season high by scoring 28 points in the win over Haddon Heights. Powell hit all 11 of her foul shots, while also grabbing nine rebounds. Junior forward Sarah Farrow added 15 points and 16 rebounds for the winning Panthers.
Just like the boys, where Camden cruised to the South Jersey Group 2 title, Middle Township wasn’t challenged enroute to winning the title.
Group 3
Top seeded Cherry Hill West won its first sectional title in convincing fashion. The first three wins came by an average of 30.6 points.
West was challenged in the final, beating No. 2 Moorestown, 50-43.
It was the third competitive game between these two Olympic Conference Patriot Division teams. The two regular season wins by Cherry Hill West were by a total of seven points.
Sophomore Kirsten Gibson led West with 17 points in the championship game. Gibson had a great South Jersey tournament, averaging 20.2 points.
The Lions’ defense stood tall in the South Jersey tournament, allowing just 40.75 points in the four tournament wins.
Group 4
Cherokee’s 11-point win over Lenape in the final completed a dominating stretch for the Chiefs, where they won all four games by double digits.
The Chiefs’ defense came to the forefront, allowing an average of just 29.7 points in the four playoff wins.
In the championship, junior Brielle Alaba had one of the great championship clutch efforts. Alaba scored a team-high 22 points, hitting 17 of 18 from the foul line. Sophomore Abby Ball added 17 points and 11 rebounds.
This was the third meeting between these two schools from the Lenape School District. Lenape won both regular season meetings in earning the Olympic Conference American Division title. The Indians won those two games by a combined 35 points, but Cherokee turned the tables in the championship game.
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Photo / Courtesy of Cherokee Lady Chiefs X/Twitter
Author: Marc Narducci
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