Finishing Strong
For South Jersey girls’ basketball fans this weekend showed how difficult it is to win a state championship.
Only one public school from the seven-county South Jersey area, Cherry Hill West, advanced to a state final, and the Lions came through with their first state championship.
South Jersey did have two teams advance in the Non-Public state championships games, but both lost to extremely talented teams.
Here is a recap of the state tournament:
Group 3
Cherry Hill West used a smothering defense throughout the tournament to capture its first ever state title. Dan Butler’s Lions never allowed more than 46 points in any of their six postseason wins. (The game they allowed 46 points, the Lions still won by 41).
The defense truly excelled in a 34-19 win over Chatham in the Group 3 state final. Leading by nine points entering the fourth quarter, West outscored Chatham, 8-2 in the final eight minutes. Sophomore Kirsten Gibson, who averaged 17.9 points this season, scored 16 in the state championship game. West finished with a 25-4 record and went 8-0 in winning the Olympic Conference Patriot Division.
Non-Public A
Paul VI was the consensus No. 1 team in South Jersey and the Eagles faced the sternest test in a state final. In a battle of 27-0 teams, Morris Catholic earned a 54-44 win over Paul VI in the state Non-Public A championship.
It was the third straight state title for Morris Catholic, which had won the previous two in Non-Public B.
For Paul VI, it was still a great season. Earning a sectional title in such a competitive group was a monumental feat.
Paul VI had to beat perennial state power St. John Vianney, 56-52 in overtime during the sectional semifinal, getting 19 points from sophomore Brooke Stagliano who enjoyed a great season.
With Stagliano scoring 16 points, the Eagles beat Red Bank Catholic, 47-46 to win the South Jersey Non-Public A title. It was the Eagles’ first sectional title since 1989 and their fourth straight appearance in the South Jersey title game.
A 27-1 record and sectional title made this a wildly successful season for coach Orlando Hidalgo’s Eagles.
Non-Public B
Gloucester Catholic had an impressive showing in winning the South Jersey Non-Public B title with a 46-33 win over Rutgers Prep. Junior Jahzara Green scored 21 points to lead the Rams’ victory.
The Rams were truly impressive in the South Jersey tournament, winning their sectional semifinal by 15 points over Ranney.
The season ended with last week’s 41-30 loss to Montclair Immaculate in the state Non-Public B championship in a game Green had nine points and eight rebounds to lead the Rams in both departments.
Gloucester Catholic held a 23-20 lead with under four minutes left in the third quarter, but a 10-0 run turned the tide for Montclair Immaculate, which will be closing as a school in June.
Early in the fourth quarter, Gloucester Catholic trailed 30-28, only to see Montclair Immaculate seal matters by going on an 11-2 run
Still, it was a great season for the Rams, who finished 26-5. Gloucester Catholic won the Tri-County Classic Conference and title and the Tri-County Flight A Conference Tournament title, beating Washington Township in the final.
With every key performer back next year, the expectations should remain high for Gloucester Catholic.
Group 1
Haddon Township was the top seed in the South Jersey tournament and emerged as champion, allowing an average of 28.5 points per game in the four victories.
The Hawks saw their season end in the state semifinal with a 55-37 loss to perennial contender New Providence.
Haddon Township led, 11-7 after one quarter, but a 21-7 second quarter turned the momentum toward New Providence.
This ended a great season for Haddon Township, which won the always difficult Colonial Conference Liberty Division title in finishing 28-4 under first-year coach Mark Petito.
Group 2
Middle Township won its third straight South Jersey Group 2 title before seeing the season end with a 60-42 state semifinal loss to defending state champion Manasquan. It was the second straight year that these teams met in the state semifinal, with Manasquan winning 52-24.
As the scores indicate, Middle Township was much more competitive in this year’s state semifinal than a year ago.
It was quite an impressive season for coach John Leahy’s 27-6 Panthers.
Besides a third straight sectional title, Middle Township beat Holy Spirit, 42-32 to win the Cape Atlantic League tournament championship.
Group 4
Cherokee showed great improvement this season. After losing two regular season games to defending state Group 4 champion Lenape by a total of 35 points, Cherokee beat the Indians, 51-40 in the South Jersey Group 4 final. Brielle Alaba scored 22 points to lead Cherokee in the title game, including 17 from the foul line.
Cherokee (20-9) saw its season end with a 49-34 state Group 4 semifinal loss to Hillsborough. Alaba led the way with 16 points.
In fairness, Cherokee was the clear underdog against a Hillsborough team that entered the game ranked No. 10 in the state by NJ.com.
Cherokee played such a difficult schedule and that prepared the Chiefs for the postseason. There was an 8-point loss to consensus No. 1 Paul VI and other defeats to South Jersey Group 3 champion Cherry Hill West and South Jersey Non-Public B champ Gloucester Catholic.
Photo Courtesy of Paul VI girls’ basketball
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Author: Marc Narducci
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