South Jersey vs the Shore Features Some of the Top Girls Basketball Teams In the State

On Saturday, Jan. 24, one of the top girls’ basketball events will take place with the South Jersey vs. the Shore Showcase.

There will be 12 games played at RiverWinds Community Center in West Deptford. With two courts, there will be six games being played simultaneously.

What makes the event so special is that South Jersey teams will compete against the Shore Conference, among the best, if not the top conference in the state.

This is the first year of the event in West Deptford.

It is being run by second-year West Deptford coach Anthony Corrado, who used to hold a similar event when he was the head girls’ basketball coach at Rancocas Valley.

“It is just a good day for basketball and for South Jersey to get a chance to see upper echelon teams from a different conference,” Corrado said.

Here are the matchups:

10am - Wildwood Catholic vs Ewing; Haddonfield vs Central.

11:30 - West Deptford vs Barnegat; Washington Township vs Wall.

1:00 - Lenape vs Red Bank Catholic; Westampton Tech vs Toms River North.

2:30 - Cherokee vs Red Bank Regional; Cinnaminson vs Shore/

4:00 - Moorestown vs Manasquan; Middle Township vs Jackson.

5:30 - Bishop Eustace vs St John Vianney; Eastern vs Howell.

One of the highlights is Lenape against Red Bank Catholic.

In 2024, Lenape won the Group 4 state championship. Last year the Indians advanced to the South Jersey Group 4 final before falling to Cherokee.

Once again Lenape is among the top teams in South Jersey and the state. The Indians are led by one of the top players in the state, junior El-Anita Joe-Samuel, who was a key performer on that 2024 state title team.

In fact, Joe-Samuel had 13 points and 14 rebounds as a freshman during Lenape’s 43-28 state Group 4 championship win over Morristown.

She began this week averaging 23.2 points in the first nine games for a Lenape team that was 7-2 and playing one of the area’s more difficult schedules.

Red Bank Catholic began the week 8-1 and was ranked No. 1 in the state by NJ.com. Senior guard-forward Addy Nyemchek is the leading scorer, averaging 21.1 points. She is an Indiana commit, among many Division I prospects on the team.

Another top team is St. John Vianney, the No. 2 in the state, which lost earlier this season, 62-51 to Red Bank Catholic.

St. John Vianney will be facing a talented Bishop Eustace team that began the week 6-5, but the Crusaders have played a difficult schedule.

Junior guard Acadia Walters (13.5 ppg.) is leading the Crusaders in scoring.

This is not about wins or losses, but about having your program tested against quality competition. Events like this certainly will help the South Jersey teams prepare for the NJSIAA tournament, which is not that far away, beginning Feb. 24.