BHS basketball legend is mourned

In Bloomfield High School girls basketball history, there was no one better than Tyiana Sears.

A 6-foot-2 power forward, Sears proved unstoppable during her career, leading the Bengals to county and state sectional titles in her junior season and graduating in 2001 as the program’s all-time leading scorer.

Sears, one of the top scorers all-time in Essex County history, died on Dec. 11, just nine days after turning 42. Sears became the program’s all-time leading scorer in her senior season and finished with 1,922 career points.

Sears sparked the Bengals to the 2000 Essex County Tournament championship. In the ECT final, Sears scored 18 points to lead the Bengals to a 41-26 win over Newark West Side. It marked the last time the Bengals won the ECT title.

The Bengals, under then-head coach and current BHS athletic director Steve Jenkins, went on to capture the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association’s North Jersey, Section 2, Group 4 state tournament championship. She scored 23 points in the 60-52 win over Columbia in the final. The Bengals then defeated Ridgewood, 48-33, in the Group 4 state semifinal, led by Sears’ 22 points. Sears scored 28 points, but the Bengals lost to Toms River North, 50-48, in the Group 4 state championship game, as they finished with a stellar 25-3 record.

In her senior season, Sears led the Bengals to another strong campaign. The team reached the semifinals of ECT, but lost to powerhouse Shabazz, as Sears scored 17 of her team’s 24 points. Sears scored 32 points in the 54-43 win over Irvington in the quarterfinals of the North 2, Group 4 state sectional tournament. But her career came to end in the state sectional semifinals, as she scored 24 points in the 55-46 loss to Columbia. BHS finished 19-5.

During her career, the Bengals fashioned a gaudy 87-15 record. She led the team to the Northern New Jersey Interscholastic League championship in all four years. Her individual honors include First Team All–NNJIL all four years, First Team All–Essex County in her sophomore through senior seasons, Second Team All-State Group 4 in her sophomore season and First Team All-State Group 4 in her junior and senior seasons. She was honored by being named to the All-State First Team All Groups as a junior and senior, and was selected to play in the North-South All-Star Game.

In addition to basketball, Sears was an All–Essex County performer in volleyball, leading the team to NJSIAA’s Group 4 state championship in her junior year.

Sears continued her basketball career at St. Peter’s College.

Sears was inducted into the BHS Athletic Hall of Fame in 2015. In her Hall of Fame bio, she wrote, “My experiences at BHS taught me teamwork and responsibility, how to deal with disappointment. as well as accomplishment.” She also stated that no matter what obstacles you might face in life, they can be overcome. Her belief was “love and support go a long way.”

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