BELLEVILLE, NJ – The Belleville High School girls’ varsity basketball team enjoyed a banner season.
The Lady Bucs, under head coach Liz Ramirez, finished with a stellar 17-8 overall record and won a share of the Super Essex Conference-Freedom Division title with a 12-2 divisional mark. Belleville shared the divisional title with Immaculate Conception of Montclair and Newark Central.
The Bucs also qualified for the NJSIAA North Jersey Section 2, Group 3 state tournament as the No. 9 seed, losing at No. 8 seed South Plainfield in the first round to end the season.
The following Bucs earned All-SEC-Freedom Division Honors:
FIRST TEAM
• Emani Hill. The junior center led the team in two-point field goals (102), free throws (49), points (278) and rebounds (176) and tied for the team lead in steals (54).
• Gianna Benacquista. The senior forward led the team in three-point field goals (19), assists (79) and blocked shots (46).
SECOND TEAM
• Sydney Gomez. The junior guard was fourth on the team in points (105) and third in both rebounds (112) and steals (42).
HONORABLE MENTION
• Jehann Dabon. The sophomore point guard was third on the team in points (187) and was tied for the team lead in steals (54) with Hill.
Next season, the Bucs will move up to the Independence Division of the SEC. The other teams in the SEC-Independence Division will be Barringer, Weequahic, Central, West Side, Immaculate Conception, Golda Och, and Irvington.
Hill and Gomez will lead the Bucs next season as seniors.
A varsity letterwinner since her freshman year, Hill was a consistent force in every game, averaging 11 points per game and 7 rebounds per game. Hill also is by far the team’s best free-throw shooter. According to coach Ramirez, Hill shot 71 percent against Mount Saint Dominic Dominic in the first round of the county tournament, making five of seven attempts. Her season best was against Central, shooting 73 percent, as she converted 11 out of 15 trips to the foul line, noted Ramirez.
“She will be our go-to player next season, and leader by example,” Ramirez said of Hill.
Gomez “proved herself to be our best all-around player this year,” Ramirez commented. “When the other team’s defense impaired our usual top scorers, she stepped up to the plate/challenge and scored to make up the difference. She had a season-high 18 points to win a pivotal game against Immaculate to sustain our chances of competing for the divisional championship. When our usual top rebounders were being boxed out and double-teamed, she stepped up and pulled down the majority of the boards. In the second game against Immaculate Conception, she not only led the team in rebounds (15), but also led the team in points (15).”
The Varsity team members were honored by the Belleville Board of Education at the public meeting on Monday, March 20. They received certificates and mementos, from Athletic Director Daniel Sanacore, to mark the milestone they reached this season.
The Belleville assistant coaches are Meghan Leonard and Karen Smith.
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