BLOOMFIELD, NJ – Junior guard Samantha Columna scored 12 points to lead the fifth-seeded Bloomfield High School girls varsity bsiketball team to a 50-36 home win over 12th-seeded Kearny in the first round of the NJSIAA North Jersey Section 1, Group 4 state tournament Monday, Feb. 25.
Senior forward Sarah Edmond and senior guard Camrynn Referente each had nine points; freshman guard Chiara Hilario had eight points; freshman forward Lucy Heyman netted five points; sophomore center Melina Hidalgo posted four points; junior guard Gina Perrotta added two points and sophomore guard Asiih EdMond chipped in a free throw for the BenGalS, who improved to a 16-7 record.
Bloomfield led 15-6 at the end of the first quarter. Kearn
y rallied in the second quarter to cut the Bengals’ lead to 23-22 at the half. The game remained close until the fourth quarter when the Bengals outscored Kearny, 16-4, to seal the victory.
The Bengals will visit fourth-seeded Livingston in the quarterfinals Feb. 27. The winner will face either ninth-seeded East Orange Campus or top-seeded and defending champion West Orange in the semifinals March 1. Livingston defeated No. 13 seed Mount Olive, 35-28, in the first round to improve to 18-5. Livingston won the Super Essex Conference-Independence Division with a 14-0 record. Bloomfield finished second in the SEC-Liberty Division at 9-3, behind Immaculate Conception, which went 12-0. West Orange defeated Immaculate Conception in the Essex County Tournament final, 36-25, at Essex County College, Feb. 23, for its first-ever ECT title.
Photos by Jerry Simon
Bloomfield vs. Kearny, North 1, Group 4 state tournament first round, Feb. 25
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