EAST ORANGE – The East Orange Campus High School girls’ varsity basketball team will seek its second straight Essex County Tournament championship.
The top-seeded Lady Jaguars will face seventh-seeded Newark Tech in the ECT final on Saturday, Feb. 27, at 3 p.m. at Essex County College in Newark.
The Jaguars, under head coach Derrick Johnson, defeated fourth-seeded and Super Essex Conference-American Division rival Shabazz, 41-27, in the ECT semifinals doubleheader on Feb. 24 at Weequahic HS in Newark.
Sophomore center Moriyah Jordan had 16 points, eight rebounds, six blocks and one steal and senior forward Barbara Jackson had 10 points, six rebounds, and five assists to lead the Jaguars, who improved to an 18-3 record.
Senior guard Sahara Crawford had seven points, seven rebounds, five steals, two assists and one block; freshman guard Brianna Mills had six points, seven rebounds, two assists and two steals; senior guard Marvelous Osagie-Erese posted eight rebounds, four assists and one steal and freshman Lakel Wills had two points, two rebounds and one assist for EOCHS.
The Jaguars jumped out to a 16-5 lead at the end of the first quarter. Shabazz cut the deficit to 22-15 at halftime. But the Jaguars maintained control in the second half, outscoring Shabazz, 10-6, in the third quarter and 9-6 in the fourth quarter.
The Jaguars split the two divisional meetings against Shabazz this season. EOCHS won, 75-59, in the first meeting on Jan. 19. Shabazz won the second meeting, 39-35, Feb. 18, at EOCHS to snap the Jaguars’ four-game winning streak.
Newark Tech defeated third-seeded University, 53-48, in the other semifinal to win its 10th straight game and improve to 14-10. Newark Tech trailed 39-35 after three quarters before outscoring University, 18-9, in the fourth quarter.
The Jaguars started the season 10-0 before losing to St. Rose, 49-23, Jan. 27. They defeated West Orange, 56-42, the next day before losing to Francis Lewis, N.Y., 47-42, to move to 11-2.
EOCHS last season defeated Montclair in the ECT final for its first county title. EOCHS was formed in the 2002-2003 school year after the merger of East Orange High School and Clifford Scott HS.
The Jaguars also are appearing in their third ECT final in four years. In 2013, EOCHS lost to Shabazz in the final.
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