EAST ORANGE, NJ – (updated Tuesday Feb. 21, 11:28 a.m.) – Moriyah Jordan scored 16 points and pulled down nine rebounds and Brianna Mills had 15 points to lead the fourth-seeded East Orange Campus High School girls’ varsity basketball team to a 61-48 home win over fifth-seeded Bloomfield in the Essex County Tournament quarterfinals on Saturday, Feb. 18.
Brianna Turner had 12 points and four assists; Lakel Willis had 10 points; Annoushka Boatswain had six points and five rebounds; Hadiyah Hassan had two points and Lauren Lewter grabbed four rebounds for the Jaguars, who were scheduled to face top-seeded Newark Tech in the ECT semifinals doubleheader at Weequahic HS in Newark on Feb. 22 at 5 p.m. The other semifinal pitted third-seeded West Orange against second-seeded University.
The final will be held Saturday, Feb. 25, at Essex County College in Newark at 1 p.m.
The Jaguars lost to Newark Tech, 42-33, Monday, Feb. 20, at home in a Super Essex Conference-American Division game. The loss snapped the Jaguars’ seven-game winning streak and moved their record to 14-6. Mills had 14 points and Turner had 12 points.
The Jaguars defeated Newark Tech in last year’s ECT championship game for their second straight county title. Newark Tech defeated EOCHS, 64-33, Jan. 10, at Newark Tech in the first divisional meeting between the teams, the Jaguars’ fourth loss of the season.
In earlier action, Jordan had 20 points and eight rebounds and Willis had 12 points to lead the Jaguars to a 56-52 comeback win over 13th-seeded West Essex in the first round of the ECT on Feb. 14 at EOCHS. Trailing 43-39, the Jaguars outscored West Essex, 17-9, in the fourth quarter. Mills had nine points and Hassan had five points.
Jordan scored 14 points to led four EOCHS players in double figures in the 58-41 home win over Newark Academy on Feb. 16 in a divisional game. Turner had 13 points, five rebounds, three blocks and three assists; Willis had 12 points and six rebounds; Mills had 11 points, five rebounds and three assists; Boatswain had four points and five rebounds and Hassan added three points.
The Jaguars are looking to win section state tournament title for the third straight season.
EOCHS, seeded 12th, will visit No. 5 seed Paterson Kennedy in the first round of the North Jersey Section 1, Group 4 tournament on Monday, Feb. 27, at 5 p.m. The winner will face the winner between No. 13 seed Passaic County Tech and No. 4 seed Fair Lawn at the higher seeded school. The top seed is Morristown.
The Jaguars won the Section 1, Group 4 title in 2015 and won the Section 2, Group 4 championship last season.
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