Correction: The date of the quarterfinal game is Feb. 20.
EAST ORANGE – Senior guard Marvellous Osagie-Erese had 14 points, 11 rebounds, 11 assists and five steals and freshman Lakel Willis had 16 points, four rebounds and six steals to lead the top-seeded and defending champion East Orange Campus High School girls’ varsity basketball team to a 75-47 win over No. 16 seed Caldwell the first round of the Essex County Tournament on Feb. 13 at EOCHS.
Freshman Brianna Mills had 12 points and eight rebounds; senior forward Barbara Jackson had 11 points, six rebounds and three blocks; senior guard Sahara Crawford netted 11 points; sophomore forward Moriyah Jordan posted 10 points and Annoushka Boatswain added one point for the Lady Jaguars, who improved to a 15-2 record.
EOCHS will host eighth-seeded West Orange in the quarterfinals on Feb. 20. The tip-off time could not be confirmed. The winner will face the winner between No. 5 Nutley and No. 4 Newark Shabazz in the semifinals doubleheader at Weequahic HS on Feb. 24 in Newark.
The Jaguars also hope to win a state sectional title for the second year in a row. EOCHS is the No. 2 seed in the state North Jersey Section 2, Group 4 tournament. The top seed is Bayonne. Last year, the Jaguars won the Section 1, Group 4 title.
In earlier action, Jordan had 13 points and seven rebounds and Osagie-Erese and Barbara Jackson each had nine points and seven rebounds as the Jaguars rallied to beat Nutley, 47-37, Feb. 11 at home.
Trailing 33-30, the Jaguars outscored Nutley, 17-4, in the fourth quarter.
Willis had nine points and five steals and Crawford added seven points and four rebounds.
Blair Watson, a McDonald’s All-American, was held to 13 points, but had 17 rebounds and six blocks for Nutley.
Essex County Tournament
First round
1-East Orange Campus defeated 16-Caldwell, 75-47
8-West Orange defeated 9-Bloomfield, 49-46, double overtime
5-Nutley defeated 12-Columbia, 53-15
4-Newark Shabazz defeated 13-Orange, 54-44
2-Newark Academy defeated 15-Mount Saint Dominic, 42-24
7-Newark Tech defeated 10-Bloomfield Tech, 74-57
11-Millburn defeated 6-Montclair, 61-52
3-University defeated 14-Barringer, 76-52
Quarterfinals, Feb. 20
8-West Orange at 1-East Orange Campus
5-Nutley at 4-Newark Shabazz
7-Newark Tech at 2-Newark Academy
11-Millburn at 3-University
North Jersey Section 2, Group 4 tournament
First round
March 1
16-Columbia at 1-Bayonne
9-Watchung Hills at 8-North Hunterdon
12-J.P. Stevens at 5-Union
13-Bridgewater-Raritan at 4-Franklin
14-Scotch Plains-Fanwood at 3-Piscataway
11-Phillipsburg at 6-Dickinson
10-Westfield at 7-Millburn
15-Ridge at 2-East Orange Campus
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