EAST ORANGE, NJ – The two-time defending champion East Orange High School girls’ varsity basketball team lost to top-seeded Newark Tech, 49-33, in the Essex County Tournament semifinals at Weequahic HS in Newark on Feb. 22.
Freshman guard Brianna Turner had 12 points and sophomore point guard Brianna Mills had 10 points for the fourth-seeded Jaguars, who moved to a 14-7 record.
Sophomore guard Lakel Willis had five points; senior Hadiyah Hassan had four points and senior center Annouska Boatswain had two points for EOCHS. Newark Tech improved to 21-4.
The teams met two days earlier in a Super Essex Conference-American Division game at EOCHS. Newark Tech won, 42-33, to snap the Jaguars’ seven-game winning streak.
Last year, the Jaguars defeated Newark Tech in the ECT final for the second straight county title.
The Jaguars, seeded 12th, will visit fifth-seeded Paterson Kennedy in the first round of the North Jersey Section 1, Group 4 tournament on Monday, Feb. 27, at 5 p.m. EOCHS, under 14th-year head coach Derrick Johnson, is seeking a section title for the third straight year. In 2015, the Jaguars won the North 1, Group 4 title. Last season, they won the North 2, Group 4 crown.
Newark Tech will meet third-seeded West Orange in the ECT final at Essex County College in Newark at 1 p.m. West Orange is 21-1.
Two-time defending champion East Orange HS girls’ basketball team falls to Newark Tech in ECT semfinals added by Joe Ragozzino on
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