Katie Powers drives upcourt with the ball during action this season.
GLEN RIDGE, NJ — The Glen Ridge High School girls basketball team gave a strong effort, despite coming up short in the Essex County Tournament semifinals.
The third-seeded Ridgers lost to second-seeded West Orange High School, 43-38, in the ECT semifinals on Saturday, Feb. 15, at WOHS. After trailing 11-4 in the first quarter, the Ridgers rallied in the second quarter, outsourcing West Orange, 12-5, to tie it, 16-16, at halftime.
Glen Ridge continued the momentum and took a 26-24 lead going into the fourth quarter. West Orange, however, regrouped. Glen Ridge trailed 35-32 with 1:49 left, but the Mountaineers held on for the win. For the Ridgers, senior Riley O’Sullivan had 16 points, seven rebounds, two assists, one blocked shot and one steal; senior Katie Powers had 10 points, four assists, two steals and one rebound; senior Marjorie Boyle had six points on two 3-pointers, with two assists, one steal and one rebound; and junior Allison Snyder had four points, five rebounds, three blocked shots, two steals and two assists; junior Annabel Koss-Defrank had two points, junior Anabel Mira-McKenzie had one rebound and one assist and sophomore Caitlin Hood also saw action.
Glen Ridge, under first-year head coach Kristina Danella, moved to 17-7, while West Orange moved to 19-6. The two teams split their two Super Essex Conference-American Division games this season. West Orange will face top-seeded Montclair Immaculate Conception in the ECT final on Saturday, Feb. 22, at Essex County College in Newark. Immaculate Conception defeated fourth-seeded University (Newark), 72-55, in the other ECT semifinal, also at WOHS on Saturday, Feb. 15. Days earlier, Immaculate Conception announced it will close at the end of the school year.
In earlier action, the Ridgers lost to Immaculate Conception, 53-44, Tuesday, Feb. 11, in a divisional game.
GRHS bounced back with a 44-31 home win over University (Newark) on Thursday, Feb. 13, in a divisional game. O’Sullivan had 16 points and 11 rebounds; Powers had 13 points, four rebounds and three steals; Caitlin Hood had nine points and 10 rebounds; Snyder had three points, four rebounds, six assists and five blocked shots; and Koss-Defrank had three points and eight rebounds. The Ridgers won both divisional meetings against University.
The Ridgers will gear up for the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association’s North Jersey, Section 2, Group 1 state tournament that begins Wednesday, Feb. 26. Glen Ridge was the runner-up in the sectional tournament in each of the past two seasons.
Photo Courtesy of Doug Snyder
About the Author
