Orange HS girls’ basketball team preps for state tournament; falls to Newark Tech in ECT quarterfinals

ORANGE, NJ – The Orange High School girls’ varsity basketball team, seeded fifth, will host No. 12 seed Colonia in the first round of the North Jersey Section 2, Group 3 state tournament on Tuesday, Feb. 28, at 5 p.m. The winner will face the winner between No. 13 seed Rahway and No. 4 seed Chatham in the quarterfinals on March 2. The top seed is Somerville.

The eighth-seeded Tornadoes lost at top-seeded Newark Tech, 64-30, in the Essex County Tournament quarterfinals on Saturday, Feb. 28. Imani May had a game-high 22 points for OHS, which had its five-game winning streak snapped and moved to a 16-6 record.

In previous play, the Tornadoes defeated Barringer and Cedar Grove in Super Essex Conference-Colonial Division action.
Lorenzia Hammer had 21 points, 16 rebounds and six blocks in the 46-14 win at Barringer on Feb. 14 in Newark. May had six points, five assists and seven steals and Jada Hamilton had six points and five rebounds. Jonai Hill had five points and Lataijah Lovett had four points.

May had 25 points, six steals, five rebounds and five assists in the 52-39 home win over Cedar Grove on Feb. 16. Hammer had eight points, eight rebounds and five blocks; Chayla Jamaruth had six points; Hill chipped in five points; and Hamilton and Imani Paul each added four points.