MAPLEWOOD/SOUTH ORANGE, NJ — Talia Baptiste, a junior, had 14 points, seven rebounds, six steals, five assists and three blocked shots; and senior Bella Galatt had 9 points and five steals to lead the fifth-seeded Columbia High School girls basketball team to a 46-42 win over fourth-seeded Newark Academy in the quarterfinals of the Essex County Tournament on Saturday, Feb. 4, at Newark Academy in Livingston.
Shana Desir, a senior, had 6 points, five rebounds and four steals; senior Samiya Hill had 6 points and three rebounds; junior Summer Lonning had 4 points and two rebounds; junior Jaime Levi had 3 points and two rebounds; and seniors Leah Connell and Allie Harris each had 2 points and four rebounds for the CHS Cougars, who improved to 9-12 overall on the season. Newark Academy moved to 16-4.
The Cougars will face top-seeded Immaculate Conception High School of Montclair in the semifinals on Saturday, Feb. 11. Both semifinal games will be held at West Orange High School. The other semifinal pits second-seeded University High School of Newark against third-seeded West Orange High School.
In earlier action, Baptiste had 19 points, five rebounds and five assists; and Desir had 12 points, eight rebounds and five steals to lead the Cougars to a 55-22 win over Caldwell High School on Tuesday, Jan. 31, at home. Levi had 6 points, four rebounds and four assists; Connell had 6 points; and Allie Harris had 4 points and five rebounds for Columbia.
The Cougars lost to Immaculate Conception High School of Montclair 84-47 on Thursday, Feb. 2, at Immaculate Conception. Galatt had 12 points and seven rebounds; Desir had 11 points and five rebounds; Baptiste had 11 points, four rebounds and five assists; and Connell and senior Ruby Aylward each had 4 points for CHS.
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