Columbia HS girls basketball team enjoys 14-8 season

MAPLEWOOD/SOUTH ORANGE, NJ — The Columbia High School girls basketball team finished a solid season.

The Lady Cougars, seeded eighth, defeated No. 9 seed Kearny in the first round before losing at top-seeded Union City in the quarterfinal round of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association’s North Jersey, Section 1, Group 4, tournament.

Columbia, under head coach Chuck Keegan, finished with a 14-8 overall record.

Sophomore Talia Baptiste had 13 points, two rebounds, two assists and three steals, and junior Bella Galatt had 12 points, four rebounds, four steals and three assists in the 58-53 home win over Kearny on Monday, Feb. 28. Junior Allie Harris had 8 points and three rebounds; sophomore Jaime Levi had 8 points, four rebounds and four assists; juniors Shania Desir and Leah Connell each had 7 points and six rebounds; and sophomore Summer Lonning had 3 points, five rebounds, two assists and two blocks.

Desir had 9 points, six rebounds and three blocks; Galatt had 7 points and three assists; Levi had 6 points; and Connell had 6 points, three rebounds and three blocks in the 53-36 loss to Union City on Wednesday, March 2. Baptiste had 5 points, three rebounds and three blocks; and Harris had 3 points and three rebounds. The loss ended the Cougars’ four-game winning streak and their season.

  Columbia High School girls basketball