Columbia HS girls’ basketball team has good state tourney run to end season

MAPLEWOOD – The 16th-seeded Columbia High School girls’ varsity basketball team had a good run in the state North Jersey Section 2, Group 4 tournament.

The Cougars stunned top-seeded Bayonne, 50-41, in overtime in the first round on Tuesday, March 1, at Bayonne.

The Cougars trailed 19-17 at halftime and 32-25 at the end of the third quarter, but outscored Bayonne, 14-7, in the fourth quarter to tie it 39-39 and force overtime. CHS continued its momentum in overtime, outscoring Bayonne, 11-2, to pull off the major upset.

Senior Dominique Rayam led all scorers with 22 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to lead the Cougars. Senior Shadekay Haughton had 10 points and six rebounds; senior  Jasmine Keegan had eight points, six rebounds and five blocks; sophomore Kayla Anderson had six points; and senior Melissa Etienne and junior Courtney Miller each had two points for CHS, which won a postseason game for the first time since 2010.

Bayonne, which won the Hudson County Tournament title this season, finished with a 20-3 record.

The Cougars then lost at eighth-seeded North Hunterdon, 55-40, in the quarterfinals on March 3. Rayam had 15 points; Anderson had seven points; Haughton had five points; Keegan and senior Jasmine West each had four; and Miller had three.

The Cougars, under head coach Jazmine Wright, finished the season with a 9-17 record.