MAPLEWOOD/SOUTH ORANGE, NJ — JoJo Yarde had 25 points, 13 rebounds, six steals and three blocks; and fellow junior Gabriella Ervin had 12 points, nine rebounds, three steals and two rebounds to lead the eighth-seeded Columbia High School girls basketball team to a 58-45 home win over No. 9 seed Verona in the first round of the Essex County Tournament on Jan. 31.
Senior Anabel MacGuire had six points and four rebounds; senior Chioma Okafor had four points and six rebounds; senior Sara Marley had four points and three rebounds; junior Myla Defreitas had two points, three rebounds, four steals and two assists; and sophomore Violet Kessler added two points with five rebounds for the Cougars, who snapped a two-game losing streak and moved to 13-5 on the season.
Columbia will visit top-seeded Caldwell in the quarterfinals on Feb. 7 at 1 p.m. Caldwell defeated No. 17 seed East Orange Campus 66-28 to improve to 16-0 on the season.
The winner between Columbia and Caldwell will face either No. 4 seed University of No. 5 seed Glen Ridge in the semifinals at West Orange High School on Feb. 14. The final is Feb. 21 at WOHS.
The Cougars lost at Morristown 57-45 on Jan. 29 in a non-conference game. Ervin had 19 points and nine rebounds. Yarde posted 12 points, 14 rebounds, six steals and three assists. Defreitas had 11 points and five rebounds. Marley added three points and three rebounds. Morristown improved to 12-5.
About the Author
