St. Joseph’s JV sixth-grade girls basketball team wins county title

MAPLEWOOD/SOUTH ORANGE, NJ — The St. Joseph’s JV sixth-grade girls basketball team won the Essex County CYO fifth- and sixth-grade Girls American Division championship by beating St. Thomas of Bloomfield, 25-15, in the championship game played at Mount St. Dominic Academy.

Jumping out to a 10-7 lead after one quarter of play, the girls never looked back, controlling the entire game with a total team effort. Balanced scoring was led by Sofia Peterson with 8 points, Violet Kessler with 6 points and Cassie Maguire with 5 points. Great defense by Maya Hersh, Evie Quinn and Kelsey Kouyoumdjian held St. Thomas to just 2 points in both the second and third quarters. Summer Connell had eight rebounds and two blocked shots. Ava Hersh contributed with four assists and two steals. The team, coached by Eddie Peterson, Sarah O’Connor and Jim Maguire, finished the season with a 13-1 record.

The St. Joseph’s fifth-grade girls JV team fell to a tough Good Shepherd team in the CYO finals. St. Joseph’s got off to a slow start and couldn’t close the gap despite a furious rally in the second half. Still, in their trademark style, they received contributions from all seven players, with multiple girls scoring. Sarah Sullivan, playing with heart through a painful knee injury, contributed aggressive defense. Lila Clammer led the charge on offense, with support from Gigi Jimenez, Mary Browne and Ella Chappelear. Elisabeth Froelich and Maddie Adams were monsters on the board.

St. Joseph’s third- and fourth-grade boys team lost to St. Aloysius, 18-14, in a hard-fought game in the CYO championship. James Waller led the Celtics with 6 points and six rebounds; Evan Fitzhugh had 5 points, three steals and four rebounds; Teddy Chamberlin had 2 points, seven rebounds and four steals; and Xavier Connell rounded out the scoring with 1 point and eight rebounds to go along with excellent defense. The Celtics had a great season despite the loss in the finals, finishing with a 12-2 record. 

The varsity seventh- and eighth-grade girls fell in the CYO championship game, 36-21, to St. Cassian’s of Montclair. Tough defense held the Celtics to just 8 points in the first half. But the girls battled back after halftime, with Catherine Nolan scoring 9 points and Gennet Sheridan scoring 6 points. Ava Maloney and Phoebe Perlman were part of a tough defense that held St. Cassian’s to just 5 points in the third quarter. Amy Ogunsanya once again led the way with 12 rebounds and four blocked shots, and Rory Grace Thompson had four rebounds. Maggie Meade had six assists, while Olivia Roskin and Gabby Ladd each had three steals. 

In a battle of St. Joseph’s boys varsity teams, Maplewood fell to East Orange, 46-42, on Sunday, March 13, at Mount St. Dominic Academy. 

The Celtics of Maplewood started off slowly, ending the first half down 11 points. Halftime adjustments and the support of a raucous crowd helped the Celtics tie the game with 3:25 left in the fourth on a driving layup by Will Kostka. Kostka led the Celtics with 21 points, but none was as big as that bucket. Unfortunately for the Celtics, East Orange answered with a 3-pointer to make it 37-34, and the Celtics were unable to respond.

Sean Hayes had 13 points for the Celtics, Gavin Lubomski 4, and Evan Straub and Gabe O’Brien each had 2. 

While the season did not end up the way the Celtics wanted, head coach Brian Kostka and assistant coaches Charlie Straub and Ron Iozzio were pleased with their team. “I am very proud of these boys,” said coach Kostka. “They worked hard all season. Each and every one of them improved throughout the course of the season. We may have come up short in the end, but there’s no way to judge this season other than a resounding success.” 

Photo Courtesy of Gerry O’Connor

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