WEST ORANGE, NJ – In one of the most intriguing matchups in the state tournament, the second-seeded West Orange High School girls’ varsity basketball team will host 11th-seeded and highly-regarded East Orange Campus in the semifinals of the NJSIAA North Jersey Section 1, Group 4 state tournament on Friday, March 3, at 7 p.m.
Both teams earned thrilling quarterfinal victories on March 1.
West Orange, which finished runner-up in the Essex County Tournament the previous weekend, squeeked by seventh-seeded Ridgewoood, 37-35 to improve to a stellar 23-3 record. Senior point guard Jewel Burnett had 16 points with four assists; sophomore guard Mya Bembry had 10 points, 10 rebounds and three steals; sophomore guard Kaija Jones had five points and three rebounds; junior guard Nahtali Simpson contributed three points and five rebounds; senior guard Dawn Flood had two points and five rebounds; and junior guard Shayna Fortfoskey added a free throw for the West Orange Mountaineers, under fourth-year head coach Caniece Williams.
East Orange overcame a nine-point deficit with three minutes left in the game to beat third-seeded Bloomfield, 53-49, to improve to a 16-8 record. Sophomore guard Lakel Willis had 21 points with four rebounds and two steals; sophomore point guard Brianna Mills had 18 points, four rebounds and five assists; freshman guard Brianna Turner had six points, two rebounds, three steals and three assists; junior forward Moriyah Jordan pulled down 17 rebounds and scored three points; senior Hadiyah Hassan had three points and seven rebounds and senior Chania Johnson added two points for the East Orange Campus Jaguars.
East Orange, under 14th-year head coach Derrick Johnson, has won section titles in each of the past two seasons; and three in the past four. East Orange won the Section 2 titles in 2013 and 2016 and won the Section 1 title in 2015.
East Orange also is seeking its fifth straight section final appearance. In 2014, East Orange lost in the Section 2 final against Franklin.
In its first-ever ECT championship appearance in the 43-year history of the tournament, third-seeded West Orange lost to top-seeded Newark Tech, 55-53 in overtime on a buzzer-beating layup.
In comparison, East Orange lost all three meetings with Newark Tech this season (twice in the Super Essex Conference-American Division by scores of 64-33 and 42-33, and the other game in the ECT semifinals, 49-33). The second SEC game and ECT semifinals were back-to-back games for East Orange on Feb. 20 and Feb. 22.
West Orange upset No. 2 seed University, 42-29, in the ECT semifinals. East Orange lost to University in both SEC-American meetings, 50-39, in the season opener Dec. 17, at University; 44-38, Jan. 17, at East Orange.
East Orange lost to two out-of-state teams this season, Moore Catholic of New York and Potter’s House Christian Academy of Jacksonville, Fla. East Orange’s other loss was to Teaneck.
West Orange, which won the SEC-Liberty Division title with an undefeated record, lost to Bergen County champion Saddle River Day. West Orange also lost to Queen of Peace.
West Orange HS and East Orange Campus HS to meet in girls’ basketball section semifinals on Friday, March 3, at West Orange added by Joe Ragozzino on
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