West Orange HS girls basketball team advances to ECT quarterfinals

WEST ORANGE, NJ – The third-seeded West Orange High School girls varsity basketball team defeated No. 14 seed Irvington, 70-35, in the first round (round of 16) of the Essex County Tournament, Feb. 9 at home.

Senior guard and Penn State-bound Mya Bembry had 30 points with 12 rebounds, six assists, six steals and five blocks; and freshman guard Kiley Capstraw had 21 points, 10 rebounds and four assists for the Mountaineers, who improved to a 15-3 record and ended Irvington’s 12-game winning streak. Irvington moved to 15-4.

Sophomore Mackenzie Dover had 12 points, five assists and five rebonds; senior Bianca Fede had two points and six rebounds; Elizabeth Peart had two points and sophomore Na’ia Peterson had three points for the Mountaineers, who will host No. 6 seed East Orange Campus in the quarterfinals Feb. 16. WOHS defeated East Orange in both Super Essex Conference-American Division meetings.

The winner of WOHS-East Orange will advance to the semifinals against either No. 2 University, No. 7 Verona or No. 10 West Essex, Feb. 20 at Weequahic HS in Newark.

The Mountaineers fell to University, 58-30, Feb. 5, in a divisional game in Newark. The loss snapped a four-game winning streak. Capstraw had 14 points with five rebounds and Bembry had eight points and eight rebounds.

Defending champion WOHS is the No. 1 seed in the NJSIAA North Jersey Section 1, Group 4 state tournament that begins Feb. 25.

  West Orange High School girls basketball