WEST ORANGE, NJ – It was a hard-fought battle from the start , but the third-seeded West Orange High School girls varsity basketball team managed to squeak past sixth-seeded East Orange Campus, 46-44, in the quarterfinals of the Essex County Tournament, Saturday, Feb. 16, at WOHS.
West Orange trailed, 18-10, after the first quarter and the teams continued to flip-flop throughout. West Orange senior Mya Bembry managed 18 points, eight rebounds, and two assists despite the heavy East Orange defense. Freshman Kiley Capstraw had 17 points, 12 rebounds, and four assists.
East Orange’s Lakel Willis was the game high-scorer with 19 points, and Triniti Haskins had 13.
WOHS won its fifth straight and ninth in the past 10 games to improve to 18-3 overall. The Mountaineers defeated East Orange in all three meetings this season. The first two were in Super Essex Conference-American Division play, 41-30, in the season opener Dec. 14 at East Orange, and 52-35, Jan. 22, at home.
West Orange will face second-seeded Newark University in the ECT semifinals doubleheader at Weequahic HS, Feb. 20, at 7 p.m. The other semifinal pits top-seeded and two-time defending champion Newark Tech against fifth-seeded Immaculate Conception of Montclair at 5 p.m. The final will be held Feb. 23 at Essex County College in Newark at 1 p.m.
WOHS has lost to University in both divisional meetings this season. University beat WOHS, 44-40, Jan. 10 at WOHS after the Mountaineers won their first eight games of the season. In the second meeting, University won, 58-30, Feb. 5 at University. The Mountaineers’ other loss was to Newark Tech, 66-33, Jan. 17 at Newark Tech.
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