The West Orange High School girls basketball team members are all smiles after winning the Essex County Tournament title for the second year in a row.
WEST ORANGE, NJ — The top-seeded and reigning champion West Orange High School girls basketball team defeated North Bergen and Paterson Eastside to advance to the semifinals of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association’s North Jersey, Section 1, Group 4 state tournament.
The Mountaineers defeated No. 16 seed North Bergen 80-33 in the first round on Feb. 26 at WOHS.
Junior guard Rhyan Watt scored 25 points with 13 rebounds, four steals and three assists; senior guard London Caldwell had 17 points, seven assists and two steals; and sophomore guard Taraji Muhammad scored 16 points with nine steals, three rebounds and two assists for the Mountaineers. Freshman Soleil Dalemcourt had five points and two rebounds; senior guard Jordyn Batts also had five points with three rebounds and three steals; sophomore Olivia Masse scored four; Jasmine Prime scored four and grabbed seven rebounds; senior Jazmyn Nuguid and junior guard Elianna Dennis each added two points; freshman Ari Maddox grabbed six rebounds; and sophomore forward Racquelle Blanchette collected six steals for WOHS.
The Mountaineers defeated Paterson Eastside 50-36 in the quarterfinals on Feb. 28 at West Orange. Caldwell had 16 points, 10 rebounds, five assists and three steals; Watt posted 14 points, five steals, four rebounds and two assists; Muhammad scored seven points with two rebounds and two steals; Dennis had six points and four rebounds; Batts produced five points with three rebounds, two assists and two steals; senior guard Tyonnah Barnes had two points and four rebounds; and junior guard Kennedy Curry added two rebounds and three assists.
The Mountaineers extended their winning streak to 15 games and improved to 26-3 on the season. They were scheduled to host No. 4 seed Kearny in the semifinals on March 3. The other semifinal pitted No. 3 seed Ridgewood at No. 2 seed Morristown. The final is March 5 at the higher-seeded school.
Photo Courtesy of Cynthia Cumming
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