Top Tri-County Conference Forwards – Royal Division
As the calendar counts down the finals day of 2020 and the start of 2021 is on the horizon, there is a newfound sense of excitement in New Jersey. It’s been a long time coming, but the start of the…
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Continue ReadingAs the calendar counts down the finals day of 2020 and the start of 2021 is on the horizon, there is a newfound sense of excitement in New Jersey.
It’s been a long time coming, but the start of the New Jersey high school girls basketball season is nearly here.
Prep Girls Hoops has been taking a closer look at some of the best talent across the Garden State, which continues in this article as PGH profiles the top forwards in the Tri-County Conference, specifically the Royal Division.
Kassidy Thompson Kassidy Thompson 5'9" | SG Camden Catholic | 2023 State NJ , Clearview: Thompson made her presence felt immediately in her first season at Clearview, averaging 12.4 PPG and 5.6 RPG a game, the second-leading scorer and third-leading rebounder for the Pioneers. She returns as the team’s returning leading scorer, someone who is an electric and intriguing watch. She dominates on the offensive end and can shoot from the outside, which is a massive asset moving forward for Clearview. Thompson is someone who is going to exceed expectations and will meet the added pressure in 2021.
Cailey Appenzeller, Williamstown: Appenzeller is going to be shouldering more of the load this season for Williamstown, but she has the ability to really explode this season, her senior season. The Braves lost a big senior class going into 2021 and around 60 percent of their overall offense, but that’s something Appenzeller is going to thrive in come January. She averaged 5.6 PPG last season and with a bigger workload in 2021, Appenzeller will be flirting with potential double-double averages.
Hailey Phalines, Kingsway: Phalines was part of a balanced Kingsway scoring attack in 2019/20 and with losing four seniors going into this season, she will be relied upon heavily to dominate in the paint. She doesn’t have the help of Stephanie Martelli anymore, but the spotlight being on her will allow her to improve upon her 8.0 PPG and 4.6 RPG averages last season. Phalines is a senior this season and is the arguable veteran leader of this team, so the Dragons are going to flourish with her.
Emma Peretti, Hammonton: Peretti is another freshman standout who is going to get that much better going into her sophomore season. She averaged just under 13.7 PPG, 9.4 RPG and 0.6 blocks per game last season, impressive numbers on a 17-9 Hammonton team. Peretti is the returning leading scorer and rebounder going into 2021, and is anticipated to put up double-double averages having nearly done it in 2019/20. Peretti is easily one of the forwards to watch across the conference come January so watch out.
Jessi Funk, GCIT: Funk is going to go under-the-radar going into this season after averaging 1.7 PPG and 2.7 RPG last season, but with Rebecca Jepsen having graduated last spring, that opens up a big opportunity for Funk. Her minutes are going to dramatically increase and she’s going to slot in well, fill that void Jepsen left after 2019/20, and possibly put up better front-court numbers. The fact that Funk, now in her senior season, hasn’t gotten that opportunity for playing time means teams haven’t been scouting her and she can expose flaws in her opponents, and put up double-digit point totals and maybe even double-double numbers if all goes well.
Keep your eyes on Prep Girls Hoops for more player profiles and team previews as the 2021 New Jersey high school girls basketball season approaches.