Marquee Matchups in Early February

The first week of February will feature some intriguing matchups across the girls basketball landscape in New Jersey. After a busy first week of action, the second week of the season will surely get more intense with some big-time games. Let’s take a look at some marquee matchups in early February. <strong>Hudson Catholic at Lincoln, Feb. 2 at 4:30 p.m.</strong> – The top matchup in Hudson County on Tuesday, weather permitting, will be Hudson Catholic at Lincoln in a meeting of undefeated squads. Hudson Catholic dominated Hoboken and Mater Dei. Senior [player_tooltip player_id="134618" first="Zanai" last="Jones"] and junior Kayla Beckford lead the way for Hudson Catholic. For Lincoln, also 2-0, it all starts with senior Jakira Coar, who is averaging 30 points through two games. Hudson Catholic will have a meeting with Bayonne in another highly interesting Hudson County game over the weekend. It will be a rematch of last year’s county final. <strong>Montclair Immaculate at Saddle River Day, Feb. 2 at 6 p.m.</strong> – Montclair Immaculate has been challenged early on in the season with losses to University and Cherokee, two state-ranked teams. Saddle River Day, one of the top teams in the state, will look to make it 2-0 after putting up 85 points in a win over Life Center. Juniors [player_tooltip player_id="134628" first="Saniah" last="Caldwell"] and Paulina Paris lead the way for Saddle River Day. <strong>St. John Vianney at Rumson-Fair Haven, Feb. 2 at 6:30 p.m. </strong>– St. John Vianney, the top-ranked team in the state, brings back a wealth of talent from last season. The group brings back every player from last year’s 28-1 team, including junior sensation [player_tooltip player_id="134626" first="Madison" last="St. Rose"]. Rumson-Fair Haven is 2-0 after defeating Red Bank Regional twice. [player_tooltip player_id="134754" first="Julia" last="Corsentino"], Cortland McBarron and Grace Munt lead the Bulldogs. <strong>Bayonne at West Orange, Feb. 3 at 4 p.m.</strong> – Bayonne will have its first challenge when it takes on West Orange on the road on Wednesday. [player_tooltip player_id="134634" first="Eniya" last="Scott"] leads the way for the Bees. She put in a 26 points in the team’s 64-9 season-opening victory over Ferris. Jolyssa Moody and Christina Centeno also hit double figures for the Bees. [player_tooltip player_id="134630" first="Kiley" last="Capstraw"], a Yale commit, leads West Orange. She is averaging 30 points and nine rebounds through three games. West Orange will also meet University over the week on the road on Feb. 6 at 1 p.m. in another marquee matchup. Bayonne, on the other hand, takes on Hudson Catholic Saturday at noon in a rematch of last year’s Hudson County Tournament final. <strong>Cherokee at Paul VI, Feb. 4 at 6 p.m.</strong> – Cherokee is 3-0 after taking down Bishop Eustace, Lenape and Montclair Immaculate. [player_tooltip player_id="134612" first="Alexa" last="Therien"] is the senior leader on the team, and she has hit double figures in three games. Paul VI opened the season with a double-digit win over West Orange. Sara McShea and Nile Miller each had a double-double in the game. [player_tooltip player_id="134645" first="Hannah" last="Hidalgo"] put in 19 points and [player_tooltip player_id="134642" first="Veyoni" last="Davis"] grabbed 12 rebounds. <strong>Pope John at Sparta, Feb. 5 at 4 p.m. </strong>– Pope John opens up on Friday after a two-week halt to the season. [player_tooltip player_id="134633" first="Faith" last="Pappas"] and [player_tooltip player_id="134641" first="Alana" last="Robinson"] are two juniors that can certainly make an impact. Ahjionae Cobb is another junior who can play for the Lions. Sparta is 2-0 following wins over Morristown and Montville. Sophomores [player_tooltip player_id="155444" first="Brynn" last="McCurry"] and [player_tooltip player_id="155447" first="Ally" last="Sweeney"] lead the way for Sparta.