Middle Township vs Wildwood Catholic Academy Top Standouts

Two of the best teams in the Cape-Atlantic League went to war on Monday night as Middle Township and Wildwood Catholic Academy took the court. Both media and fans alike predicted these two teams to be near the top of the standings by seasons end, so seeing the two match up this early in the season was quite a treat. Neither side looked incredibly sharp to start the game but once both sides got their legs under them it became the prototypical battle between two solid teams. Several players on both sides really stood out in Middle Townships 43-36 win, here are the players who came out looking great. <strong>1st Star: Kate Herlihy (Middle Township):</strong> The leader of Middle Township’s potent offense, Kate Herlihy scored a game high 24 points, draining some key shots down the stretch of Middle Townships big win. Herlihy showed off her ability to succeed on both three point shots and tough shots once she gets past the first layer of the defense. Defensively she sees the game quicker than most, making the correct reads and gambling when necessary which led to a game sealing steal and layup. Herlihy has really stepped up as the leader of this team in her senior year, she is the go-to playmaker and is in store for a huge year on a great team. <strong>2nd Star: [player_tooltip player_id="134625" first="Marianna" last="Papazoglou"] (Wildwood Catholic Academy):</strong> One of the best players in the state of New Jersey, [player_tooltip player_id="134625" first="Marianna" last="Papazoglou"] put up some great stats but couldn’t get the win in this game. The University of Pennsylvania commit finished with a double-double (19 points, 10 rebounds, five steals) in the loss. Even though she seemed off for the majority of the game Papazoglou still made the plays necessary to keep Wildwood Catholic Academy in the game. When a player is off but can still give the other team constant issues that tells you exactly how good that player is. Papazoglou found the open lanes she needed to get easy baskets to go down, even with an uneven game she showed off her elite knowledge of the game and didn’t force anything, letting the game come to her. <strong>3rd Star: Jada Elston (Middle Township):</strong> In a game dominated by two stars fighting back and forth with Herlihy and Papazoglou going at it the game also highlighted many of the important role players on each side. In this game sophomore Jada Elston showed that she can be relied on as a second offensive weapon next to Kate Herlihy. Elston is a player that uses her length to her advantage outside the arc offensively. She only scored six points in this game but she once again proved to be a player that defenses have to be aware of. With a long wingspan Elston finds it easier to get shots off against defenders closing out, making her the perfect person to play alongside Herlihy, a point guard who loves to drive and kick out. Defensively Elston isn’t afraid to get into the mix down low and look for rebounds. She constantly puts herself in the correct spots to grab boards and start the fast break making her a threat on both ends of the court.