2021-22 PGH NJ’s All-Olympic Conference Teams

With the 2021-22 New Jersey high school girls basketball season officially concluded, it’s time for awards season. That means we’ll be going around the different regions and conferences of New Jersey to figure out who is the best of the best during the season. We’re starting this journey out in the Olympic Conference in South Jersey to go over Prep Girls Hoops New Jersey’s All-Olympic Conference teams. <strong><em>FIRST TEAM</em></strong> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="134645" first="Hannah" last="Hidalgo"] - Paul VI</strong> There is no question that Hidalgo is the Player of the Year in the Olympic Conference, averaging 26.2 PPG for the Eagles this season. She nearly scored as many points this season as she did the previous two years. Add on the fact that she averaged 6.1 RPG, 4.1 APG and 6.2 SPG, you're seeing the breakout campaign of one of the best players, not just in New Jersey, but in the entire country. Plus, we get to see one more year of Hidalgo with her senior year coming next season. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="319335" first="Katie" last="Fricker"] - Cherokee</strong> Putting Fricker in our first team was a no-brainer as this senior guard had a career year and thrust herself into the conversation as one of the best three-point shooters in the state without question. She averaged 13.5 PPG, 1.9 made threes a game for the Chiefs and got to the foul line often, knocking down just over three free throws a game. Fricker was impressive when it came to making things happen in the lane and she was an excellent facilitator as well as a great shooter. Her shooting is what sent Cherokee to the Group IV final by season’s end. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="134757" first="Gabby" last="Recinto"] - Cherokee</strong> As Fricker was the shooter, the big-time presence up top for the Chiefs, Recinto held down the fort in a big way in the middle. In her junior year, she averaged a career-high 12.2 PPG for Cherokee and provided stability and aggression for a team that just star forward Alexa Therien. Filling those shoes was going to be a big ask for the junior, but Recinto has answered the call and has produced. If you’re looking for an early POY candidate in the Olympic Conference, Recinto has thrown her name into the ring and then some. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="321572" first="Avery" last="Kessler"] - Shawnee</strong> What more is there to say about the spark-plug that turned Shawnee from a .500 team into one of the best in South Jersey. Since joining the Renegades as a sophomore after transferring from Cherokee, she’s been a Player of the Year candidate the past two years in the Olympic Conference. This year, Kessler averaged 13.7 PPG, 3.6 RPG, 2.6 APG, 1.6 made three-pointers a game and 3.7 SPG. She has had such an indelible impact on this team and she’s improved her game so well to become a playmaker, not just a three-point shooter. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="155448" first="Kassidy" last="Thompson"] - Camden Catholic</strong> Thompson just reached the 1000 point mark in her high school career in the final game of this season as she had quite the year overall for Camden Catholic. The junior averaged 17.8 PPG, 5.0 RPG, 1.6 made threes a game and 1.5 SPG, showing how balanced of a player she's become across all facets of the game. She's incredibly talented and her ceiling is climbing. The biggest thing we saw from Thompson was how she's been able to expand her range and also draw contact to get to the foul line. Those are things to monitor this summer into the fall. <strong><em>SECOND TEAM</em></strong> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="401144" first="Sara" last="McShea"] - Paul VI</strong> McShea easily had the best season of her high school career as a senior, joining Paul VI's 1000 point club, but more importantly, cementing herself as a premier forward in New Jersey. She averaged 14.3 PPG, 8.5 RPG and 1.9 SPG on the season, nearly averaging a double-double in her final high school season. It's important to watch the development in her game, especially her ability to create offense in the paint. She's a player who has thrived in the middle and she's done just that this season, an exclamation point on a great career overall. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="321564" first="Nia" last="Scott"] - Shawnee</strong> We’ve seen a season like this coming for quite some time from Scott, but as a junior, the duo of her and [player_tooltip player_id="321572" first="Avery" last="Kessler"] turned into one of the best duos in the state without a doubt. Scott averaged 12.4 PPG, 8.4 RPG and 1.1 BPG for the Renegades as a senior and was nothing short of spectacular the entire way through. She’s really improved her defense and is on a mission to put up a double-double average as a senior and she’s definitely in a good spot to do just that. <strong>Maya Edwards - Eastern</strong> We’ve been waiting for this breakout-type season for Edwards for a bit now after she put up respectable numbers through her first three years at Eastern. Coming into her senior year, she was expected to be the star guard for the Lady Vikings and she did just that, averaging 13.4 PPG, 4.4 RPG, 2.3 SPG and 1.2 made three-pointers as a senior. She set career-highs across the board and helped stabilize Eastern into a South Jersey Group IV semifinalist this season. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="326406" first="Aiyonna" last="Alexander"] - Winslow</strong> Alexander has gone relatively under-the-radar playing for Winslow, who hasn’t had the most success on the floor. However, the sophomore forward has, especially this season, averaging a double-double on the year, with 13.1 PPG and 11.9 RPG. Along with that, Alexander averaged 1.3 BPG and 2.3 SPG, showing that she could not only get things done on the offensive end, but the defensive end as well. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="134752" first="Aaryn" last="Battle"] - Camden Catholic</strong> Battle is one of the best facilitators in South Jersey and she showed that off in a big way this season, averaging 5.0 APG along with 13.9 PPG and 3.0 SPG. She had 14 games of five or more assists and 12 games of at least six assists for the Irish. Her scoring is something that's very encouraging as she put up four 20-point performances on the year and should be someone who can average close to that as a senior. <strong><em>HONORABLE MENTIONS</em></strong> <strong>Alexa Henry - Lenape</strong> Henry burst onto the scene as a freshman for Lenape in a big way, averaging 10.9 PPG, and 1.3 made three-pointers a game. Her 30-point performance against Clearview in the SJIBT quarterfinals cemented herself in the conversation as the best freshman in the Olympic Conference this season. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="319334" first="Mia" last="Robbins"] - Eastern</strong> Robbins had herself an impressive 2021-22 season for Eastern, averaging 12.3 PPG 5.0 RPG and 1.4 SPG. After starting out the season slow, she consistently got her rhythm back, scoring in double figures in 18 of her final 20 high school games. Eastern got off to a rough start, but once Robbins picked it up, so did the team. <strong>Kaitlyn King - Lenape</strong> King, after having two season of gradual improvement with Lenape, her junior year was her breakout year for the program, averaging a career-high 12.4 PPG. She attacked the rim as well as anyone in the conference and really showed much better physicality overall. That will play heading into her senior season. <strong>Carly Serlenga - Bishop Eustace</strong> Serlenga has slowly, but surely increased her scoring output for Bishop Eustace and this season, she nearly missed out on averaging double-figures for the Crusaders. Serlenga had 12 games scoring in double-figures, including a career-high 25 points and six made threes in a Jan. 15 win over Woodstown.