NJSIAA Group 2 Semifinal Stars & Standouts

Thursday concluded the semifinals for the NJSIAA Group 2 tournament as Jefferson Township and Mansasquan moved on to the Group 2 finals. Two great games of basketball were played and there were a number of players who stood out over these 80 minutes of action. Here are some standouts from Thursday’s semifinal games. <strong>Erin Kleiven (Jr.) - SG, Madison</strong> Kleiven had one of her better performances of this junior breakout season of hers in the semis against Jefferson Township. The guard knocked down two three-pointers in a nine-point effort, recording a block and two steals as well. It was her fifth game with multiple made three-pointers and her fourth game of 9+ points this season for Madison. She was impressive on the floor and showed a lot of promise on the defensive end. <strong>Cassidy Ball (So.) - SG/PG, Jefferson Township</strong> Ball very much balled out for Jefferson Township in its semifinal against Madison, scoring 15 points along with five rebounds, three assists, a block and two steals. She was very active in all facets of the game and took advantage of mismatches well on the offensive side of the ball. That allowed her to crash the lane, welcome contact and get to the foul line, where she hit five free throws in the game. <strong>Amanda Nwankwo (Jr.) - 6-3 PF/C, Jefferson Township</strong> Nwankwo was a rebound short of a double-double on Thursday, scoring 15 points and hauling in nine rebounds. The junior forward had two blocks in the game as well, playing a vital role on the defensive side of the ball to keep Madison’s scorers in check. Nwankwo has grown well into her size this season and looks like a completely different player than when she was a sophomore. Having that court awareness along with her long wingspan to be able to get to shots like that has been the difference for her. <strong>Maggie Campbell (Sr.) - PG, Haddon Heights</strong> Despite a losing effort in the Group 2 semifinals, Campbell ended her high school career on a high note, going wild from three-point land. She knocked down 3 three-pointers, scoring 10 points along with five rebounds. Campbell has put in a career year this season and commanded the point well for the Garnets. Having that level of maturity in her game has allowed her to run this Haddon Heights offense more efficiently and as we’ve seen, they’ve exceeded expectations this entire season. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="155468" first="Brooke" last="Hollawell"] (Sr.) - 5-10 PG/SG, Manasquan</strong> Hollawell looked really good from beyond the arc in this game, scoring six of her 12 points off three-pointers. Her two made threes brought her to 52 on the season and 150 in her high school career. The senior guard has been such a consistent perimeter shooting presence on this team, giving Manasquan a weapon to use to spread and open the floor up on offense. She will help run the point for Manasquan and she can create her own shots off the dribble, but watch out when she’s in a position to catch and shoot because her form looks flawless from catch to release. <strong>Katie Collins (So.) - 6-1 SF/PF, Manasquan</strong> Collins turned the corner with production in her sophomore year, getting much more playing time. She’s an active and agile forward with a great shooting touch, able to shoot from three or hit midrange shots. Her height, like in the semis against Haddon Heights, gives her an advantage on the boards, where she hauled in seven rebounds along with two steals and seven points. She’s got great court awareness, which comes into the picture more on the defensive side of the ball. There’s a lot of good coming from this sophomore forward and we’ll see more of her in the final.