NJSIAA Group 3 State Final Recap & Standouts

With the Tournament of Champions already in the semifinals, we wanted to make sure to go over the rest of the state finals from the public school tournaments that we’ve yet to recap. The Group 3 state final was part of the massive day of public state finals games over the weekend, so here’s a quick recap and look at the top performers of the Group 3 state final between Mainland and Sparta. <strong>RECAP</strong> Mainland wasn’t able to stabilize itself until the second half of the title game. At that point, it was too late as a strong Sparta team took advantage of a slow start. Going into halftime, Sparta took a commanding 30-12 lead. Surprisingly, Sparta out-scored itself in the second half, scoring 32 points, but though Mainland was only out-scored 32-29, the already large double-digit deficit was too much to overcome as Sparta took the Group 3 State title, 62-41, its first state title since 2001. <strong>TOP PERFORMERS</strong> <strong>Kaitlyn Boggs (Sr.) - 6-0 PF, Mainland</strong> Boggs had one of her stronger overall games against Sparta, scoring eight points and recording five rebounds in the loss. She was active on the offensive end and got to the foul line, causing trouble for the interior players for Sparta. Her agility and quick thinking secured her more scoring opportunities and got her into better positions on the defensive end to stop the Sparta attack. Though it was too overwhelming in the end for Mainland overall, Boggs did a great job at standing her ground down on the block. <strong>Kasey Bretones (So.) - 5-9 PG/SG, Mainland</strong> Bretones did the best job on Sunday at creating contact and getting to the free throw line. Half of her eight points came from foul shots, showing how effective her dribble penetration was on the day into the lane. The sophomore guard has done a fantastic job this season stepping up into a bigger role for this Mainland team and as one of the main guards running the show, she looked confident and poised in the Group 3 final, though coming up short. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="401152" first="Alexa" last="Acker"] (Sr.) - 6-0 PF/C, Sparta</strong> What a defensive performance Acker put on in the Group 3 State final, recording a season-high 16 rebounds along with eight points and coming up two blocks short of her season-high, with four in the game. It was Acker’s third four-block game in her last five games. In all of those games, she’s recorded at least two blocks and has been an absolute defensive force for this team. It’s been impressive to watch and we’re excited to watch more of her in the Tournament of Champions. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="155444" first="Brynn" last="McCurry"] (Jr.) - 6-1 SF/SG, Sparta</strong> McCurry has consistently been one of the most complete and reliable players on this Sparta team throughout her high school career. Especially this season, this versatile junior superstar has helped to put the team on her back. In the title game, McCurry was one of three Sparta players to score in double-figures, scoring 10 points along with five rebounds, three assists, two blocks and three steals. That kind of production is the standard for McCurry and Sparta has become a juggernaut thanks to it. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="155447" first="Ally" last="Sweeney"] (Jr.) - 5-6 PG, Sparta</strong> While we’ve mentioned a few impact players on this Sparta team already, no player has had the recent impact that Sweeney has had for the Spartans. Her recent game-winner in the playoffs came off the back of a 30+ point night and in the Group 3 final, she was electrifying once again. Sweeney led all scorers with 17 points, also recording three rebounds and five assists in the process. She knocked down two three-pointers in the win, her fourth-straight game with multiple made threes. Sweeney, in short, is on another level of good for the Spartans. <strong>Bailey Chapman (Jr.) - 5-10 SG, Sparta</strong> Chapman has been one of the most consistent three-point shooters on this team the entire season and her shooting came up big against Mainland on Sunday, knocking down a three on her way to an 11-point effort. She also recorded three rebounds and two blocks, coming up clutch as a defender. It was her first game with blocks recorded in nearly three weeks and what a better time to get that level of defensive production in.