NJSIAA Group 4 Semifinals Top Prospects

Thursday wrapped up the semifinals for the Group 4 playoffs, with Cherokee and Westfield advancing to the Group 4 final on Sunday. Both games were close and saw great performances from some of the best players across the state. Here are some of these top performances from prospects you should be keeping an eye on. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="325193" first="Jaylyn" last="Orefice"] (So.) - 5-9 SF, Union City</strong> Orefice and The U came up short in the Group 4 semis against Westfield, but the sophomore forward had herself a great game, scoring 12 points and hauling in five rebounds. She mixed up her shot selection well, knocking down a three-pointer while getting to the line a number of times. She does a great job at penetrating the lane and getting to the middle of the defense, causing opponents to commit, foul and send her to the line. <strong>Grace Klag (Sr.) - PF/C, Westfield</strong> The senior led Westfield in its semifinal victory as she posted a 14-point, 12-rebound double-double. Klag scored all of her points inside the arc and had a block to boot as well. She was a great presence on the defensive end and forced a lot of bad shots from Union City. Her size allowed her to get positioning well on the glass to haul in rebounds. Klag needs to keep this level of success up for Westfield to continue its great run in states. <strong>Sutton Factor (Jr.) - SF/SG, Westfield</strong> Factor once again had a balanced overall game for Westfield, filling up the stat sheet with four points, five rebounds and three assists. Where she came up big was as a shot-blocker for Westfield, recording two blocks in the win. Klag has consistently been the primary big for the Blue Devils, but Factor can play just a big of a role like she did on Thursday. That interior depth proved major for Westfield as they move on to the finals. <strong>Amber Williams (Sr.) - PF/C, Jackson Memorial</strong> Williams put in a stellar performance in her final high school game with Jackson Memorial, recording her third-straight multi-block game. She had eight points, eight rebounds, two blocks and a steal against Cherokee. While Zoie Maffei led the Jaguars in scoring, it was Williams who played well in the interior to limit Cherokee from growing its lead further. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="319335" first="Katie" last="Fricker"] (Sr.) - PG/SG, Cherokee</strong> We can’t talk about Cherokee’s performance on Thursday without talking about the day Fricker had on the floor. She knocked down 3 threes for the Chiefs, scoring a game-high 23 points, her fourth 20-point game of the season. The senior guard ended up accounting for over two-thirds of Cherokee’s points in the game, but she had the hot hand from the jump. Fricker was hitting her shots in stride and was just too much for Jackson Memorial to handle. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="134757" first="Gabby" last="Recinto"] (Jr.) - 5-10 SF/PF, Cherokee</strong> While Fricker was knocking down shots from it seemed like everywhere on the floor, Recinto was cleaning up around the rim, getting to the foul line and making her shot attempts count in the clutch. She had eight points and eight rebounds for Cherokee, playing hard against a great forward in Williams. The two were each other’s equals, but Recinto did a great job individually at creating space in the lane and drawing contact often.