NJSIAA Non-Public B Final Recap & Standouts

Saturday saw the two non-public finals in New Jersey as the four winners of the North Jersey and South Jersey non-public brackets faced off in Toms River. Talk about a star-studded lineup teams, especially the Non-Public B Final between two top-5 teams according to NJ dot com, Rutgers Prep and Saddle River Day. Here is a recap of the final and some of the game’s top performers. <strong>RECAP</strong> The Argonauts started out the game hot, taking a 12-point lead after the first quarter. Saddle River Day slowly worked its way back into the game through the next two quarters, cutting the lead to 33-26 by halftime and 41-40 after the third. Two of the four best teams in the state were battling down to the wire in a single-digit game. At one point, Rutgers Prep had blown a 20-point lead and the Colonial Rebels battled back to lead 40-37. From that point, it was all Argos as it out-scored SRD 21-11 in the fourth, winning 62-51. <strong>TOP PERFORMERS</strong> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="318906" first="Paulina" last="Paris"] (Sr.) - 5-8 PG, Saddle River Day</strong> While Saddle River Day came up short in the end, Paris had another fantastic performance, scoring a team-high 23 points along with five rebounds and two made three-pointers. She’s been the offensive juggernaut that has helped fuel SRD this entire season and she’ll be a tough piece to replace next season in this program. <strong>Julianna Almedia (So.) - 5-9 SG/PG, Saddle River Day</strong> Almedia has a bright future ahead of her at Saddle River Day and ended her freshman season on a very positive note, scoring eight points and hauling in a team-high 11 rebounds for the Colonial Rebels in the loss. She had a breakout sophomore season and hopefully will continue to improve her scoring and rebounding to elevate it to another level next season. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="321576" first="Katie" last="Ledden"] (Jr.) - 6-0 PF/C, Rutgers Prep</strong> Ledden has shown that she can be a double-double average player, but has only recorded several this season. However, Saturday showed her peak performance level thus far with the Argos, recording a 16-point, 14-rebound double-double in the win. Her interior presence, especially against a tough opponent like SRD, was key to Rutgers Prep securing a state title. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="325201" first="Mikayla" last="Blakes"] (So.) - 5-8 SG/PG, Rutgers Prep</strong> Talk about the best possible time to have your best performance of your high school career to date. Blakes put up a game-high 27 points, recording a double-double on the day with 14 rebounds as well, in the win. She’s one of the most creative guards in the state and she’s up there when it comes to creating contact because Blakes knocked down 14 foul shots in the game. When she had the ball, she found a way to get a scoring opportunity. <strong>Leyla Castro (Sr.) - 5-5 PG, Rutgers Prep</strong> Castro did a great job at getting to the free throw line against Saddle River Day, in the end knocking down three foul shots in the win. The senior point guard added a veteran presence running the point for this team and played with poise when she came in. Castro didn’t need to carry the offense and was much more of a facilitator in this game to Ledden and Blakes, who took over on the offensive end. <strong>Morgan Ryan (Sr.) - 5-8 SG, Rutgers Prep</strong> Ryan has been one of the better three-point shooters for the Argos this season, but in the Non-Public B final, she found herself to be quite the asset on the glass, hauling in five rebounds. She also scored four points and was able to create some contact to get to the foul line. Ryan is much like Castro in that she provided experience on the floor and came up big in the closing moments of the game.