NJSIAA South Jersey Group 4 Tournament Surprises

On Tuesday, Shawnee and Cherokee will face off for a fourth time this season and for the second time, the two will be playing for a championship. Previously, the Renegades and Chiefs played in the SJIBT Final and now, they play for the NJSIAA South Jersey Group 4 title. The Group 4 bracket has been fantastic to watch and full of excitement. We hope to be at Cherokee for the final, but here are some surprising prospects who came through in this bracket. <strong>Abigail Goodall (Jr.) - G/F, Toms River East</strong> Goodall has been much more active this season, which comes with having a bigger role for Toms River East. It’s contributed to added success on the floor, like TRE’s first round game against Egg Harbor Township. Goodall scored 10 points along with six rebounds in the win, showing that she can put up big numbers and be an impact player. Her junior year was Goodall’s breakout year and hopefully, she’ll use this as momentum for next season. <strong>Lyla Brown (Fr.) - PG/SG, Egg Harbor Township</strong> Brown quietly had a stellar freshman year for Egg Harbor Township. The freshman guard has found her way into a solidified starting spot moving forward thanks to a polished all-around game that she’s still working on perfecting. Brown has shown this season that she’s done a great job to find open teammates cutting to the lane with a pass and is able to start the break on defense after causing a turnover off an errant pass or off the dribble. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="321574" first="Ava" last="Eberly"] (Jr.) - SF/SG, Williamstown</strong> Eberly didn’t play the first nine games of the season, but has been an effective scorer and rebounder since returning to the lineup. Her playoff performance against Eastern in the first round was stellar, scoring 10 points along with seven rebounds and a steal. Eberly has been an electric scorer from three recently, knocking down 2.3 three-pointers a game over her last nine games. We’re seeing an all-conference player blossom in front of our eyes. <strong>Nicole Miller (Jr.) - G/F, Shawnee</strong> Miller has shown a great deal of improvement this season for Shawnee, building off of the success she had last season as a starter. Her three-point shooting has become more consistent and is effective at about the same rate that it was last season. She looks to be a more active player in terms of rebounding and is playing with more of an edge on the defensive side of the ball. Miller likes to play fast and up-tempo and when she's on the break, good luck stopping her. <strong>Julia Grodzicki (Jr.) - SG/PG, Toms River North</strong> Grodzicki's production jumped up to career-highs after the shortened 2021 spring season for her was quite effective. Her game is played from the perimeter and she's definitely mastered her catch-and-shoot motion and can also create off the dribble. She looks more comfortable as a spot-up shooter off a pass, but having the ability to individually create shots opens up the floor for her. The more multi-dimensional she is, the better. Keep an eye out for her shot-blocking ability, something that came much more to the forefront this season in a great way for Toms River North. <strong>Ava Dougherty (Jr.) - SG, Lenape</strong> Dougherty has been one of Lenape's better three-point shooters this season and evenly mixes up her shot selection from beyond the arc to the paint. Her midrange game isn't talked about enough and it's what allows her to get more space to shoot from three. Dougherty is a dangerous player on the drive and finishes strong, but with style and finesse. She can carve out defenses thru dribble penetration. Dougherty's role will increase dramatically in the build-up to next season for Lenape.