NJSIAA Non-Public Quarterfinals Recap: 2/24

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The playoff chaos of the Garden State continues as we saw a number of quarterfinal games take place on Friday, leading to exciting finishes, upsets and more. Great performances were seen across the board, something that will be exciting to watch come the sectional semifinals, but here's a quick recap of the quarterfinal action.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2>Balanced Paul VI scoring attack overpowers Notre Dame</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Coming into the state sectional tournaments, most around New Jersey had a good inkling that Paul VI was going to be amongst the best teams left and was going to make a deep playoff run. Not surprising that in Friday's quarterfinal matchup against Notre Dame, the Eagles won by over 50, with five players scoring in double-figures, highlighted by senior standout [player_tooltip player_id='134645' first='Hannah' last='Hidalgo'], who finished with 25 points and 10 steals.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2>Serrano, Dakos battle it out</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The final of the North Jersey Non-Public A quarterfinal matchup between Holy Angels and Newark Academy ended up turning into some great individual battles between [player_tooltip player_id='488858' first='Samantha' last='Serrano'] and Kyra Sapontzis of Holy Angels and [player_tooltip player_id='462152' first='Katerina' last='Dakos'] of Newark Academy. Serrano and Sapontzis combined for 50 points in the win, with Dakos putting up 22/7 in the loss, and along with Serrano's 27 points, she had a double-double with 10 rebounds mixed in.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2>McKay goes off for Roselle Catholic</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='414347' first='Jasmin' last='McKay'] is an absolute bucket on the floor and for Roselle Catholic, she had herself quite the game, however in a losing fashion, against Lodi Immaculate on Friday. She went off for a season-high 29 points, but her efforts weren't nearly enough to stop Lodi's balanced scoring attack, with four players scoring 10+ points. [player_tooltip player_id='454841' first='Isabella' last='Javier'] led the Blue Wolves with 16 points while Yasmeen Brightwell recorded a 15-point, 12-rebound double-double.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2>Schultz's double-double not enough against Holy Spirit</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='481589' first='Natalie' last='Schultz'] put together quite the quarterfinal performance for Holy Cross Prep, posting a 20-point, 11-rebound double-double against Holy Spirit, but with [player_tooltip player_id='564263' first='Lauren' last='Cella'] scoring 17 points and [player_tooltip player_id='525308' first='Sabrina' last='Little'] scoring 14 points for Holy Spirit, plus four others scoring six points or more, a thin roster hurt the Lancers in an eventual 67-60 loss.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2>Branigan shines down low for St. Dominic</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We can definitely talk about how [player_tooltip player_id='414299' first='Janiyah' last='Capers'] scored a game-high 19 points for St. Dominic or how teammate [player_tooltip player_id='414298' first='Alyssa' last='Stridiron'] scored 18 points along with five steals, but [player_tooltip player_id='155449' first='Maddie' last='Branigan'] stole the show, posting an 11-point, 17-rebound double-double with a career-high six blocks. Her performance down low was the difference as St. Dominic advanced to the North Jersey Non-Public A semis with an 11-point win.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2>Freshman Platt shines again for Pope John</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We don't care if it's becoming a redundant thing to see Addison Platt having great games for Pope John because what an incredible talent she is and what a performance she had on Friday: 23 points, 15 rebounds, 3 blocks and 2 steals. Teammate [player_tooltip player_id='325223' first='Madison' last='Miller'] also recorded a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds, along with two blocks. Hudson Catholic's [player_tooltip player_id='414296' first='KendraLee' last='Ramirez'] and [player_tooltip player_id='333550' first='Tatianna' last='Collins'] gave Pope John all it could handle as the two combined for 31 points in the 61-44 loss.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2>Baisley balls out, but Montclair Immaculate moves on</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It was unfortunately the end of the road for Gill St. Bernard's who lost a close game to Montclair Immaculate on Friday, but [player_tooltip player_id='488671' first='Brooke' last='Baisley'] was fantastic for GSB, posting a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Teammate [player_tooltip player_id='591477' first='Gandy' last='Malou-Mamel'] had a great game down low as well with four blocks and 11 points, but led by [player_tooltip player_id='134648' first='Tyonna' last='Bailey'] and Cierra Cevallos, the Lions prevailed.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2>Rutgers Prep puts 91 up on Trenton Catholic</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Another near-lock from us to advance late into the NJSIAA playoffs, Rutgers Prep put on an offensive display against Trenton Catholic, scoring 91 points in a 91-43 victory. [player_tooltip player_id='321576' first='Katie' last='Ledden'] led the Argos with 26 points, three blocks and five steals, [player_tooltip player_id='325201' first='Mikayla' last='Blakes'] close behind with 21 points, two blocks and three steals. [player_tooltip player_id='559046' first='Ava' last='LaMonica'] shined on both sides with a 12-point, 13-rebound double-double and four steals.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2>Camden Catholic storms back in 2nd half, upsets Trinity Hall</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Upsets and close games are what the postseason is all about and Camden Catholic made the most of a second-half comeback to defeat Trinity Hall, 56-55. [player_tooltip player_id='155448' first='Kassidy' last='Thompson'] led the Irish, shooting 10-of-14 from the line and finishing with 25 points. [player_tooltip player_id='134752' first='Aaryn' last='Battle'] and Gabby Vaughn both finished in double-figures as well in the win. For Trinity Hall, it was [player_tooltip player_id='406947' first='Nina' last='Emnace'], scoring 20 points to lead the team in the close loss.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->