New Year’s Eve Standouts in New Jersey
In this article:
We wanted to wish all of you a Happy New Year’s Eve as we ring in the new year, hopefully another great year for basketball in the Garden State, and quite a few teams finished up the calendar year on…
Access all of Prep Girls Hoops
Continue reading this article and more.
Continue ReadingWe wanted to wish all of you a Happy New Year’s Eve as we ring in the new year, hopefully another great year for basketball in the Garden State, and quite a few teams finished up the calendar year on the court. Prep Girls Hoops New Jersey will be recapping the final day of 2023 below with a look at Sunday’s best, NYE edition.
Mackenzie Vellis Mackenzie Vellis SF Rutherford | 2026 State NJ – Rutherford (2026)
Vellis had what we thought was the most complete performance of Rutherford’s 44-17 over Hoboken on Sunday, finishing with 11 points, four rebounds, a block and three steals. This season has been a breakout one for her so far, currently averaging 14.8 points per game through her first five games, five-straight double-digit scoring performances at that.
Madison Palek Madison Palek 6'2" | PF Middle Township | 2024 State NJ – Middle Township (2024)
Palek proved to be the big key cog in the machine for Middle Township in a tight 52-49 win over Middle Township. She got to the line, she split up her shot selection between inside and outside the arc and she finsihed with a team-high 17 points for the Panthers. Make that a 5-2 start to the season and 11+ points per game that Palek is averaging.
Cianni Thompson Cianni Thompson 5'7" | SG Trenton Catholic | 2024 State NJ – Trenton Catholic (2024)
Thompson, despite a losing effort from Trenton Catholic, was the big story of a close-fought game at the Boardwalk Classic in Wildwood on Sunday. She knocked down a career-high five three-pointers, scoring a game-high 19 points for the Iron Mikes. That’s now three double-digit performances for Thompson this season as she looks to set career-highs across the board as a senior.
Sabrina Little Sabrina Little 5'6" | PG Holy Spirit | 2025 State NJ – Holy Spirit (2025)
It wasn’t the biggest game of her career or even her season, but a 12-point performance from Holy Spirit junior Sabrina Little Sabrina Little 5'6" | PG Holy Spirit | 2025 State NJ was plenty to help the Spartans take down Olympic Conference power Camden Catholic on Sunday. Little is having herself a season thus far, with three 20+ point performances and an impressive 17 PPG so far, tracking for career-highs in scoring for Holy Spirit.
Hailey Zirpoli Hailey Zirpoli SG Waldwick | 2025 NJ – Waldwick (2025)
Waldwick got a big win to get to 2-4 on the season, and Zirpoli was the story of the day, scoring a season-high 19 points, hitting three 3-pointers in the process and shooting 8-of-9 from the foul line. She also had seven rebounds and two steals to her name, as complete a performance on the floor that we’ve seen from her in her high school career to date.
Cate Weinberger Cate Weinberger SG Northern Highlands | 2024 NJ – Northern Highlands (2024)
A rather underrated senior to keep your eyes on this season, Weinberger was automatic from three on Sunday, hitting five to finish with a career-high 20 points for Northern Highlands. That’s now four-straight double-digit performances from her and six in her first seven games of the season for the Highlanders, scoring 13.6 PPG thus far as a senior.