Best Single-Game Performances from Week Five: South Jersey

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>New week, new basketball, but plenty of things to talk about from the week previous. It was a fantastic week throughout New Jersey, with career days, school records being broken and dominant performance throughout. Time to talk about the best single-game performances from Week Five of the season, starting in South Jersey.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='325194' first='Ana' last='Pellecchia'] - Clearview (2024) [Jan. 8 v. Washington Township]</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Pellecchia put on a show against Washington Township that Clearview girls basketball has never seen before. A school record eight three-pointers drained in a 69-38 win, and the most unique double-double out there, the Pioneers guard finished with a career-high 43 points, two rebounds, four assists and a career-high 10 steals. What a day for the senior, now averaging 22.8 PPG this season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='488762' first='Kasey' last='Bretones'] - Mainland (2024) [Jan. 8 v. Wildwood Catholic]</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Big time players make big time moments in big time games, and that's exactly what Bretones did against one of the best teams in the Cape-Atlantic League. The Mustangs handed Wildwood Catholic its first loss of the season thanks to a 26-point masterclass from Bretones. She stepped up and made her shots count inside the perimeter and led Mainland to a signature early-season victory.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">El-Anita Joe Samuel - Lenape (2027) [Jan. 10 v. Eastern]</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>What a revelation the freshman has been for Lenape this season, and she had her best performance of the season on Jan. 10 at Eastern. Not only did she knock down a career-high 5 three-pointers, she finished with a 30-piece, a career-high in scoring as Lenape took down the Vikings, 62-35. She's scored double-figures in 11 of 13 games so far.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='414395' first='Reese' last='Downey'] - Absegami (2025) [Jan. 13 v. St. Joseph (Hamm.)]</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Downey is no stranger to big games on the floor and high-scoring performances. On Saturday, she was back at it again v. St. Joseph (Hamm.) finishing with a career-high 36 points and eight made three-pointers, along with six rebounds, six assists and five steals. It was a masterclass unlike anything we've seen from her to date, and averaging 21.9 PPG this season, she's just warming up.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='397076' first='Iriona' last='Gravley'] - Williamstown (2024) [Jan. 13 v. Cherry Hill West]</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>An upstart 10-1 Cherry Hill West team looked to dominate in the SJIBT against Williamstown, but senior [player_tooltip player_id='397076' first='Iriona' last='Gravley'] wasn't having any of it. She took matters into her own hands, recording a 24-point, 12-rebound double-double with four assists and two steals as the Braves took down the Lions, 50-42. There was simply no stopping Gravley as she was on a mission to win.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='414316' first='Jill' last='Watson'] - Northern Burlington (2025) [Jan. 10 v. Pemberton]</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Watson's junior year has been her breakout year for Northern Burlington, and her breakout game of her career came on Saturday against Pemberton. Despite losing by three, Watson finished with 34 points, six rebounds, a block, seven steals and four three-pointers, a career day and her first 30-point performance in high school. It was also her sixth game with multiple made three-pointers of the season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='415543' first='Sophia' last='Rutherford'] - Moorestown Friends (2024) [Jan. 11 v. Willingboro]</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It's been a fantastic season for Rutherford in her senior sendoff with Moorestown Friends. What an impressive game she put together on Thursday, finishing with a career-high 25 points, seven rebounds, five assists, three blocks and two steals. MFS took care of business against Willingboro and Rutherford had her signature performance of the season and her career.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='408039' first='Kaci' last='Mikulski'] - Wildwood Catholic (2024) [Jan. 12 v. Lenape]</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>One point away. Mikulski finished just one point off her career-high in a big-time performance against a tough Lenape team. All told, the senior guard had 26 points and four made three-pointers, a season-high in points and tying a season-high in made three-pointers. Everything was working for her on that day and Lenape simply had no answers for her.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->