Essex County Tournament First Round Standouts

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The first round of the Essex County Tournament, AKA the Sweet 16, wrapped up over the weekend, and all four quarterfinal matchups have been decided. To get there, some players had to do some special things, so we're going to talk about in this article some of the standouts of the official first round of play in the tournament.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='414304' first='Zakiyyah' last='Lindsay'] - University (2024)</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>University blew out Cedar Grove on Saturday, but it wasn't because of any one individual player. It was truly a group effort for the Phoenix, but amongst the leaders of this team sits senior [player_tooltip player_id='414304' first='Zakiyyah' last='Lindsay'], who had a stellar performance in the win. She finished with 12 points, seven rebounds, five assists and nine steals, showcasing consistency on the boards, an eagerness to get on the scoresheet more offensively and really solid defense overall.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='671407' first='Tea' last='Fiore'] - Caldwell (2026)</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Caldwell's sophomore sensation has been just that this season, a really solid player who has gotten the results she's been looking for big time. Saturday against Nutley featured a familiar statline to finish the day: 17 points, six rebounds, five assists and four steals. It's more the rebounds and assists that have been par for the course, but those 17 points are a career-high for a player that's now averaging 9.3 PPG this season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='325186' first='Faith' last='Fedd-Robinson'] - Newark Central (2024)</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>There wasn't another player to choose from for this game, a competitive contest between Newark Central and Bloomfield, one that got out of hand by the fourth quarter. However, Bloomfield didn't find a way to contain the future Division I superstar in [player_tooltip player_id='325186' first='Faith' last='Fedd-Robinson'], finishing with a 30-point double-double: 32 points, 19 rebounds, eight assists, five blocks and two steals. This is just par for the course for her as Newark Central moves on in the tournament.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='782573' first='Anaya' last='Karriem'] - West Orange (2025)</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>West Orange's junior forward standout, [player_tooltip player_id='782573' first='Anaya' last='Karriem'], is on pace to average a double-double in a season for the first time ever, and she's done that simply by being consistent. She's taking advantage of the time on the floor, her opportunity as a starter and being the main frontcourt piece on this team. Karriem posted yet another double-double on Saturday with 10 points, 13 rebounds, two blocks and a steal, just a solid performance overall.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='462152' first='Katerina' last='Dakos'] - Newark Academy (2024)</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Newark Academy's senior duo certainly has some staying power in this county and in the state, but on Saturday, it was Dakos who had the better of games between her and [player_tooltip player_id='325183' first='Dagny' last='Slomack']. Dakos finished with a game-high 19 points, 10 rebounds, three assists and five steals, her second double-double performance of the year and 13th-straight game scoring in double-figures. She's since scored 10+ points in all 15 games this season for Newark Academy.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='865715' first='Bella' last='Iannitelli'] - Mount St. Dominic (2027)</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>With three 20-point scorers to choose from in the Mount St. Dominic/Payne Tech game, it's tough to pick just one player from the lot. We'll give a special shout out to [player_tooltip player_id='414421' first='Kayla' last='Butler'] from Payne Tech on a 20-point double-double, her seventh-straight of the year, but Iannitelli really turned things on for MSD in her signature performance so far as a freshman. She finished with a career-high 20 points, eight rebounds, four assists and a pair of steals, one of two MSD players ([player_tooltip player_id='879777' first='Maddie' last='Natale']) with 20+ points on the day.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='583763' first='Riley' last='O'Sullivan'] - Glen Ridge (2025)</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Glen Ridge barely pulled out a two-point win against West Essex in the Round of 16, a wild game with a thrilling ending. O'Sullivan was the engine pushing this team to a win, finishing with an impressive 21-point, 12-rebound double-double in the win. Coming off a season where she averaged a double-double, O'Sullivan is very much on pace to do the same as a junior while averaging 14.5 PPG in the process.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='583758' first='Nila' last='Giraud'] - Montclair Immaculate (2025)</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>There is no denying just how good Giraud has been for Montclair Immaculate over the past few seasons, especially her junior campaign. It's like everything has clicked together more than it ever has before and she's stepped up a few levels in terms of her overall dominance on the floor. Montclair Immaculate took care of business in the Round of 16 and she finished with a 14-point, 12-rebound double-double, adding two assists and six steals to the fold. She's hot 11 double-doubles so far this season in 19 games.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->