Hunterdon/Warren/Sussex Tournament First Round Standouts

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Just five games took place in the first round of the Hunterdon/Warren/Sussex Tournament on Saturday as a number of teams received automatic byes to the second round and quarterfinals. Those five games featured some exciting finishes and a cast of great performances. Here are the best of the best from the first round.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='406998' first='Jackie' last='Schels'] - Wallkill Valley (2024)</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>There isn't a better player to begin this article with than Wallkill Valley's senior standout down low. What a day Schels had for the Rangers, the start of an insane two-game stretch for her overall. She finished with a then career-high 39 points and 11 blocks, posting her fourth triple-double of the season, all via points, rebounds and blocks. One point shy of a 40-piece, 14 rebounds, 11 blocks, three assists, two steals and 12-of-14 from the line.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Sophia May - Newton (2025)</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It ended up being a close loss for Newton on Saturday, but May put together one of her best performances to date for the team, finishing with 15 points, nine rebounds and seven assists, her fifth game with six or more assists this season. Across the board, she's just been a different player this season and there's still plenty of basketball yet to be played.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='333347' first='Kadie' last='Fleming'] - South Hunterdon (2025)</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Saturday was quite the high-scoring affair between South Hunterdon and Lenape Valley, with the Eagles coming up short in a 12-point loss, but their star player, [player_tooltip player_id='333347' first='Kadie' last='Fleming'], had herself a game once again. She finished with 28 points, four rebounds, five assists, three blocks and trio of three-pointers. It's her third straight 28+ point performance, her fourth-straight game with multiple made three-pointers and eighth-straight multi-block game.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Regina Williams - Lenape Valley (2025)</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Williams' scoreline speaks for itself: a career-high 34 points in a massive first round win for Lenape Valley and her best single-game performance in high school. She hit four three-pointers in the win and was seemingly unstoppable with the ball in her hands. It's her ninth double-digit scoring performance in her last 10 games overall and her third-straight game with 18+ points.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='583954' first='Grace' last='Dobrzynski'] - Vernon (2025)</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The good times have been rolling for Vernon in recent weeks, currently riding a five-game winning streak overall. Dobrzynski is a big reason for that, averaging 10.2 PPG over that period, including a team-high 16 points against North Warren in a 20-point win. Her three-point shooting has seemingly turned a corner as well, now with 17 made threes in 15 games, including four over her last two games.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='859234' first='Olivia' last='Lombardo'] - Kittatinny (2024)</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>When Kittatinny needed Lombardo most, she delivered in a big first round tournament game decided by just five points. All the senior did was finish with a team-high 16 points and eight rebounds, adding in four steals as well. She now has 13 multi-steal games this season and 11 games with three or more steals. It's been a very up-and-down year for Kittatinny overall, but Lombardo has provided a level of stability as a senior leader on this team.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='489444' first='Leah' last='English'] - High Point (2024)</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Coming into this season, High Point senior [player_tooltip player_id='489444' first='Leah' last='English'] hadn't posted a 20-point game in her career. Through 16 games played this season, she's got two, including one on Saturday against Hopatcong, finishing with 21 points and a trio of three-pointers. English has hit multiple threes in six games so far as a senior and offensively, she's averaging 12.1 PPG.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->