Monday’s SJIBT Standouts

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We witnessed a pair of games in the Sweet 16 of the South Jersey Invitational Basketball Tournament featuring four fantastic teams filled with top-tier talent. What a great display of basketball it was all-around, and here's a look at the standouts from both games.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='559132' first='Brielle' last='Alaba'] - Cherokee (2026)</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>These kinds of performances are already becoming classic [player_tooltip player_id='559132' first='Brielle' last='Alaba'] performances for Cherokee, and she was at it again, a 25-point day against a tough Highland team in an eventual double-digit victory. The Chiefs didn't need to look far to find a gem in their sophomore guard, and already, she's produced, averaging 15.5 PPG this season with now three 20-point performances to her name.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">El-Anita Joe Samuel - Lenape (2027)</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It's seemingly becoming harder and harder to figure out who's the best freshman in New Jersey because Joe Samuel is making her stake at the top spot. Such was the case in a wild finish against Gloucester Catholic, finishing with a game-high 24 points, her second 20+ point game of the season. Really impressive stuff from the freshman to keep Lenape in this game on Monday.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='326414' first='Breelynn' last='Leary'] - Highland (2024)</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>For as dominant as Leary has been at times this season, she's had her slumps, but Monday was not one of those days, scoring 21 points against one of the perennial giants in South Jersey in Cherokee. It was her fifth 20+ point game of the season and she tied a career-high with five made three-pointers to get to that mark. Doing that against the Chiefs, that's a tough task.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='742836' first='Jada' last='Branford'] - Cherokee (2024)</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Branford has slowly but surely found her niche on this Cherokee team as a consistent starter and playmaker as we've seen with performances like what took place on Monday. What a great time to put up a career-high 15 points for her, having success in a plethora of different ways on the court. Something to keep an eye on for, but she's averaging 8.2 PPG this season for the Chiefs.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='601413' first='Jahzara' last='Green'] - Gloucester Catholic (2026)</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Out of the gates, Green has been an impressive free throw shooter and she needed to be just that on Monday to help secure a win for Gloucester Catholic. Green shot 11-of-12 from the line, scoring a team-high 23 points for the Rams. That interior play truly made all the difference as the attention was on her, the pressure was put on her, and all she did was absorb it and make Lenape pay.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='488772' first='Julianna' last='DiFebbo'] - Gloucester Catholic (2024)</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Senior leaders do big things in big games, and DiFebbo was that senior leader that Gloucester Catholic needed to steer the ship and get the job done on Monday. While not a crazy performance by any means, her season-high 13 points against Lenape were done mostly inside the arc, working the defense as she got her looks and took advantage consistently.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='414232' first='Alexa' last='Henry'] - Lenape (2025)</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>By many accounts, last season was a down season for Henry, but this season has been far from it, getting off to her best start to date with 15-straight double-figure scoring performances to begin the season. Her 13-point afternoon against Gloucester Catholic continued the trend as she's averaging 14.7 PPG and more than one made three-pointer a game this season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->