NJSIAA North Jersey Non-Public A Tourney Quarterfinals’ Best

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Just like in South Jersey, the NJSIAA Non-Public tournament quarterfinals in North Jersey were also held on Monday. Plenty of great players, teams and performances to go around, so we'll do our best in this article to highlight some of the best of the day.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Katie O'Keefe - Pope John (2025)</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>You don't really hear a lot about O'Keefe in state-wide basketball discussions, but some of her performances this season have made her a breakout candidate as a senior. Take Monday night, a 13-point effort, knocking down 3 three-pointers, along with three rebounds and two assists, in an 11-point win over Hudson Catholic. The second half of her season has really shown a lot of growth in her game.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='488720' first='Anisa' last='Akinola'] - Hudson Catholic (2024)</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Hudson Catholic unfortunately couldn't hold on in the end as Pope John separated itself from the Hawks in the second half, but Akinola was a great story on the day. In her final high school game, she posted an impressive 11-point, 12-rebound double-double, adding five assists and a steal to her totals. Everything that she could do to keep the Hawks in the game, she definitely did.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Abby Han - Oak Knoll (2026)</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Han has seen limited time as a bench player for Oak Knoll this season, but she's definitely had some glimpses of what's to come with her. However, her best performance of the year came on Monday against Newark Academy, hitting a trio of threes while finishing with 12 points overall. Over these past few games, she's easily been at her best in that limited role with the Royals.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='832355' first='Ava' last='Kelshaw'] - Mount St. Dominic (2027)</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Mount St. Dominic has a young team and an exciting team, though the Lions came up short in the quarters on Monday. However, they're gearing up for the future on the backs of players like [player_tooltip player_id='832355' first='Ava' last='Kelshaw'], who had a strong final performance of her freshman year. Nearly missing out on a double-double, she had 10 points, nine rebounds and three assists for the Lions, putting in a strong shift defensively as well.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Daria Coll - Holy Angels (2025)</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Scoring hasn't been Daria Coll's strongsuit, but her relentless onslaught of the boards hasn't wavered one bit. Her 14 boards on Monday was her 10th double-digit rebounding performance of the season and fourth in seven games, adding seven points and a steal. That offense needs to take some steps forward next season, but for now, Coll and Holy Angels are moving on to the semis.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Mary Grace Kelly - Newark Academy (2025)</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Kelly hasn't been a player that's lit up the scoresheet offensively, but where she's made quite the impact is as a passer for Newark Academy. Offensively, she had herself a game on Monday, scoring a career-high 14 points, but her seven assists were even more impressive. If she can hone in on that offensive success shown on Monday, that, combined with being a great facilitator, is going to pay dividends for her.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='559818' first='Samantha' last='Grella'] - Immaculate Heart (2026)</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Immaculate Heart put its trust in Grella to be an important piece on its roster this season. So far, that's paid off immensely, especially over her past 10 games. Six double-digit scoring performances highlight that stretch, including Monday's 13-point effort in a blowout win over Paramus Catholic. Her 13/7/1 line is become more and more common for her as her impact on this team grows.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->