South Jersey Group 1 Playoff Preview

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The 2024-2025 NJSIAA Girls Basketball Playoffs have arrived. The sectional playoffs are slated to start on February 26.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Which South Jersey teams have the best chance to make it out of their section and possibly compete for a state championship?</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>See my full preview and prediction for the South Jersey Group 1 bracket below.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Seeds</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul class="wp-block-list"><!-- wp:list-item --> <li>1- Haddon Township</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>2- Palmyra</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>3- Wildwood</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>4- Woodstown</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>5- Audubon</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>6- Pennsville</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>7- Clayton</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>8- Penns Grove</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>9- Glassboro</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>10- Burlington City</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>11- Woodbury</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>12- Cape May Tech</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>13- Gateway</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>14- Riverside</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>15- New Egypt</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>16- Schalick</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Favorite</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Haddon Township (22-3):</strong> A balanced attack makes Haddon Township so dangerous, which is why it only has three losses to its name. The Hawks have four players with at least 150 points scored this season, led by senior guard [player_tooltip player_id='583462' first='Alli' last='Kamulda'] with 309 to her name. Kamulda dominates in the paint and at the free-throw line, while underclassmen [player_tooltip player_id='600906' first='Kiersten' last='Callahan'] and Abby Weideman thrive from distance with a combined 66 three-pointers. Defensively, the Hawks have held opponents to 25 or fewer points in eight games. As the top seed, the Hawks will be a tough out as the road to the sectional title will go through Haddon Township.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Contenders</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Woodstown (17-5):</strong> A sectional finalist a year ago, Woodstown will enter the postseason with at least 17 wins under first-year head coach Matt Smart. Woodstown is led by standout senior guards [player_tooltip player_id='525557' first='Megan' last='Donelson'] and [player_tooltip player_id='414352' first='Talia' last='Battavio'], who both recently reached 1,500 career points. After serving as a bench/junior varsity player last year, junior Kyia Leyman has stepped up in the rebounding department with a team-high 114 --- good for an average of five per contest. If the Wolverines want to get back to the position they were in this time last year, they'll likely have to pull off an upset on the road as the fourth seed in the bracket.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Wildwood (18-5):</strong> The defending sectional champions won't have home-court advantage this time around as the third seed, but that doesn't matter as much when you have a player like West Chester commit [player_tooltip player_id='414340' first='Macie' last='McCracken']. The senior has amassed over 2,300 career points and will be hard for any opposing team in this bracket to stop. Don't forget about sophomore guard [player_tooltip player_id='651514' first='Rebecca' last='Benichou'] though. The sharpshooter has knocked down 136 career threes in less than two full seasons, which serves as a perfect complement to McCracken. This Wildwood squad is battle-tested, having faced tough programs such as Wildwood Catholic, Eastern, Woodstown, Gloucester Catholic (twice), Middle Township, and two out-of-state teams in the regular season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Underdog</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Pennsville (17-8): </strong>Led by two 1,000-point scorers in [player_tooltip player_id='601419' first='Marley' last='Wood'] and [player_tooltip player_id='414350' first='Nora' last='Ausland'], Pennsville can not be overlooked. Five of the Eagles' eight losses came by the hands of S.J. ranked teams. Barring any major upsets, Pennsville will have to go on the road in the second round, but most certainly won't be an easy out.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Top Five Players</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul class="wp-block-list"><!-- wp:list-item --> <li><strong><em>[player_tooltip player_id='414340' first='Macie' last='McCracken'], Wildwood</em></strong></li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul class="wp-block-list"><!-- wp:list-item --> <li><strong><em>[player_tooltip player_id='525557' first='Megan' last='Donelson'], Woodstown</em></strong></li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul class="wp-block-list"><!-- wp:list-item --> <li><strong><em>[player_tooltip player_id='414352' first='Talia' last='Battavio'], Woodstown</em></strong></li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul class="wp-block-list"><!-- wp:list-item --> <li><strong><em>[player_tooltip player_id='583462' first='Alli' last='Kamulda'], Haddon Township</em></strong></li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul class="wp-block-list"><!-- wp:list-item --> <li><strong><em>[player_tooltip player_id='651514' first='Rebecca' last='Benichou'], Wildwood</em></strong></li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Projected Final</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>Haddon Township</em></strong> vs. Wildwood</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Note: Predicted winner in bold.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->