Top Opening Round Matchups in S.J. Groups 1 & 2

The opening round of the NJSIAA Girls Basketball playoffs starts on Wednesday. Check out my top five games to watch in the South Jersey Group 1 and 2 brackets.   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">South Jersey Group 1</h2>   No. 9 Glassboro @ No. 8 Penns Grove   Despite a 10-12 record heading into the postseason, Penns Grove will be hosting a playoff game as the eighth seed in the bracket. The visitor, ninth-seeded Glassboro, will be no easy challenge for the Red Devils. In two previous meetings between the Tri-County Diamond division rivals this season, each team won a game. On January 13, Penns Grove prevailed 44-39 and Glassboro won 33-31 in the most recent meeting on February 6. The biggest offensive weapon for Penns Grove is senior [player_tooltip player_id='879771' first='RaNiyah' last='Wilson'], who has over 450 points this winter. Glassboro must not allow her to take control, as she did in the first matchup when she finished with 21 points. Expect this one to be as competitive as the previous two meetings.   Prediction: Penns Grove 38, Glassboro 34.   No. 10 Burlington City @ No. 7 Clayton   Depending on which Burlington City team shows up, this could be a competitive matchup. The tenth-seeded Blue Devils played a competitive game with second-seeded Palmyra on January 31, falling by only six points. However, in a playoff tuneup on Saturday, the Blue Devils suffered a 41-15 loss to 13th-seeded Gateway. Sure, the game was technically meaningless as it was past the PowerPoint cutoff, but it's not the result you would expect to see playing against a lower seed scoring only 15 points. Clayton is powered by senior 1,400-point scorer [player_tooltip player_id='414351' first='Rainelle' last='Blocker'], who is averaging 19.3 points per game this winter. If Burlington City can find a way to limit her opportunities, then the Blue Devils have a shot.   Prediction: Clayton 62, Burlington City 47.   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">South Jersey Group 2</h2>   No. 11 West Deptford @ No. 6 Willingboro   West Deptford has taken its lumps under first-year head coach Anthony Corrado, who previously led Rancocas Valley for 21 seasons, with a 10-15 record heading into the tournament. However, records can be deceiving. The Eagles have been battle-tested with several games against ranked teams such as Haddon Township (twice), Cherokee, Washington Township, Haddonfield, and Haddon Heights (twice). West Deptford is a very young and balanced team, with four players scoring more than 100 points this season. Sixth-seeded Willingboro on the other hand, enters the playoffs with a 14-6 record, but the strength of schedule the Chimeras have faced is considerably easier. Don't be surprised if we see an upset in this one.   Prediction: West Deptford 41, Willingboro 37.   No. 9 Gloucester @ No. 8 Sterling   This is another case where records can be deceiving. Eighth-seeded Sterling enters the tournament with an average 13-13 record while visiting Gloucester owns 16 wins to just eight losses. In the lone meeting between the two on January 23, Sterling won 52-36. The Lions will have to figure out how to close the gap. Sterling senior Paris Logan finished with 19 points in the first meeting, making 11 out of 16 free-throw attempts. Gloucester will have to limit the fouls and not give Sterling the opportunity to go to the line. Sterling's job will be to limit the scoring opportunities for Gloucester freshman [player_tooltip player_id='1202390' first='Corinne' last='Kelly'], who has a team-high 200 points and 35 three-pointers for the Lions this winter. I predict that Gloucester will be able to close the gap, but it might not be enough to come away with the victory.   Prediction: Sterling 41, Gloucester 32.   No. 10 Pleasantville @ No. 7 Manchester Township   Manchester Township had a 7-7 record on Janaury 24, only a month ago to today's date. The Hawks then rattled off 10 straight wins until suffering a setback to Jackson Memorial in the final round of the Shore Conference Coaches Cup. The Hawks are powered by underclassmen duo [player_tooltip player_id='668417' first='Madeline' last='Nolan'], a sophomore with 377 points, and [player_tooltip player_id='1194606' first='Jesse' last='Sarana'], a freshman with 293 points this winter. Pleasantville enters with a 10-12 record as the tenth-seed and are led by Janderlys Reyes, a junior with 343 points, and Jewel White, a freshman with 246 points this season. The key for each squad is simple, but easier said than done: whoever limits the opposing duo the most, wins.   Prediction: Manchester Township 53, Pleasantville 39.

The opening round of the NJSIAA Girls Basketball playoffs starts on Wednesday. Check out my top five games to watch in the South Jersey Group 1 and 2 brackets.