Friday's State Tournament SECTIONAL FINALS

Group 1 & 3 classifications will be the first to compete for NJSIAA sectional titles, with action kicking off this afternoon in South, Central & North Jersey. Let's dive in and take a look at today's slate, as well as how each team's path to the final and some bold predictions:   South Jersey, Group 1   #3 Wildwood at #1 Haddon Township   Haddon Township- First Round: 56-13 over Schalick, QF: 35-25 over Glassboro, SF: 46-44 over Woodstown   Wildwood:- First Round: 77-5 over Riverside, QF: 75-55 over Pennsville, SF: 54-38 over Clayton   Defending champ Wildwood will travel to Haddon Township in an epic clash of two teams who dominated all season long. The top seed is coming off two tight games in the quarters and semis, whereas the 3rd-seeded Warriors have breezed through the competition on their home court. They can surely light it up from distance, averaging nine 3's on the season, led by superstar [player_tooltip player_id='414340' first='Macie' last='McCracken'] and sizzling sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='651514' first='Rebecca' last='Benichou']. HT is a team that prides themselves on balanced scoring and relentless defense, holding teams to under 30 points twelve times this season! HT has more size, WW has more speed.   Prediction: Wildwood 48, Haddon Township 35   South Jersey, Group 3   #2 Moorestown at #1 Cherry Hill West   Cherry Hill West- First Round: 87-46 over Winslow, QF: 63-41 over Timber Creek, SF: 62-33 over Toms River East   Moorestown- First Round: 52-26 over Seneca, QF: 40-22 over Ocean City, SF: 38-26 over Absegami   Moorestown will be seeking the ultimate revenge after dropping two close regular season games to CHW by almost identical scores (39-35, 38-35). Both teams have played stellar defense against one another when they've faced off, holding each other to some of their lowest point totals of the season. Beating a team twice in a season is difficult, but three times is almost unheard of. However, CHW's depth may play a deciding factor in who get this all-important dub. [player_tooltip player_id='601276' first='Analyse' last='Intenzo'] is never an easy task, but the two-headed monster in [player_tooltip player_id='583703' first='Julia' last='Lewis'] and [player_tooltip player_id='835898' first='Kirsten' last='Gibson'] have home court advantage and all the confidence in the world.   Prediction: Cherry Hill West 45, Moorestown 35   Central Jersey, Group 3   #5 Neptune at #2 Red Bank Regional   Red Bank Regional- First Round: 48-21 over Brick Memorial, QF: 42-28 over Middletown North, SF: 37-24 over Middletown South   Neptune- First Round: 61-30 over Hopewell Valley, QF: 48-43 over Colts Neck, SF: 55-54 over Westampton Tech   Neptune is riding a wave of confidence after upsetting CJG3 #1 and favorite Westampton Tech in the semis. Spearheaded by freshman [player_tooltip player_id='913916' first='Tyeera' last='Howard'], the Scarlet Fliers are certainly making a statement this postseason! RBR has kept their scoring low and the opponents scoring even lower, holding them to 25.3 ppg. Led by fiery guard [player_tooltip player_id='559044' first='Synai' last='Blychanton'] in the back court and 6'3" big [player_tooltip player_id='333332' first='Caroline' last='Polloway'] in the front court, the Bucs have put together a phenomenal run and will host the Chip this afternoon.   Prediction: Neptune 55, Red Bank Regional 50   North Jersey, Section 1, Group 1   #2 Mountain Lakes at #1 Park Ridge   Park Ridge- First Round: 59-20 over New Milford, QF: 43-37 over Lenape Valley, SF: 33-26 over Hasbrouck Heights   Mountain Lakes- First Round: 55-27 over North Warren, QF: 59-22 over Butler, SF: 52-33 over Cresskill   [player_tooltip player_id='414430' first='Allie' last='Shenloogian'] can be a one-woman show at times, totally taking over and dominating opponents. With two playoff triple-doubles in three games, she is certainly in take-over mode as they chase Group 1 glory. She's scoring half of PR's total points and wreaking havoc. The ladies of Mountain Lakes have yet to run into a problem like her, which may come as a shock when they face off this afternoon. Senior Abigail Hawes is having a stellar postseason of her own, averaging 20.3 ppg and having the defense work overtime to try and contain her. This 1-2 clash will be epic!   Prediction: Park Ridge 46, Mountain Lakes 42   North Jersey, Section 1, Group 3   #2 Morris Knolls at #1 Demarest   Demarest- First Round: 57-28 over Tenafly, QF: 58-53 over River Dell, SF: 67-62 over West Essex   Morris Knolls- First Round: 52-39 over Wayne Hills, QF: 51-50 over Old Tappan, SF: 61-44 over Teaneck   Morris Knolls' semifinal win over Teaneck was certainly eye-opening. Denay Jones led a very balanced scoring attack that saw seven players score, three of them in double-figures. To beat a team like Demarest, balance is key! Balanced scoring and balanced, lockdown defense, otherwise their crew can go off! [player_tooltip player_id='600897' first='Gabriella' last='Mittelman'] is fresh off a 39-point explosion against West Essex, clicking on all cylinders to land Demarest in the title game at home. Defensive anchor and rebounding machine has been a crucial piece to their puzzle and a total x-factor!   Prediction: Demarest 60, Morris Knolls 50   North Jersey, Section 2, Group 1   #2 University at #1 Glen Ridge   Glen Ridge- First Round: 44-15 over Whippany Park, QF: 52-28 over North Arlington, SF: 52-28 over Verona   University- First Round: 92-2 over Warren Tech, QF: 68-14 over BelovED Charter, SF: 73-33 over Belvidere   Defending champ University has shaken off an up-and-down regular season and looks scary in NJS2G1! They have beaten teams down to land in the title game once again, with shifty guard [player_tooltip player_id='414417' first='Paradise' last='Fisher'] controlling the back court and [player_tooltip player_id='601329' first='Briana' last='Holt'] dominating the interior. Glen Ridge comes in as the top seed, paced by [player_tooltip player_id='583763' first='Riley' last='O'Sullivan'] and [player_tooltip player_id='601520' first='Allison' last='Snyder'] and looking to etch their names in school history. O'Sullivan has been a menace on the boards, so the battle between her and Holt will certainly be something to behold!   Prediction: University 65, Glen Ridge 50   North Jersey, Section 2, Group 3   #6 Cranford at #1 Chatham   Chatham- First Round: 71-29 over Orange, QF: 69-38 over South Plainfield, SF: 44-21 over Mendham   Cranford- First Round: 52-33 over Millburn, QF: 38-36 over Summit, SF: 52-46 over Somerville   [player_tooltip player_id='414349' first='Bella' last='Curanovic'] has been tough to handle all season long! She's putting up big numbers in points and rebounds this postseason, fresh off a 24-point, 16-rebound performance vs Somerville in the semis. Cranford will need everyone in sync if they want to get revenge on Chatham after a 66-31 loss earlier this season. They are an entirely different team from three months prior, so don't let that score line fool you! Chatham comes in as one of the hottest teams in the state, dropping only two games [to IHA & Morris Catholic]. They are deep at nearly every position and led by a three-headed monster in [player_tooltip player_id='333348' first='Ella' last='Kreuzer'], [player_tooltip player_id='414422' first='Mia' last='Semioli'] and [player_tooltip player_id='870863' first='Arden' last='Alvarez'].   Prediction: Chatham 60, Cranford 45

Group 1 & 3 classifications will be the first to compete for NJSIAA sectional titles, with action kicking off this afternoon in South, Central & North Jersey. Let's dive in and take a look at today's slate, as well as how each team's path to the final and some bold predictions: