South Jersey Group 4 Playoff Preview

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The NJSIAA basketball state tournament is almost here. The South Jersey Group 4 playoffs are set to begin on Thursday after being delayed two days due to the winter blizzard that swept across the Garden State over the weekend.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Check out our full preview below to see which teams have the best chance of making it out of the South Jersey Group 4 bracket victorious and potentially compete for a state title.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Seeds</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>1- Lenape</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>2- Egg Harbor Township</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>3- Howell</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>4- Cherokee</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>5- Eastern</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>6- Atlantic City</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>7- Kingsway</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>8- Southern</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>9- Washington Township</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>10- Central Regional</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>11- Cherry Hill East</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>12- Millville</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>13- Rancocas Valley</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>14- Bridgeton</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>15- Vineland</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>16- Pennsauken</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Favorite</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Lenape (23-4): </strong>Star guard [player_tooltip player_id='835906' first='El-Anita' last='Joe-Samuel'] is averaging 23 points per contest for the Indians as they ride a seven-game winning streak into the tournament. Lenape has held its opponents to 30 points or fewer nine times this winter — impressive considering its daunting Olympic Conference schedule. The Indians' only South Jersey losses came in two games against Non-Public power Gloucester Catholic.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Contenders</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Cherokee (17-8):</strong> Star guard [player_tooltip player_id='559132' first='Brielle' last='Alaba'] has been out with an injury since the beginning of the month. Since then, the Chiefs have a 3-4 record. If Alaba can return and play close to her normal form, the defending South Jersey Group 4 champs will be in a decent position to defend their title in what would be a fourth matchup with Lenape in the tournament.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Egg Harbor (19-8):</strong> The future is now for Egg Harbor Township, as the underclassmen-filled Eagles have earned the No. 2 seed in the bracket and will be home for most of the tournament. The Eagles' top three leading scorers — [player_tooltip player_id='1273249' first='Siena' last='Jaworski'], [player_tooltip player_id='913932' first='Elaina' last='Kraybill'], and Evalyn Brown —  are all sophomores and will look to gain valuable playoff experience.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Underdog</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Eastern (17-10): </strong>The Vikings have won nine of their last 10 games entering the tournament and are certainly battle-tested playing Olympic Conference competition, making them a sneaky fifth seed. Senior forward [player_tooltip player_id='601510' first='London' last='Sutton'] is averaging a team-high 14 points for Eastern.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Top Five Players</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>[player_tooltip player_id='835906' first='El-Anita' last='Joe-Samuel'], Lenape</em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>[player_tooltip player_id='559132' first='Brielle' last='Alaba'], Cherokee</em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>[player_tooltip player_id='913932' first='Elaina' last='Kraybill'], Egg Harbor Township</em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>[player_tooltip player_id='601510' first='London' last='Sutton'], Eastern</em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>[player_tooltip player_id='959106' first='Abby' last='Ball'], Cherokee</em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Projected Final</strong></h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>Lenape</em></strong> vs. Egg Harbor Township</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>Note: </em></strong><em>predicted winner in bold</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->