Wednesday’s North Jersey Standouts

In this article, Prep Girls Hoops New Jersey takes a look at standout performances in North Jersey from Wednesday’s action. Erica Mercedes - Union City Mercedes posted her first double-double of the season in a 54-47 loss against Morris Catholic, a 25-point, 10-rebound performance with a season-high 3 three-pointers. She’s recorded 15 or more points in all three games this season for The U and is nearly averaging 20.0 PPG in her senior season, hoping for back-to-back seasons of 20.0 PPG averages. [player_tooltip player_id="325200" first="Tayla" last="Thomas"] - Montclair Immaculate Three games, three-straight 20-point double-doubles for Thomas with Montclair Immaculate, including a 23-point, 18-rebound performance in a 62-59 win against Immaculate Heart. Thomas is firing on all cylinders as a sophomore, averaging 25.0 PPG and 16.3 RPG and she’s quickly established herself as an elite forward in the Super Essex Conference. Nancy Puthenpurayil - Ridge Puthenpurayil led Ridge with 18 points and seven rebounds in a 51-47 win over Phillipsburg. It was her third game scoring in double-figures and second game with 3+ three-pointers. Her two steals gave her a multi-steal game for the third time in her junior year. Puthenpurayil is in the midst of a breakout season and the guard is going to be making big time headlines in the Skyland Conference this year. [player_tooltip player_id="333302" first="Mia" last="Pauldo"] - Morris Catholic Pauldo has gone off so far in her freshman season with Morris Catholic and that success continued in a close 54-47 win over Union City. The guard posted a 24-point, 15-rebound double-double with three assists, three steals and three made three-pointers, her second-straight double-double for the Crusaders. She’s averaging 22.8 PPG and 10.3 RPG in four games this season. Ashley Kuperus - High Point Kuperus, already on track for a career-best season with High Point, had the best game of her career to date with a game-high 25 points in a 56-30 win over Newton. She’s averaging 14.0 PPG through the first six games of the season and has scored 10+ points in five of those games. Kuperus is making a case for All-Conference honors in the NJAC.