New Jersey HS GBB Weekend in Review: 1/13-15

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>What a crazy weekend of girls basketball it was in New Jersey. From national upsets to buzzer-beaters to late comebacks, it really had it all. Let's do a quick weekend in review in the Garden State.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>St. John Vianney upsets No. 1</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>There was nothing else we could lead off with in this story then talking about the Lancers, who welcomed New York school Long Island Lutheran into Holmdel on Friday. Last season, SJV faced another No. 1 team in Sidwell Friends out of DC, but the Lancers faltered late and were defeated. Friday night was a completely different story. Led by a 30-point performance from [player_tooltip player_id='134644' first='Zoe' last='Brooks'], the Lancers shocked LIL, defeating them, 59-48, as students stormed the court once the buzzer sounded. A historic win for SJV and for high school girls basketball in New Jersey.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='481549' first='Avery' last='Jackson'] fuels Ocean City in late comeback</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This game went a bit under the radar, but what a performance from Ocean City against Wildwood. It was expected to be a back-and-forth affair, but then Wildwood opened things up, building up a double-digit lead with under three minutes left in regulation. That's when Jackson and the Red Raiders turned up the heat. She went 10-for-13 from the foul line and hit a clutch three late that sealed a 50-48 win for Ocean City. Jackson finished with a game-high 21 points.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Sparta upsets Immaculate Heart</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We've seen a much different Sparta this team this season compared to seasons previous, mostly because of the injury to star forward [player_tooltip player_id='155444' first='Brynn' last='McCurry']. However, the Spartans still have some big pieces and on Sunday, those pieces came up big in a 52-49 win over Immaculate Heart, nj dot com's No. 8 team in the state. Who else but [player_tooltip player_id='155447' first='Ally' last='Sweeney'] to get things going to for Sparta, leading the team with 16 points and eight rebounds. She was one of three Spartans to finish in double-figures in the win.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Gill St. Bernard's defends NJ in big win over Springfield Central (MA)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We've seen quite often in recent years the best of the best in New Jersey go to play the best of the best in the region and around the country. The same was true on Saturday as Gill St. Bernard's played Springfield Central (MA) in the Rose Classic Super Jam in Brooklyn. This is a Central team that finished last season 22-1 and was one of the top teams in Massachusetts. However, on Saturday, it was GSB who pulled through in a 37-31 victory. [player_tooltip player_id='333351' first='Sidney' last='Quinn'] led GSB in the low-scoring affair with 13 points.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Paul VI dominates University in top-20 showdown</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Philadelphia was the place to be on Saturday for the All-America High School Classic and what a game we had in store between Paul VI and University, two top 20 teams in the state according to nj dot com. The Eagles wasted no time to assert their dominance as one of the best in the state and the country. Who else but [player_tooltip player_id='134645' first='Hannah' last='Hidalgo'] to get the scoring going, nearly out-scoring University herself with 39 points in a 69-45 victory for Paul VI. Hidalgo also had 11 steals for the Eagles.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Shenloogian continues impressive streak for Park Ridge</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Park Ridge just got back to the .500 mark this season, but the Owls have been fueled by one [player_tooltip player_id='414430' first='Allie' last='Shenloogian'], who has seemingly reached a new level of dominance as a sophomore. Following an impressive 19-point performance in a 41-33 win over Westwood in the Zack Latteri Foundation Benefit Games, Shenloogian now has scored 16 or more points in 10 straight games for Park Ridge. This is easily a career-best for her as she's averaging 22.2 PPG for the Owls this season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->