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Girls Hoops Top 20: Week 1

Thursday, December 31, 2015

By The Unkown Ranker
NJS.com's Anonymous Source
(Rankings will be next updated on Jan. 11 and then every Monday thereafter for the rest of the season)

  
1. IMMACULATE CONCEPTION (5-0) -- Impressive beginning to their season as the Blue Wolves dominated all five of their opponents. It began with an opening night win over Holy Angels, 47-32 (29-11 at the half). Next it was St. Mary’s (NY) 74-31 behind Jasmine Gee’s 29 points and then Bound Brook, 60-37. IC then traveled to NY and beat St. Joseph’s of Long Island on Monday, 65-47, as Breanne Bellerand scored 25 points and had 14 rebounds, before finally beating Moore Catholic (NY) 55-32 as Autumn Webster had 17. They finish the month with Notre Dame (NY) on New Year's Eve..
BREANNE BELLERAND
LAST WEEK'S RANKING: No. 4

2. SADDLE RIVER DAY (6-0) -- The Rebels opened with six dominating performances. Chatham (80-34), Newtown, CT (71-27), Park Ridge (72-22) were the first three opponents and then SRD traveled to Jersey City for the Lady Lions Christmas Tournament where it easily dispatched three opponents starting with New Providence (69-35), then Bloomfield Tech
(95-36) and finally scoring 100 points vs. Newark Tech ini a 66-point win. The constant in all six games has been Michele Sidor, the freshman point guard who is averaging 33 points per game.  Kennedy visits Sunday.
MICHELE SIDOR
LAST WEEK'S RANKING: No. 6

3. QUEEN OF PEACE (2-0) -- The Golden Griffins started off with a pair of 80-point performances, as they beat Harrison (83-10) and Dwight-Englewood (83-24). They are idle until January, as their next competitive game will be January 5 at Gloucester Catholic (currently 10th in NJ). Dropped to No. 3 for the time being until they play Gloucester Catholic after the unusual extended layoff.
Q of P LOGO
LAST WEEK'S RANKING: No. 1

4. EASTSIDE (0-3) -- The Ghosts dropped all 3 games out west in Phoenix AZ at the Nike Tournament of Champions falling to Chaminade (CA) 65-33, Dillard (FL) 55-36 and Springfield Central (MA). On January 3 they get the third ranked team in New Jersey,
Gil St. Bernard, for a huge test.
BLESSING EJIOFOR
LAST WEEK'S RANKING: No. 2

5. NORTHERN VALLEY/OLD TAPPAN (5-1) -- The Golden Knights move up two spots via their impressive victory, 52-40, over IHA in the Joe Poli Tournament final. The star of the game was Kelsey McLaughlin as she held the Dayton-bound star Jordan Wilmoth to one basket and 3 points. The Knights opened with a solid win over Pascack Valley 72-58 only to drop a 61-54 decision to Albertus Magnus (NY). They followed that up with an easy win over Bergenfield, 58-30. Also in the Poli they defeated Paramus Catholic, 64-39, and Pascack Valley, 37-36, as Ariana Chipolone led with 13 points.  Travel to Teaneck Tuesday
KELSEY McLAUGHLIN
LAST WEEK'S RANKING: No. 7

6. TEANECK (5-0) -- The Highwaywomen have been impressive to start the season as they are getting balanced scoring from everyone in the lineup.  They started with a 72-30 win over Tenafly, then beat Demarest, 58-47. In the Lady Lions Christmas Tournament they  won all three games, starting with Kennedy (55-46) behind Cedeja James' 16 points. They then handed Trenton a 69-41 loss as James again led the way with 18 points and finally Bloomfield Tech 83-37 as Milan Johnson had 17. Huge game Tuesday as Old Tappan visits.
MILAN JOHNSON
LAST WEEK'S RANKING: No. 9

7. IMMACULATE HEART ACADEMY (4-2) -- Blue Eagles were beaten in the finals of the Joe Poli Tournament by Old Tappan, 52-40, in what is probably not huge upset as IHA was ranked No. 5 to start the season and Old Tappan no. 7.  The Blue Eagles squeaked past Kennedy on opening night, 41-40, behind Jordan Wilmoth’s 20 points, then responded by knocking off Paramus Catholic, 55-30. Ran into a good Archbishop Molloy team falling 52-45 before beating Secaucus 51-41 to open the Joe Poli Tournament. In the semifinals they ripped Northern Highlands, 61-27.  Jan. 14 vs. Teaneck and Jan. 17 vs. Eastside should be fun.
JORDAN WILMOTH
LAST WEEK'S RANKING: No. 5

8. RAMAPO (5-0) --  The Green Raiders have won their first five games beginning at Ridgewood (59-42) followed with their sister school Indian Hills (42-30).  They then dominated all three opponents in the Soaring Eagle Christmas Tournament in Union City starting with Passaic Tech (61-18) and followed by North Hunterdon in the semifinals (41-20). In the title game, Ramapo beat Union, 54-30. Karlie Brogan is averaging 21 points per game while Emily Calabrese has averaged 13 boards. Rival No. Highlands coming up on Tuesday.
KARLIE BROGAN
LAST WEEK'S RANKING: No. 8

9. PASCACK VALLEY (3-2) -- Jeff Jasper has this young team playing really well as its only two losses have come at the hands of Old Tappan, 72-58 on opening night and then in the semifinals the Poli, 37-36. Following the opening night loss they beat Glen Rock, 65-37, Tenafly, 57-30, and, on Saturday, River Dell, 50-30. Finally they beat Northern Highlands by breaking open a 29-23 game to win 65-40. Thus far it has been a different player each game leading the way. Travel to Demarest next Thursday.
KELLY PETRO
LAST WEEK'S RANKING: No. 13

10. NORTHERN VALLEY/DEMAREST (3-2) -- The Norsewomen lost in the championship game of the Westwood Holiday Tournament to High Point, 52-38.  They opened the season with a 51-19 win over Bergenfield despite it being a one-point game at the half and followed that with a loss in Teaneck, 58-47.  In the first two games of the Holiday Tournament they beat Edison, 58-39, behind 19 from Briana Tarabocchia and 16 from Mackenzie Press.  Then, in the semifinals, they beat Nutley 56-23 (Blair Watson of Nutley DNP). Big game vs. PV next Thursday as Jenny Jurjevic gets to coach against her high school mentor, Jeff Jasper.
BRIANA TARABOCCHIA
LAST WEEK'S RANKING: No. 11

11. LINCOLN (4-0) -- The Lions have opened with four straight wins, starting with St Anthony (83-19), followed by a 33-24 win over Kearny in a low scoring affair. In the Lady Lions Christmas Tournament on their home floor they won all three games. On Saturday they beat Bloomfield Tech 59-41 as Zhan’e Williams had 14 points, and followed that up with a good win over Kennedy, 55-50, and finished the tournament with a 35-33 win over Trenton as Williams had 14.
ZHAN'E WILLIAMS
LAST WEEK'S RANKING: No. 18

12. KENNEDY (3-3) -- Kennedy has been up and down to start the season. The Knights started with a good effort before falling to IHA, 41-40, then scored an 84-26 win over Frederick Douglas (NY) and a 76-19 win over Passaic Tech.  In the Lady Lions Tournament on Saturday they lost to Teaneck, 55-46, before leading most of the way, then dropping a 55-50 decision to Lincoln before edging past New Providence 54-52. Tajae Stevenson has been tremendous thus far this season but will need more help moving forward if the Knights want to be a threat in the Passaic County and state tournaments.
TAJAE STEVENSON
LAST WEEK'S RANKING: No. 3

13. RAMSEY (5-0) -- The Rams have hit on all cylinders out of the gate, beginning with their opening night 53-47 win over River Dell behind Hailey Reynolds' 21 points. They Easily beat Hawthorne and edged past rival Mahwah, 45-43, before beating Fair Lawn, 52-40, in the Carty Tournament in Mahwah.  In the finals, the Rams knocked off an undefeated Bloomfield  team, 48-41, behind Lina Hyman, who was named MVP and scored 19 points
LINA HYMAN
LAST WEEK'S RANKING: No. 16

14. NORTHERN HIGHLANDS (4-2) -- The Highlanders started the season with four straight wins before falling to IHA in the semifinals of the Joe Poli Tournament, 61-27.  They opened the season beating Paramus 52-19, then Westwood 55-36 (without Jade Hines-Clarke), Hackensack 69-35 and Holy Angels, 60-52. The Highlanders finished the Poli tournament with a 65-40 loss to Pascack Valley. At Ramapo on Tuesday.
EMILY BONAFACIC
LAST WEEK'S RANKING: No. 14

15. WESTWOOD (3-3) --  Cardinals played without Richmond-bound senior Jade Hines-Clarke for the first five games of the season and went 2-3 before she returned in the final game of their holiday tournament. Hines-Clarke led the team with 16 points in its 61-47 win over Edison. Started the season by rallying from 7 down after 3 quarters to defeat Ridgefield Park, 42-37.  They then lost to Northern Highlands 55-36, before beating Pascack Hills, 44-29. The Cardinals lost to Ridgewood 40-35 and then to Midland Park 50-39.  
BROOKLYN COLON
LAST WEEK'S RANKING: No. 12

16. HOLY ANGELS (3-2) -- The Angels are off to a slow start that began with an opening night, 47-32 loss to Immaculate Conception. They came back to beat DePaul, 44-38, before losing to Northern Highlands, 60-52, in the first round of the Joe Poli Tournament. The Angels then knocked off Secaucus, 50-39, behind 16 points from Elizabeth Garcia before finishing with a nice win over Paramus Catholic, 48-38, behind Elena Pulanco’s 15 points
ELENA PULANCO
LAST WEEK'S RANKING: No. 10

17. WEST MILFORD (4-1) -- The Highlanders suffered an upset on opening night at the hands of Wayne Valley, 47-42, but have rebounded with four straight wins. They beat Kinnelon 42-22, win at Wayne Hills 44-26 as Emily Magisic had 11 and then beat Hasbrouck Heights, 49-29, in the opening game of the Butler Tournament. They won the championship by beating Butler, 40-37, as Breannne Mulvihill scored her 1,000th career point. 
EMILY MAGISIC
LAST WEEK'S RANKING: No. 17

18. PARAMUS CATHOLIC (2-3) -- The Paladins, who graduated plenty of starters from last year's team, opened this season with a 49-48 win over Hackensack but followed that up with a 55-30 loss to IHA.  In the Joe Poli Tournament they opened with a 64-39 loss to Old Tappan, but rebounded with a 57-40 win over River Dell as Tatianna Occena had 17 and freshman Sydnei Caldwell had 16.  In their tournament finale they lost to Holy Angels, 48-38.
NIKKI CURTELLINO
 LAST WEEK'S RANKING: Not Ranked

19. RIVER DELL (1-3) -- Lindsay Steffner picked up her first win as River Dell coach as the Golden Hawks beat Secaucus, 58-50, behind 17 points from Madeline Weber in the seventh place game of the Joe Poli Tournament. The Hawks opened the season with a tough loss to Ramsey, 53-47.  In the opening round of the Poli they lost to Pascack Valley, 50-30, and then lost to Paramus Catholic, 57-40, before beating Secaucus. Mahwah on Tuesday at home.
MADELINE WEBER
LAST WEEK'S RANKING: No. 15

20. RIDGEWOOD (3-2) -- Maybe one of the most impressive wins of the young season was the Maroons' stunning,62-61 overtime win over Nutley, the defending Group 3, North 2 sectional champions and currently ranked 18th in the state, in the Westwood Christmas Tournament.  Nutley played with Maryland-bound Blair Watson, who scored 29 points. The Maroons rallied in the fourth quarter from 7 down. Brielle Sharry had five 3s and 17 points. On opening night the Maroons lost to Ramapo, 59-42, and then beat Paramus, 59-17.  They won their first tournament over Westwood, 40-35, before losing to High Point, 48-28.
RIDGEWOOD LOGO
LAST WEEK'S RANKING: Not Ranked
DROPPED OUT:
Secaucus & Hudson Catholic

ALSO RECEIVING UNKNOWN VOTES:
Secaucus, Midland Park, Marist, Mahwah & Ridgefield Park


Rankings always create controversy so we are shielding the source of ours from the public. All we can say is that he/she is a knowledgeable student of the North Jersey hoops scene who works out of a back table at a greasy spoon somewhere in our coverage area. We accept comments on twitter @NJScom or email us directly.

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