SPORTS WRAP
BY WILLIAM HATHAWAY, JR.
This past weekend in Newark, the 77th edition of the boys and girls Essex County Tournament wrapped off. In the first title game of the day, the #1 seed Montclair Immaculate girls’ basketball team beat #2 University High 75-65. Leading Montclair Immaculate to the ECT crown was Nila Giraud with a game high 27 points and grabbed 12 rebounds. University was led by Paradise Fisher with 24 points and 9 rebounds along with Morgan Marshall’s 16 points. Immaculate has a current record of 22-4, 9-0 in the Super Essex conference, while University is 21-3 overall and 9-2 in conference play.
In the boys’ championship game, St. Benedict’s Prep beat Montclair Immaculate 57-37. Leading St. Benedict’s to victory was Chidi Nwigwe with 20 points and 9 rebounds and David Johnson added 14 points and 7 rebounds. Leading Montclair Immaculate was Kole Grandison with 14 points and 9 rebounds. This was St. Benedict’s first Essex County Tournament win since 1993, ending a 31 year drought.
In local college basketball, the Seton Hall men’s basketball team won a big road game in the big east conference, beating St. John’s at USB Arena 68-62. The Pirates took thw W after coming back from 19 points down. Leading SHU was guard Kadary Richmond with 18 points and 11 rebounds, Al-Amir Dawes with 19 points and 3 rebounds, and Dre Davis with 15 points. Leading St. John’s was Danniss Jenkins with 17 points and 9 rebounds and Joel Soriano with 13 points and 12 rebounds.
The Seton Hall women’s team won a big home game at Walsh Gym on campus, beating DePaul 91-78. Leading the Lady Pirates in the high scoring game was ShaLynn Hagans with 15 points and 6 rebounds, Micha Gray with 21 points on 8-15 from the field, and freshman Savannah Catalon with 21 points and 7 rebounds. Kae Satterfield added 13 points and 7 rebounds and Azana Baines had 13 points. DePaul was led by Jade Edwards with 11 points and 9 rebounds and Anaya peoples with 25 points and 10 rebounds.
Finally, the NBA All-Star Weekend was mostly boring instead of great. Team Pacers won the Skills Competition, while Damian Lillard and Mac McClung repeated as Three Point Shootout and Slam Dunk Contest champions respectively. The highlight was Stephen Curry besting New York Liberty guard Sabrina Ionescu in their own Three Point Shootout 29-26.
The All-Star was a no-defense affair, with the East winning 211-186, and Lillard winning MVP honors.
