Girls basketball: Morris/Sussex Top 10 rankings as county tournaments heat up
Bring on the county tournament semifinals!
The coaches' seeds held in the Morris County Tournament, where No. 1 Morris Catholic will play No. 4 Randolph, and NJAC-American rivals Montville and Chatham will face off in a 2-3 matchup. Those games will be held at County College of Morris on Friday night.
No. 6 Voorhees was a bit of an HWS upset specialist, knocking off No. 3 Warren Hills. The Vikings will take on Sparta, the second seed and defending HWS champion. Top seed Pope John will face No. 4 Phillipsburg in a semifinal quadrupleheader with the boys on Saturday at Warren Hills.
The NJSIAA Tournament cutoff is Saturday, with brackets expected on Monday. But until the state weighs in, check out the latest Morris/Sussex girls basketball Top 10.
Girls basketball: 2023 Morris County Tournament bracket, scores, schedule
Girls basketball: 2023 Hunterdon/Warren/Sussex Tournament bracket, scores, schedule
10. West Morris (11-7)
Last week: No. 8
Seniors Carly Gleason (8.1 ppg.) and Sofia Chan (7 ppg., 9.6 rpg.) and freshmen Tori Wehmeyer (8.3 ppg., 8.4 rpg.) and Zoe Kratochvil (6.2 ppg.) are steering the Wolfpack, who don't have any players averaging in double figures. West Morris hasn't played since having a five-game winning streak snapped by Jefferson, 48-19, in the MCT second round.
Up next: Thursday at North Hunterdon, Saturday vs. Voorhees, Monday vs. Morris Knolls
9. Mendham (12-5)
Last week: Unranked
Junior point guard Lia Manuel (17.6 ppg., 5.5 rpg., 4.4 apg., 3.8 spg.) has been leading the way for Mendham, which has won eight of its last 10 games. After wrapping up their NJAC-National schedule, the Minutemen head farther afield before the NJSIAA Tournament.
Up next: Thursday vs. Jefferson, Saturday at North Hunterdon, Tuesday at Hunterdon Central
VOTE:Northwest Jersey Athletic Conference Athlete of the Week poll for Jan. 29-Feb. 4
8. Jefferson (14-6)
Last week: No. 7
Jefferson's rematch with Hackettstown to decide the NJAC-Freedom title has been rescheduled for Saturday. Sophomore Katie Kopera had 12 points and senior Amanda Nwankwo added 10 as the host Falcons sank 10 threes to win the first meeting, 56-23, on Jan. 6.
Up next: Thursday at Mendham, Saturday at Hackettstown
7. Sparta (14-6)
Last week: No. 6
The Spartans stepped up after senior forward Brynn McCurry went down with a torn ACL shortly before the season started. Now, they'll have to adjust while senior point guard Ally Sweeney (22.6 ppg., 6.3 rpg., 3.7 apg.) recuperates from a concussion suffered in a head-to-head collision while diving for a ball in the final minutes of the Jan. 31 game against Blair. Look for seniors Bailey Chapman (13.5 ppg., 4.7 rpg., 2.3 apg.) and Mason Munier (5.8 ppg., 3.6 rpg.) to play increased roles.
Up next: Thursday at Pope John, Saturday vs. Voorhees at Warren Hills in HWS semifinal, Tuesday vs. Teaneck
6. Madison (15-4)
Last week: No. 9
The Dodgers leap up in the rankings after a valiant 16-point fourth quarter against Randolph in a MCT quarterfinal on Saturday. Sophomore guard Gabby Mariani had five of her seven points as Madison erased a 10-point deficit. Sophomore forward Charlotte Tuhy leads the way with 20.4 points, 8.2 rebounds and 2.6 steals per game.
Up next: Thursday vs. Hanover Park
5. Randolph (18-1)
Last week: No. 4
Senior Madison Jenisch had 13 points, five rebounds, three steals and four assists as the Rams withstood Madison, 44-42, in the only challenging MCT girls quarterfinal. Randolph's reward is a date with top seed Morris Catholic, which hasn't lost to a NJAC team since March 5, 2021.
Up next: Friday vs. Morris Catholic at CCM in MCT semifinal
4. Chatham (12-11)
Last week: No. 5
Don't sleep on Chatham sophomores Ella Kreuzer (13 ppg.) and Mia Semioli (10.9 ppg.) The balanced Cougars play Montville in Friday's earlier MCT semifinal. They've already split two NJAC-National regular-season games, decided by a total of six points.
Up next: Friday vs. Montville at CCM in MCT semifinal, Monday vs. St. Benedict's Prep
3. Pope John (18-4)
Last week: No. 3
Freshman guard Kennedy Brown had 15 points, seven rebounds, four assists and eight steals as the Lions rebounded from back-to-back losses to defeat North Hunterdon, 59-27, in their first HWS game. Another freshman, Addison Platt, leads Pope John with 12.2 points and 10.9 rebounds per game.
Up next: Thursday at Sparta, Saturday vs. Phillipsburg at Warren Hills in HWS semifinal, Tuesday at Blair
2. Montville (18-3)
Last week: No. 2
Montville has won seven in a row, holding both its MCT opponents to 21 points apiece. Seniors Grace Kowalski (13 ppg., 5.5 apg.) and Katie Gorski (12.4 ppg., 5.2 rpg.) and sophomore Juliana O'Dowd (9.9 ppg., 5.7 rpg.) fill the stat sheets for the balanced Mustangs.
Up next: Wednesday at Watchung Hills, Friday vs. Chatham at CCM in MCT semifinal, Monday vs. Ramapo
1. Morris Catholic (17-3)
Last week: No. 1
Junior forward Alexis Rosenfeld had 11 points and 19 rebounds as the Crusaders polished off Pequannock in a MCT quarterfinal ‒ the same team they'll play on Thursday in a NJAC-Liberty game. Top seed Morris Catholic will continue its MCT title defense on Friday against Randolph, the fourth seed.
Up next: Thursday vs. Pequannock, Friday vs. Randolph at CCM in MCT semifinal, Monday vs. Morristown Beard at Prudential Center
Also considered: Boonton (16-4), Hackettstown (13-5), Hanover Park (14-6), Morris Tech (17-1), Morristown (10-7), Pequannock (12-5)
This article originally appeared on Morristown Daily Record: NJ girls basketball: Morris/Sussex rankings as counties heat up
