Evangeline Francisco of Monroe makes a move against Freehold Twp. in the Central Jersey Group 4 quarterfinals at home on March 3, 2025. (Source: Hudl)
Of the four girls’ basketball teams from the Central Jersey Sports Radio coverage area to advance in the NJSIAA state tournament Monday night, three moved on in the same section.
Central Jersey Group 4 will have a distinct Central Jersey flair, and at least one is guaranteed to make the finals. That’s where top-seed Hillsborough and second-seed Monroe advanced, while fifth-seed Franklin pulled an upset win at fourth-seed Princeton to move on.
And in North 2, Group 2, the fourth-seeded Bernards girls topped five-seed Voorhees to tie a program record for wins with 23.
Below is our roundup of the night’s action, including all results in sections where local teams remain. Scroll further down for tomorrow’s schedule for Groups 1 and 3, along with semifinal schedules for Wednesday – in Groups 2 and 4 – and Thursday’s non-publics.
Central Jersey Group 4: Top-seed Hillsborough advanced with a 74-40 win over 8-seed East Brunswick, getting double figure scoring from four players. Mya Loniewski led the way with 15 points, while Alexa Gaspar added 13, and Francesca Schiro and Isbella Ruh added a dozen each for the Raiders (22-6). ‘Boro led big early, up 20-11 after one and 36-19 at the half. East Brunswick (13-14) got a team-high 11 points from Zoey Aleixo. The Raiders now will host fifth-seed Franklin in the semifinals this Wednesday at 5:30. The teams split this year, with Hillsborough winning 64-40 on December 19th, but the Warriors returning the favor, 63-30, on January 23rd.
Franklin routed fourth-seed Princeton on the road, 65-34, and has won its first two playoff games by an average of 27 points. The Warriors got 22 points from Aleah Sunkins to lead the way, along with 11 from Alivia Stewart. Franklin led 21-12 after one, but locked down on defense in the next eight minutes, outscoring the Little Tigers 17-3 to take a 38-15 halftime lead. The win gets them to just 11-15, but it’s notable that of their 15 losses, three came to Gill St. Bernard’s, two to Rutgers Prep, and one to Hillsborough, which they split with.
On the other side of the bracket, second-seed Monroe got by seventh-seed Freehold Township at home, 49-43. Monroe was paced by Kiera Longo with 19, while Evangelina Francisco added 14. Also contributing was Sophia Rivas, who scored 11 in her first full game back from an injury that kept her out almost all of February. Monroe (19-9) now will host third-seed Hightstown Monday in the semifinals.
(1) Hillsborough def. (8) East Brunswick, 74-40
(5) Franklin def. (4) Princeton, 65-34
(3) Hightstown def. (11) Hunterdon Central, 56-46
(2) Monroe def. (7) Freehold Twp., 49-43
North Jersey, Section 2, Group 4: The last two remaining teams in this section were knocked out Monday. Seventh-seed Piscataway lost 64-32 at second-seed Westfield 64-32, ending their season at 12-14. Meanwhile, 12th-seed JP Stevens fell 47-33 at home to 13th-seed Scotch Plains-Fanwood, ending its season at 13-5.
North Jersey, Section 2, Group 2: Fourth-seed Bernards – the only area club in this 16 team field – set a new program record for wins with 23 with a 59-45 home victory over fifth-seed Voorhees. And they avenged a 39-38 loss to the Vikings back on February 10th. The game was tight – only ten points at the half – until the Mountaineers outscored Voorhees 15-9 in the third to pull away. Aletha Reynolds led all scorers with 22 points, and just missed a double-double with nine rebounds. Jasmine Kelleher added ten points and six boards. They’ll travel to top-seed Caldwell Wednesday night for a semifinal matchup.
(1) Caldwell def. (8) Becton, 55-42
(4) Bernards def. (5) Voorhees, 59-45
(3) Rutherford def. (6) Science Park, 40-23
(2) Madison def. (7) Snyder, 55-30
Non-Public North A: Fourth-seed Pingry was knocked out of the state tournament, losing 63-60 to fifth-seed DePaul in Martinsville. The Big Blue – whose season ends at 19-8 – led 40-28 at halftime, but DePaul rallied to get it to a one-point deficit heading into the fourth, where they won it down the stretch.
Non-Public South A: Sixth-seed and GMC Tournament champion St. Thomas Aquinas saw its season come to an end down the shore, falling 67-39 to third-seed and powerhouse Red Bank Catholic, which picked up its 20th straight win, since starting the season 6-4. The Caseys played solid defense, limiting the Trojans’ leading scorer – Leah Crosby – to just nine points. St. Thomas ends its season at 23-7.
Non-Public North B: Top-seed Gill St. Bernard’s learned its Thursday opponent, and will open state tourney action in the semifinals against fourth-seed Hudson Catholic, which beat fifth-seed Roselle Catholic, 64-42 Monday.
(4) Hudson Catholic def. (5) Roselle Catholic, 64-42
(3) Saddle River Day def. (6) Villa Walsh, 73-46
(2) Montclair-Immaculate def. (7) Hawthorne Christian, 87-27 (Friday)
Non-Public South B: Top-seed Rutgers Prep – which has won this section three years running, and played its quarterfinal game Sunday, beating 7-seed Holy Cross Prep – learned it will play third-seed Wildwood Catholic in the semifinals, after they beat 11th-0seed Stuart Day at home, 78-43 Monday night.
(1) Gloucester Catholic def. (9) Koinonia, 84-37
(4) Ranney def. (5) Holy Spirit, 81-64
(3) Wildwood Catholic def. (11) Stuart Day
(2) Rutgers Prep def. (7) Holy Cross Prep, 89-31 (Sunday)
TUESDAY SCHEDULE
North Jersey, Section 2, Group 3 – Semifinals
(4) Mendham at (1) Chatham, 6 pm
(6) Cranford at (2) Somerville, 6 pm
Central Jersey Group 1 – Semifinals
(4) Middlesex at (1) New Providence, 5 pm
(3) Bound Brook at (2) Thrive Charter, 5 pm
WEDNESDAY SCHEDULE
Central Jersey Group 4 – Semifinals
(5) Franklin at (1) Hillsborough, 5:30 pm
(3) Hightstown at (2) Monroe, 5 pm
North Jersey, Section 2, Group 2 – Semifinals
(4) Bernards at (1) Caldwell, 6 pm
(3) Rutherford at (2) Madison
THURSDAY SCHEDULE
Non-Public North B – Semifinals
(4) Hudson Catholic at (1) Gill St. Bernard’s, 5:30 pm
(3) Saddle River Day at (2) Montclair-Immaculate
Non-Public South B – Semifinals
(4) Ranney at (1) Gloucester Catholic
(3) Wildwood Catholic at (2) Rutgers Prep
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