Monroe’s Sophia Rivas looks to get a shot up against Middlesex in the GMC Tournament semifinals at Monroe on February 28, 2025. (Photo: Mike Pavlichko)
With a 19-point effort from senior Evangelina Francisco, and a double-double of 16 points and ten rebounds from Kiera Longo, second-seed Monroe punched its second ticket in three years to the Central Jersey Group 4 title game Wednesday night, beating third-seed Hightstown at home, 53-30.
The Falcons will play at top-seed Hillsborough at 1:30 pm Saturday afternoon, a matchup of two 20-plus win teams that were finalists in their respective county tournaments this year.
Monroe came out of the gate hot, leading 17-3 after one quarter, though Hightstown cut into the deficit before halftime, trailing by just eight. But the second half belonged to the Falcons, who won their 20th game of the season.
They last reached the finals in 2023, falling 53-45 to Jackson Memorial. But the core of this year’s team – including Francisco, Longo and Sophia Rivas – all played in that game. Francisco had 12 points in that loss.
Click below to hear Monroe head coach Brian Hinz talk about Wednesday night’s win over Hightstown, and Saturday’s title game against Hillsborough:
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