HIllsborough – shown here hosting Rutgers Prep on January 7, 2025 – leads Central Jersey Group 4 just two weeks from the state cutoff for the playoffs. (Photo: Mike Pavlichko)
New section? No problem, for the Hillsborough girls basketball team.
The Raiders won their second consecutive sectional title in the first year of their return to the Central Jersey Group 4 section after three seasons in the North 2 Group 4 section. They won that one last season as well, before falling to Morristown in the semifinals.
This year, Hillsborough (24-6) and Cherokee (20-8) will play for a spot in the state title game at 5:00 pm Wednesday, and you can hear all the action from Central Regional High School here on Central Jersey Sports Radio, with Alec Crouthamel calling the play-by-play. Pregame starts at 4:45. Click here to listen.
Led by experience and strong shooting, the Raiders come into this matchup winners of four straight games, all in the sectional tournament.
In the 72-44 win over Monroe in the title game, Hillsborough got 20 points from standout senior Reghan Bice, 14 from star guard Francesca Schiro, and 15 from Isabella Ruh.
Senior Mya Loniewski has also played a pivotal role, ranking second on the team in scoring. While she only scored six points in the win over the Falcons, she was spectacular as a distributor, dishing nine assists, two shy of her career-high.
Cherokee comes into the game with a four-game win streak of its own, including a 51-40 upset win over top-seeded Lenape in the South Jersey Group 4 championship game.
While the Chiefs knocked off the defending sectional champions, they also reignited their own dynasty. Prior to the Indians’ two straight sectional titles, Cherokee had won four straight, including a Group 4 state championship in 2019-20 to cap off a dominant 30-1 campaign.
The Chiefs are led by junior guard Brielle Alaba, who helped spark the sectional final win with an incredible 17-for-18 mark from the free throw line. She averages 15.3 points per game and has racked up 45 steals – an average of 1.7 per game – on the season, to go along with a 78% mark from the foul line.
Alongside Alaba is senior guard Olivia Selverian, who averages 9.5 points per game and paces the team with 2.9 assists per game. Sophomore Abby Ball leads the team in rebounding with 6.1 per game, and was the lone other Chief in double figures in the sectional final with a 17-point, 11-rebound double-double.
Will Cherokee re-start the engines of its Group 4 dominance? Or will the Raiders continue their standout season and advance to the state finals themselves? The action tips off at 5 pm on Wednesday.
Click below to hear Hillsborough head coach Courtney Tiernet talk about the Raiders and the Group 4 semifinal against Cherokee:
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