Hillsborough hosts East Brunswick in a girls’ basketball game on January 22, 2026. The two will rematch in the Central Jersey Group 4 semifinals on Tuesday. (Photo: Mike Pavlichko)
All three girls’ basketball teams in the Central Jersey Group 4 bracket of the state tournament – including top-seed Franklin, second-seed East Brunswick and third-seed Hillsborough – advanced to the sectional semifinals with wins Saturday in the state tournament, while second-seed Bernards moved on as well in North Jersey, Section 2, Group 2 play.
Three quarters of the CJ4 semifinals are set now, all including Central Jersey Sports Radio coverage area teams, and the fourth team will be decided a bit later this afternoon, with 4th-seed Hunterdon Central and 5th-seed Jackson Township having tipped off at 4 pm.
Meanwhile, the Bernards girls won their 24th game of the season in Saturday’s quarterfinal round, topping the mark the program set last year, with 23.
Following are brief recaps of Saturday’s actions, followed by scores in each section with CJSR-area teams, and the upcoming schedule for next week’s action.
Central Jersey Group 4
At the top of the bracket, top-seed Franklin was a 66-35 winner over 8th-seed Freehold Township, 66-35. It’s the second straight trip back to the semifinals in the section, where they’ll face fifth-seed Jackson Township, which survived a potential game-tying buzzer-beating attempt from just past half court to win at fourth-seed Hunterdon Central to win 48-45. Aleah Sunkins led the offensive effort with 25 points, while Alissa Myers added 16. The Warriors (20-8) will be seeking their first trip back to a sectional title game since 2020, when they won North 2, Group 4, then beat Randolph in the Group 4 semifinals before the remainder of the tournament was cancelled due to the emerging COVID-19 pandemic. It’s also their first 20-win season since that year, when the Warriors “finished” 24-5.
In the other half of the bracket, it’ll be third-seed Hillsborough at second-seed East Brunswick in the semifinals. They met earlier this season in Hillsborough, with the Raiders coming out with a 70-52 win back on January 22nd. The Raiders (20-6) beat Princeton 66-34 Saturday afternoon at home, behind 17 points from Victoria Leidl, and a double-double from Isabella Ruh, who finished with 12 points and 17 rebounds. East Brunswick, meanwhile, beat seventh-seed Marlboro 60-48. The Lady Bears (23-5) got 28 points from sophomore Ava Catanho – including three treys – while Julianna DelosSantos-Branson added nine points and eleven rebounds.
North Jersey, Section 2, Group 4
The opposite happened here, with all three CJSR-area teams getting knocked out in Saturday play. Nine-seed Woodbridge fell behind early and couldn’t recover, falling 79-56 at top-seed Bayonne. Third-seed Piscataway got 28 points from Violet Azcona, and led 49-40 heading into the fourth quarter, but was outscored 25-12 in the final period to take a 65-61 loss. And 10th-seed Watchung Hills fell 58-27 to second-seed Westfield, which jumped out to a 17-1 lead after one quarter, but still led by 16 at the half, before pulling away in the third.
Central Jersey Group 2
In a rare 13 vs. 12 matchup, 13th-seed Metuchen pulled out a 37-34 win over 12-seed Robbinsville Saturday down at Mercer County Community College in East Windsor. The Bulldogs led 22-17 at the half, and withstood a strong third quarter by the Ravens, who took a 32-30 lead into the fourth. But Metuchen held them to just two points over the final eight minutues, outscoring Robbinsville 7-2 in the period. Their prize is a date at top-seed and two-time defending state Group 2 champion Manasquan, which ended ninth-seed Spotswood’s season with a 54-34 defeat Saturday. Junior Gabrielle Hill finished with 16 points, going 6-of-7 from the foul line in defeat for the Lady Chargers/
North Jersey, Section 2, Group 2
Second-seed Bernards held its second straight state tournament opponent to just 25 points, as the Mountaineers beat seventh-seed Hanover Park, 45-25. Click here for a game story and postgame reaction from Bernard’s head coach Brett Bisconti.
QUARTERFINAL RESULTS – SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 28
Central Jersey Group 4
- (1) Franklin def. (8) Freehold Twp., 66-35
- (5) Jackson Twp. def. (4) Hunterdon Central, 48-45
- (3) Hillsborough def. (6) Princeton, 66-34
- (2) East Brunswick def. (7) Marlboro, 60-48
North Jersey, Section 2, Group 4
- (1) Bayonne def. (9) Woodbridge, 79-56
- (4) Plainfield def. (5) Columbia at , 59-53
- (3) Piscataway def. (11) Union, 65-61
- (2) Westfield def. (10) Watchung Hills, 58-27
Central Jersey Group 2
- (1) Manasquan def. (9) Spotswood, 54-34
- (13) Metuchen def. (12) Robbinsville, 37-34
- (3) Johnson def. (11) Governor Livingston, 41-31
- (2) Rumson-Fair Haven def. (7) Point Pleasant Boro, 59-46
North Jersey, Section 2, Group 2
- (1) Caldwell def. (9) Ridgefield Park, 60-21
- (4) Voorhees def. (12) West Morris, 58-51
- (3) Madison def. (6) Hackettstown, 54-32
- (2) Bernards def. (7) Hanover Park, 45-25
Non-Public North B
- (6) Mount St. Dominic at (3) Hudson Catholic
- (7) Roselle Catholic at (2) Saddle River Day
UPCOMING SCHEDULE
MONDAY, MARCH 2 (QUARTERFINALS)
Note: Not all game times have been announced. This schedule will be updated as game times are set.
North Jersey, Section 2, Group 3
- (8) Summit at (1) Somerville, 5:30 pm
- (5) Chatham at (4) Cranford, 6 pm
- (6) North Hunterdon vs. (3) Millburn, 5 pm
- (7) Mendham at (2) Colonia, 5 pm
Central Jersey Group 1
- (8) Shore at (1) New Providence, 5 pm
- (5) Brearley at (4) South Amboy
- (6) Roselle Park at (3) Keansburg, 4 pm
- (7) Thrive Charter at (2) Bound Brook, 5:30 pm
Non-Public North A
- (9) Oak Knoll at (1) Morris Catholic, 7 pm
- (5) Mount St. Dominic at (4) DePaul, 4:30 pm
- (6) Pingry at (3) Pope John, 5:30 pm
- (10) Paramus Catholic at (2) Immaculate Heart, 5:30 pm
Non-Public South A
- (8) Union Catholic at (1) Red Bank Catholic, 5:30 pm
- (5) Trinity Hall at (4) St. Thomas Aquinas, 6 pm
- (6) Camden Catholic at (3) Paul VI, 5:30 pm
- (7) Bishop Eustace at (2) St. John Vianney, 5 pm
Non-Public North B
- (6) Mount St. Dominic at (3) Hudson Catholic, 4:30 pm
- (7) Roselle Catholic at (2) Saddle River Day, 4:30 pm
Non-Public South B
- (9) Holy Cross Prep at (1) Rutgers Prep, 5 pm
- (5) Stuart Day at (4) Holy Spirit, 4 pm
- (11) Ranney at (3) Wildwood Catholic, 6 pm
- (7) Koinonia at (2) Gloucester Catholic, 5 pm
TUESDAY, MARCH 3 (SEMIFINALS)
Central Jersey Group 4
- (5) Jackson Twp. at (1) Franklin, 5 :30 pm
- (3) Hillsborough at (2) East Brunswick, 6 pm
Central Jersey Group 2
- (13) Metuchen at (1) Manasquan, 5 pm
- (3) Johnson at (2) Rumson-Fair Haven, 5 pm
North Jersey, Section 2, Group 2
- (4) Voorhees at (1) Caldwell, 5 pm
- (3) Madison at (3) Bernards, 7 pm
THURSDAY, MARCH 5
Non-Public North B Semifinals
- (4) Villa Walsh at (1) Gill St. Bernard’s, 5 pm
- (3) Hudson Catholic/(6) Mount St. Dominic vs. (2) Saddle River Day/(7) Roselle Catholic
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