Morristown – Central Jersey Sports Radio

The Hillsborough girls’ basketball team had already beaten Morristown in the regular season by eleven points at the end of January, and the Raiders had to think their rematch in the state tournament would at least be a good chance to advance to their first ever state title game.

And it was, except for one small thing: their shots weren’t falling.

Hillsborough gave up the first bucket but then went ahead 4-2 just shy of midway through the period. That’s when the scoring drought began.

It continued into the second quarter, and by halftime, the 27-16 lead held by the Colonials was just too deep of a hole to climb out of.

The young Hillsborough squad made one last run, getting it to within eight late in the third, and they were down only ten going into the fourth. But some Raider turnovers – and a couple of killer threes by the game’s high scorer, Cameron McGinley – were the final daggers. She finished with 20 and four treys.

Morristown (23-9) goes on to play Lenape in the Group 4 final Saturday at 6:30 pm at Rutgers.

Hillsbrough’s high scorer was Francesca Schiro, with 18, while Isabella Ruh added ten rebounds.

And they leave a bright future for Boro next year. That’s because both will be back with the vast majority of the team, which will return just under 99-percent of its scoring in 2024-25.

The Raiders finish 21-9, with their first-ever sectional championship trophy now in their display case. Not too shabby at all.

Click below for postgame reaction from Hillsborough head coach Courtney Tierney, presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen:

The high school football season is never a disappointment in Phillipsburg as long as there’s a “W” on the schedule next to the name “Easton.”

And that was the case last year, even though the Stateliners – the top seed in North 2, Group 5 – were upset in the sectional finals by sixth-seed West Orange.

Still, there’s room for improvement. Last year’s team was 10-0 heading into the finals at Maloney Stadium. This year’s team already has a loss – to Hillsborough at the rainy Rumble on the Raritan – so maybe it’s already out of their system.

Either way, this Phillipsburg team is perhaps just as talented, perhaps more. They’re more experienced, for sure, with QB Jett Genovese and wide receiver Matthew Scerbo, Jr., no longer sophomores, and WR/DB Cameron Bohal, RB/LB John Wargo and two-way lineman Gifton Friday-Johnson now seniors. As are a host of other major contributors.

Friday night, Phillipsburg (7-1) will open the playoffs with a visit by eighth-seed Morristown (4-5) to Maloney Stadium for a 7 pm kickoff. The winner will face either second-seed Union City or 7-seed Hackensack.

Click below to hear Mike Pavlichko and Marcus Borden of Central Jersey Sports Radio talk with Phillipsburg head coach Frank Duffy Saturday, October 21 on our Playoff Projection Show: