Immaculate Conception girls basketball earns fourth straight trip to Essex tournament finals
The Immaculate Conception High School girls basketball team is headed to its fourth straight Essex County Tournament finals.
And the Lions are playing the school that they beat last year.
Immaculate took care of business on Saturday, Feb. 11, and will face University this coming Saturday at 3 p.m. in the finals.
The top-seeded Lions ran away from fifth-seeded Columbia, 73-25, at West Orange High School to set up the rematch with University. Senior Tyonna Bailey had 20 points and eight rebounds in the victory, with 18 of her points in the first half.
Before the Immaculate-Columbia contest, second-seeded University defeated third-seeded West Orange, 51-33.
The Immaculate game was decided right at the start, as the Lions led 21-7 after the first eight minutes, with Bailey registering a dozen points.
Junior Brenae Jones chipped in 13 points, while sophomore Camille Wiley and senior Ciera Cevallos added nine points each.
In the three games in the Essex County Tournament, the Lions (18-4) have averaged 72 points while their opponents have averaged 30.
Bailey said that coming into the game against Columbia and the other county tournament games, the plan was pretty simple. "We just wanted to play our game," she said. "We are just staying disciplined and making our shots."
The team’s tough schedule this season included several out-of-state squads like Riverdale Baptist (Maryland), Etiwanda (California), IMG (Florida) and Long Island Lutheran (New York).
"We just learned that every single minute and every play matters," Bailey said.
Against Columbia, the game was out of hand after the first quarter.
The only excitement came at the end, when the last player off the bench, freshman Sydney Francis Garvey, drained a three-point shot in the final seconds. The Immaculate players jumped for joy.
In the 2022 Essex County Tournament finals, the Lions defeated University, 67-59. The Lions had lost the previous two ECT title games. It was Immaculate’s first county tournament championship since 1990.
The Lions and University had split the two games of the regular season this year.
In the first contest, Immaculate dominated University, 58-34, on Dec. 20. Three Lions scored in double figures, led by Bailey with 22 points, while sophomore Nila Giraud and Jones added 13 and 10 points, respectively.
In the second matchup, University's Destiny Bynum-Johnson had a big day with 24 points.
Bailey, who had 17 points in that Jan. 19 loss, feels that the small Immaculate gym favored University. The Essex Community College gym, where the ECT is played, is a large facility.
"We learned that with a bigger court that it favors us," she said. "Their 1-3-1 formation is better for the small gyms."
In addition, Immaculate could be headed to sharing the Super Essex Conference American Division title with University. The Lions take on Mount St. Dominic on the road on Feb. 15 (after press deadline). With a win they would share the division championship.