Pope John girls basketball team in H/W/S semis

The top-seeded Pope John XXIII Regional High School girls basketball team dominated in its 59-27 victory over eighth-seeded North Hunterdon in the quarterfinal round of the Hunterdon/Warren/Sussex Tournament.

In the game Saturday afternoon, Feb. 4 at home in Sparta, Kennedy Brown totaled 15 points, seven rebounds, eight steals, four assists and a block; Anisa Akinola added 14 points, eight rebounds and two steals; Mia Washington collected 10 points, six rebounds, three assists and three steals; and Addison Platt hit for nine points, 10 rebounds, four blocks, three steals and two assists.

Pope John, ranked 19th in the state, will face fourth-seeded Phillipsburg in the tri-county tournament semifinal round at 11 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 11 at Warren Hills Regional High School in Washington Township.

Second-seeded Sparta will meet sixth-seeded Voorhees in the other semifinal, with the winners meeting in the championship game at 5 p.m. Friday, Feb. 17 at Centenary University.

Pope John (18-4), which bowed to Sparta in last year’s final, is seeking its first H/W/S Tournament championship in the 13-year history of the tournament.

The Lions started fast against North Hunterdon, racing to a 14-1 lead after one period and a 40-9 lead at the break.

Pope John also received solid performances from Katie O’Keefe (four points, two rebounds); Kylie Squier (three points, three rebounds, four steals, three assists); Marissa Captoni (two points); Madison Miller (two points, seven rebounds); Cailey Fitzmorris (three rebounds); Madeline Rento (one rebound, one steal); and Alex Arbore (one assist).

The win also halted the team’s only losing streak of the season; Pope John had suffered losses to No. 12 New Providence (67-57 on Jan. 30) and No. 1 St. John Vianney (78-56 on Feb. 1). Its only other losses this season were to No. 18 Montville (60-48 on Dec. 16 and 64-39 on Jan. 12).

Pope John also owns a victory this year over then-No. 12 Saddle River Day, 74-72, on Jan. 26, when Platt totaled 19 points, 12 rebounds, five assists, two blocks and two steals.

The freshman guard leads the team in scoring (12.2 points per game) and rebounds (10.9 rebounds per game) followed by Miller (12 points per game), Squier (8.3 points per game), Brown (7.6 points per game) and Washington (7.1 points per game).

Before meeting Phillipsburg on Saturday, Pope John will play host to Morristown at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 7 and Sparta at 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 9 in two regular-season games.