Top 25 rankings
- Saddle River Day (23-2)
- Immaculate Heart (23-2)
- Paramus Catholic (19-5)
- Immaculate Conception (14-9)
- NV/Old Tappan (21-4)
- NV/Demarest (20-6)
- Cresskill (22-3)
- Secaucus (21-3)
- Pascack Valley (18-8)
- Ramapo (16-7)
- River Dell (16-7)
- Ridgewood (13-9)
- Westwood (17-7)
- DePaul (11-11)
- Lakeland (17-7)
- Wayne Valley (17-6)
- Park Ridge (19-4)
- Rutherford (20-4)
- Northern Highlands (13-12)
- Holy Angels (11-12)
- Ridgefield Park (19-6)
- Indian Hills (13-11)
- Kennedy (15-9)
- Weehawken (20-4)
- Dumont (16-10)North
Can Cresskill keep it going?
The Cougars knocked off three ranked opponents last week, including Secaucus in Friday’s NJIC Tournament final. Their 66-48 victory over the Patriots was career win No. 200 for coach Mike McCourt, as well as another showcase for sophomore Colleen McQuillen (25 points, seven rebounds, five assists). Cresskill could not be in a better position as it begins defense of its North 1, Group 1 title as the No. 1 seed.
Who will the biggest challengers be? No. 2 Park Ridge took the Cougars to overtime on opening night, and despite being swept in the season series, the Owls were otherwise unbeaten against NJIC opponents, who occupy much of this bracket. Among them are Patriot Division rivals Emerson, the No. 5 seed, and Midland Park, No. 6. The North 2, Group 1 tournament has Meadowlands champ Weehawken as the top seed, with three-time reigning champ University (Newark) looming on the other side of the bracket.
Seeing red?
That may have been the case for Secaucus, which lost to University in the past three North 2, Group 1 finals. Now, the Patriots are No. 3 in North 2, Group 2, where the teams to win the past four section titles are seeded 1-2: Newark Tech (2015-16, ’18) and Hanover Park (2017). The field also includes No. 4 Lincoln, which eliminated Secaucus from the Hudson County semis, No. 5 Ridgefield Park and No. 6 Rutherford.
In North 1, the last four Group 2 champs are the red-and-white Westwood Cardinals (2015) and High Point Wildcats (2016-18), and the latter has beaten the former in the final two years running. Westwood has the benefit of home-court advantage as the top seed, while High Point is No. 6 and in a quadrant with dangerous No. 3 NV/Demarest. If you’re looking for a sleeper pick, No. 10 Dumont is 11-3 since a 5-7 start, with senior Yakira Rosa (14.0 average) leading the scoring.
