#Penningtons #Morgan #Matthews #among #girls #basketballs #AllPrep #AllArea #finest #-
Morgan Matthews and the Pennington School varsity girls’ basketball team had a dandy 2022-23 season, yet they believed they should have done better.
Even with a new head coach in Carmen Cook, the Red Hawks found themselves on the exact same pace they had set in 2021-22 as this winter wound down.
With 5-foot-11 junior guard/forward Matthews setting a torrid pace by scoring 18 or more points in all but two of her games this season, Pennington had plenty of moments to celebrate – winning the Peddie School Tip-Off Tournament and the John Molinelli Holiday Tournament before seeing Cook, formerly of Voorhees High, win his 300th game January 14 versus St. Benedict’s Prep and Matthews surpass 1,000 points February 7 at Franklin High.
In mid-February, however, the Red Hawks dropped a 68-57 decision to Hightstown High in the semifinals of the Mercer County Tournament at Trenton’s CURE Insurance Arena Feb. 15. Two days later, they fell, 64-49, to Newark Academy in the New Jersey Independent Schools Athletics Association Prep B Tournament final, one year after beating the Minutewomen in the same game.
While the finish may have been disappointing, it did not take away from the fact that Matthews and her teammates had another standout season.
Matthews led Mercer County’s prep schools with 22.4 points per game, plus 5.1 rebounds per game and 2.5 steals per game to be named as The –’s All-Prep Player of the Year.
She was joined on the All-Prep first team by teammates Macayla Rodriguez, a 5-6 senior guard who averaged 11.3 ppg, and Izzy Augustine, a 5-7 sophomore guard who provided 12.8 ppg with 51 3-point field goals.
Cook is The –’s All-Prep Coach of the Year after leading the Red Hawks to an 18-6 finish.
The Pennington girls were joined on the All-Prep first team by Hun’s 5-10 senior forward Sasha Moise, who averaged 11.7 ppg with 7.1 rebounds per game, and 5-8 postgraduate guard Emily O’Dwyer, who contributed 13 ppg with 61 3-pointers; Lawrenceville’s 5-6 junior guard Anna O’Keefe, who scored 16 ppg with 65 3s, which led the preps; and Stuart Country Day’s 5-10 freshman forward Taylor States, who impressed by scoring 17 ppg.
Matthews and Rodriguez were also first team All-Area selections along with Ewing High’s Big Three juniors Rhian Stokes, Joi Johnson and Te’Yala Delfosse; plus Hightstown’s standout senior guard Kyla Glasser-Hyman.
Florence’s 5-6 senior guard Gabrielle Loftin, who averaged 22.9 ppg in 15 games to finish her high school career with 1,170 points; and New Egypt’s 5-6 senior guard Payton Arnold, who scored 17.4 ppg to finish with 1,021 points, while hitting an area-best 78 treys this winter; rounded out The –’s All-Area first team.
Ewing finished as the best local girls’ team after setting a school record with a 30-3 campaign on the way to winning its second Group III state title and finishing ranked No. 6 in New Jersey (the state’s top public school).
Stokes was The –’s All-Area Player of the Year with Blue Devils’ head coach Dan Montferrat named as The –’s All-Area Coach of the Year.
ALL-PREP GIRLS’ BASKETBALL
First Team
Position Player School Year
Forward Sasha Moise Hun Sr.
Forward Taylor States Stuart Fr.
Forward Morgan Matthews Pennington Jr.
Guard Izzy Augustine Pennington So.
Guard Anna O’Keefe Lawrenceville Jr.
Guard Emily O’Dwyer Hun PG
Guard Macayla Rodriguez Pennington Sr.
Second Team
Position Player School Year
Forward Sydnee Eggleton Peddie Sr.
Forward Emily Ix Stuart Jr.
Forward Amira Pinkett Hun So.
Forward Gabby Hall Pennington So.
Guard Mia Hartman PDS Jr.
Guard Hayla Dora Lawrenceville Jr.
Guard Marcela Nearing Peddie Jr.
Guard Yijia Song Lawrenceville Fr.
Honorable Mention
Victoria Lubaczewski, Addison McNally, Anna Schweer (Hun); Jessylyn Bentum (Lawrenceville); Grace Browne, Aisha Caban, Jordyn Jefferson (Peddie); Anna Hokkanen, Claire King (Pennington); Paige Gardner, Nandini Kolli, Makayla Rondinelli (PDS); Abby Chirik (Stuart).
PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Morgan Matthews (Pennington)
COACH OF THE YEAR
Carmen Cook (Pennington)
ALL-AREA GIRLS’ BASKETBALL
First Team
Position Player School Year
Forward Joi Johnson Ewing Jr.
Forward Te’Yala Delfosse Ewing Jr.
Forward Morgan Matthews Pennington Jr.
Guard Payton Arnold New Egypt Sr.
Guard Macayla Rodriguez Pennington Sr.
Guard Gabrielle Loftin Florence Sr.
Guard Kyla Glasser-Hyman Hightstown Sr.
Guard Rhian Stokes Ewing Jr.
Second Team
Position Player School Year
Forward Sasha Moise Hun Sr.
Forward Caitlin Landgraf Allentown Sr.
Forward Angelina Banas Notre Dame Sr.
Center Abby Misier Hightstown Jr.
Guard Izzy Augustine Pennington So.
Guard Anna O’Keefe Lawrenceville Jr.
Guard Kayla McCrea Allentown Sr.
Guard Saniyah Spell TCPA Jr.
Third Team
Position Player School Year
Forward Taylor States Stuart Fr.
Forward Jules Lynch Notre Dame Sr.
Forward Sydnee Eggleton Peddie Sr.
Forward Ashley Adamson Steinert Sr.
Guard Simone Pintinalli Notre Dame Jr.
Guard Emily O’Dwyer Hun PG
Guard Hayla Dora Lawrenceville Jr.
Guard Mayah Alford TCPA Jr.
Guard Gillian Magner Hopewell Valley Jr.
Fourth Team
Position Player School Year
Forward Emily Ix Stuart Jr.
Forward Amira Pinkett Hun So.
Forward Gabby Hall Pennington So.
Forward Anna Winters Princeton Fr.
Guard Mia Hartman PDS Jr.
Guard Ava Aldarelli Robbinsville Fr.
Guard Jillian Watson Northern Burlington So.
Guard Karina Harrison Northern Burlington So.
Guard SondJane Daudin Trenton Fr.
PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Rhian Stokes (Ewing)
COACH OF THE YEAR
Dan Montferrat (Ewing)
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