IHS girls’ basketball team comes up short in the ECT

By Joe Ragozzino
Sports editor
The Irvington High School girls’ varsity basketball team, seeded 11th, lost at No. 6 seed Newark Tech, 63-53, in the round of 16 of the Essex County Tournament last Saturday Feb. 4 in Newark.
Trailing 37-29 at halftime, the Blue Knights outscored Newark Tech, 17-13, in the third quarter to cut it to 50-46. But Newark Tech maintained control in the fourth quarter, outscoring IHS, 13-7, to hold off the Blue Knights, who had their three-game winning streak snapped and fell to 10-6.
Natasha Walker had 23 points, 10 rebounds, four assists and six steals; JoiNay Carr had 16 points and Maria Simmons collected 13 points, eight assists and seven steals in the 58-26 home win over Glen Ridge on Jan. 31 in Super Essex Conference play. Kemaya Powell also added six points for the Blue Knights.
Carr scored 19 points, Walker had 17 points and Simmons posted 16 points, 11 assists and eight steals to lead the Blue Knights to a 66-26 home win over No. 23 seed West Side in the second round preliminary of the ECT on Feb. 2. Kemaya Powell had 10 points and Najeelah Northern pulled down 10 rebounds in the win.