Pope John outlasts Voorhees to win first Hunterdon/Warren/Sussex girls basketball title
HACKETTSTOWN — A year ago, Kaity Platt was sitting in the bleachers at Centenary University as Pope John played in the Hunterdon/Warren/Sussex girls basketball final. Her older sister, Addy Platt, was on the court as the Lions lost to Sparta.
A lot has changed since then.
The Platt sisters helped Pope John earn its first HWS championship, holding off Voorhees, 43-32, on Friday night. Lions sophomore Mia Washington had 17 points, and was named the tournament MVP.
"I'm really happy," Washington said. "It feels great to come back. We've come a long way together."
Though Pope John was the top seed, Voorhees was the team with HWS history. The Vikings had won the first tri-county title in 2010, as well as 2016, and multiple championships before Sussex joined the event.
But No. 2 Voorhees lost leading rebounder Christina Sullivan to an injury during warmups. In her absence, 6-foot-1 freshman forward Elizabeth Kellogg and sophomore guard Madie Petak stepped in and played extra minutes.
"It took size out of the game. It changed the game plan, but we trust the girls who came in," Voorhees coach Mitch Collins said. "I'm going to tell them how proud I am of them, and how hard they played."
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The Vikings were forced to play mostly man-to-man defense, not their usual style. They had some success against Addy Platt, holding her to just four points, all in the fourth quarter.
Lions junior guard Katie O'Keefe had nine first-half points. Kaity Platt finished with eight.
Pope John did a solid job of closing down Voorhees' shooters. Senior guard Sarah Pettegrove had eight for the Vikings. Guards Ali Liebensperger and Maansi Patel added seven apiece.
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The Lions have won 10 in a row heading into the NJSIAA Tournament this week.
"We knew it was going to be a hard game, but we had to fight," said Kaity Patt, a Sparta resident. "It feels really good. We're just getting started. This team is going to be together for two more years."
This article originally appeared on Morristown Daily Record: NJ girls basketball: Pope John Voorhees HWS final
