Newton – Angelica Do has been a force to be reckoned with the entire year for the Leonia girls basketball team, and after one round in the 2025 NJSIAA North Jersey Section 1, Group 2 playoffs, that trend seems to be holding true.
Coming into the Lady Lions’ game at Newton in the first round of the NJSIAA sectional playoffs, Do had already amassed five triple-doubles and 12 double-doubles, so the fact that Do would notch another triple-double in Newton was nothing too out of the ordinary for the Leonia junior. Do knocked down 26 points, grabbed 13 rebounds, and recorded ten thefts as the 12-seed Lady Lions upset the 5-seed Lady Braves, 51-40.
Despite the final score, Leonia and Newton were locked in a battle to the very end.
Newton jumped out to an early lead, taking a 9-7 lead after a first quarter that saw both teams struggle to find the bottom of the net.
The Lady Braves would see their lead grow in a second quarter that saw the pace of scoring pick up. Unfortunately for the Lady Braves, Leonia would be the team that would see the higher scoring pace. While Newton did momentarily increase their lead, the Lady Lions were able to stay within striking distance of the Lady Braves and would end up going into halftime up 27-19.
Leonia came out of the locker room and picked up where they left off at the break. However, while the Lady Lions still managed a decent scoring pace, Newton was able to pick up their scoring a bit to cut Leonia’s lead to 39-31 after three periods of play.
The Lady Braves were able to cut Leonia’s lead down to three in the final stanza, however, the Lady Lions’ defense again clamped down, and a final flurry of scores would ultimately seal the Lady Braves’ fate and hand Leonia the upset victory.
In addition to Do, Dani Daproza had 16 points, and Celeste Garzon and Emriqca Jario contributed ten and 16 rebounds respectively to Leonia’s cause. Jario also recorded three blocks for the Lady Lions.
With the win, Leonia moves on to face 5-seed West Milford in the quarterfinals of the North 1, Group 2 playoffs on Monday. With the loss, Newton finishes their season 17-6.
