NJSIAA South Jersey Group 4 Championship Preview: Howell takes on Lenape

NJSIAA South Jersey Group 4 Championship

Friday, March 6, 2026

No. 3 Howell at No. 1 Lenape, 5:30 p.m.

Teams at a Glance

Howell (24-5)

Head Coach: Joe Santopietro
Last Sectional Championship: 2024
Last Sectional Final Appearance: 2024
Total Sectional Finals: 1
Road to the Final: Defeated No. 14 Bridgeton, 58-22; No. 11 Cherry Hill East, 55-41; No. 2 Egg Harbor, 43-30

Projected Starters

Olivia Quinones, So., 5-5 (3.8 points, 2.5 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 1.1 steals)

Payton Smith, Sr., 5-5 (6.3 points, 1.4 rebounds, 1.0 assists)

BellaRose Marino, Sr., 5-9 (12.3 points, 6.2 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 1.6 steals)

Kendall Bleakley, Sr., 5-10 (3.6 points, 3.4 rebounds)

Kylee Beam, Jr., 5-11 (17.5 points, 7.7 rebounds, 1.0 assists, 0.8 blocks, 2.2 steals)

Off the Bench

Allison Cahill, Fr. (2.5 points, 4.8 rebounds)

Leila Shaw, Sr., 5-5 (1.2 points, 1.1 rebounds)

Reese Ertel, Jr. (1.4 points, 1.5 rebounds)

For the past two years, Howell’s players have been working towards an opportunity to avenge a loss to Lenape in the 2024 Group 4 Semifinals. Two years ago, Howell walked into Monroe High School fresh off their first sectional title in program history. The Rebels were thoroughly dismantled by Lenape in a 64-31 rout. That Lenape team wound up walking away with the state championship trophy in its next game.

Last year, Howell was reclassified into the South Jersey bracket knowing that they could meet the Indians earlier in the playoffs. A loss to Cherokee in the sectional semifinals prevented the Rebels from getting a shot at revenge.

A handful of Howell players saw minutes against Lenape in that game two years ago including Beam, Marino, and Smith. Two years later, those players are now veterans with plenty of big game experience under their belt.

Howell has played a daunting schedule which included the likes of Rumson-Fair Haven, Colts Neck, Toms River East, Brick, Trinity Hall, and Manasquan who are all currently ranked in the Shore Sports Insider Top 10. Those games against strong opponents have benefited the Rebels in the state playoffs as they have defeated all their of their out-of-conference opponents by double-digit margins.

While the transitive property is far from a great indicator when predicting results, Howell has to have some confidence in the fact that Trinity Hall, a team the Rebels swept in divisional play, defeated Lenape 64-62 earlier this season. Still, the Indians are a very formidable team that is ranked number 14 in the state according to NJ Advance Media which is good for the 6th highest ranking among public school teams.

Offensively, Kylee Beam has been the focal point of the Howell offense this season. Beam has eight double-doubles on the season and is a threat to score both inside and outside. While she has only connected on seven three-pointers this season, she knocked down three in the most recent game against Egg Harbor proving that the three-point shot is in her arsenal.

BellaRose Marino is Howell’s second biggest scoring threat and top defender with her length and mobility. Payton Smith is the third leading scorer and Howell’s best threat from the outside with a team-leading 23 three-pointers. The Rebels will need some of their support players to step up in the scoring department to keep pace with Lenape.

Lenape (26-4)

Head Coach: Sean McAneny
Last Sectional Championship: 2024
Last Sectional Final Appearance: 2024
Total Sectional Finals: 4
Road to the Final: Defeated No. 16 Pennsauken, 65-19; No. 8 Southern, 56-36; No. 4 Cherokee, 55-33

Projected Starters

Olivia Watkins, Sr., 5-5 (7.9 points, 2.6 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 3.5 steals)

Ryleigh Nichols, Sr., 5-5 (5.3 points, 2.3 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 2.2 steals)

Shelby Croly, Jr., 5-9 (7.2 points, 3.0 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 1.2 steals)

El-Anita Joe-Samuel, Jr., 6-0 (24.1 points, 8.7 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 1.1 blocks, 2.6 steals)

Sloane Fedoruk, Fr., 6-1 (6.2 points, 5.6 rebounds, 0.8 assists, 0.9 blocks, 0.5 steals)

Off the Bench

Taylor Stryjewski, Fr.

Gioia Passariello, Jr.

While Howell is looking to capture their second ever sectional title, Lenape is looking to continue to build a South Jersey Group 4 dynasty. The Indians have been a force in recent years winning three sectional titles in the last ten years including 2016, 2019, and 2024 and two state championships in 2016 and 2024.

All of Lenape’s wins have been against South Jersey teams. The Indians have played three Shore Conference teams and are 1-2 in those games. Aside from the loss against Trinity Hall referenced above, Lenape was routed 55-32 at the hands of Red Bank Catholic. In the sectional quarterfinals, the Indians defeated Southern in a game that they jumped ahead early with a 24-8 lead at the end of the first quarter and never looked back.

Lenape plays at a very frenetic pace, scoring over 56 points a game and forcing a significant amount of turnovers as evidenced by their average of over 11 steals per game as a team. Lenape shoots very well from the outside, connecting on over 200 three-pointers as a team over the course of the season.

Lenape’s top player is El-Anita Joe-Samuel, one of the premier scorers in New Jersey. Joe-Samuel holds a variety of division one offers from the likes of DePaul, Monmouth, Navy, and others. A strong, downhill driver, the 6-0 guard gets to the free throw line at will with 184 attempts in 30 games. She is also a very capable three-point shooter with 55 treys on the season. In addition to being Lenape’s biggest scoring threat, Joe-Samuel also leads the team in rebounds and blocks and is second in assists and steals.

Despite labeling four of their starters as guards, Lenape has serious length with their three tallest starters standing at 6-1, 6-0, and 5-9. The Indians do a terrific job on the glass and are very disruptive in the passing lanes.

The Match-Up

Lenape will enter the game as the favorite against Howell which will be bolstered by their home court advantage. They have the edge in length, speed, and outside shooting. The Indians will have an advantage if the game is played at a fast pace as they average eight more points a game than the Rebels in addition to having knocked down more than double the amount of three-pointers and having come away with over 100 more steals on the season.

Howell’s best shot is to play at a slower, more methodical pace to try to frustrate Lenape. If they can limit the amount of possessions and play a lower scoring game, it will significantly increase their chances of winning. They could try to force the action at Joe-Samuel and hope they can get early fouls on her. If they are successful, it would be game changing to take the best scorer off the floor however it is easier said than done.

Defensively, the top priority is limiting the damage Joe-Samuel can do. It is important that the Rebels wall up in the paint to prevent her from scoring easy baskets inside as well as from putting the Rebels front line in foul trouble. This might mean conceding jump shots and hoping Lenape does not get hot from the outside. The Rebels could potentially turn to zone to prevent the Indians from getting to the rim, but it could make rebounding more difficult and they do not want to concede second chances.

Should Howell opt to play man-to-man, expect Marino to draw the assignment on Joe-Samuel. Marino has been one of the better defenders in the Shore Conference and routinely causes problems for some of the better players in the Shore Conference. Still, this might be her toughest assignment of the year and the Rebels will need to play strong team defense to support her.

If Howell can protect the ball, move it around, and get good shots, that do not lead to transition opportunities, they have the ability to play with Lenape. If they get sped up, and they start to fall behind it will get very difficult to play at Lenape’s pace. The Rebels will need the very best out of Beam and Marino to go along with a strong game from their support players. A lot is riding on the shoulders of sophomore point guard Olivia Quinones. If she can navigate the pressure and get the ball to their scorers in the right spots and the Rebels can get some timely outside shots from Smith, they have the potential to walk away with the title.

Doug’s Pick: Lenape 63-48

Nick’s Pick: Howell 51-50