ROCKAWAY-There will more than enough attention spent on Sunday’s Super Bowl in the evening; however, there is more than enough time for girls basketball fans to also take time to raise awareness and also support a worthy cause during the 2026 Morris-Essex ‘Coaches Vs. Cancer’ Showcase at Morris Hills High School with four games pitting Essex County vs. Morris County teams.
All proceeds from the important day of girls hoops in the Scarlet Knights’ home gym will be to St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital which does a wonderful job of finding cures and working to save children with cancer.
There are so many children facing cancer and other catastrophic diseases and the continued work at St. Jude’s helps in finding comfort for young girls and boys while also providing lifesaving treatment and care.
“I am very excited for our first annual Morris-Essex Coaches vs Cancer Showcase,” said Morris Hills Coach Brian Dillon. “It’s going to be a great event with some terrific teams with lots of talented players.
“We are thrilled to be able to give back for a great cause!”
Morris Hills High School is located at 520 Main Street in Rockaway (07866-3791).
The girls hoops action begins at 9 a.m. with Parsippany Hills vs. Millburn and is followed by West Morris vs. Mount St. Dominic at 10:30 a.m., Madison vs. West Essex at noon and the host Scarlet Knights vs. Nutley at 1:30 p.m., which gives plenty of time for fans to still get ready for their Super Bowl Sunday activities.
Par-Hills (12-8 overall, 5-4 in the Northwest Jersey Athletic Conference-National Division, is led by coach Bryan DiMaulo and the team is led by sophomore guard Eryn Guglielmo (15.6 points per game).
Millburn (13-7, 6-2 in the Super Essex Conference-Colonial Division) is guided by coach Eric Schroeder and led by freshman Nola Lewis (15.9 ppg, 6.5 rebounds per game).
In Game 2, West Morris (10-10, 4-6 in the NJAC-National) is led by coach Ricky Larcara and features the outstanding senior guard Zoe Kratochvil (13.3 ppg, 4.9 rpg, 2 assists and 1.9 steals per game).
Mount St. Dominic (13-7, 2-5 in the SEC-American Division) has been making nice inroads under ‘interim’ coach Kyla Ramseur and has won five in a row entering Saturday’s Essex County Tournament 1:30 p.m. quarterfinal game at third-seeded Arts.
The Lions are led by junior forward Bella Iannitelli (13.7 ppg, 9.8 rpg), sophomore guard Gia McArdle (19.1 ppg) and freshman guard Hailey Root (9.7 ppg) who combined for 49 points in Thursday’s 53-48 independent victory vs. Cranford, with McArdle leading the way with 22 points.
In Game 3 on Sunday afternoon at noon it will be Madison (15-3, 5-1 in the NJAC-Liberty Division) vs. West Essex (6-13, 0-8 in the SEC-American). The Dodgers are in the Morris County Tournament quarterfinals 11 a.m., Saturday vs. Mendham.
Coach Lisa DiTuro’s team, which reached the overall Group 2 state final last March, has a balanced lineup which is led by junior guard Siena Notaro (10.8 ppg).
