The Newark Academy girls’ basketball team won their second consecutive Prep B championship on Friday, February 16. The top-seeded Minutemen best the seventh-seeded Pennington 68-43. Dagny Slomack ‘24 led all scorers with 32, and Kat Dakos ‘24 followed with 23.
Newark Academy opened the tournament with a win over the ninth-seeded Princeton Day in the first round, and fourth-seeded Morristown Beard in the semifinals.
This was the third year in a row that the final came down to the Minutemen of Newark Academy and the Red Hawks of Pennington, with Newark Academy winning the last two of the three matchups. Last season, the Minutemen topped Pennington 64-49 to take home the Prep B title for the first time since 2014. In the year prior (2021-22 season), the Red Hawks came out on top with a 65-53 win.
Newark Academy finished last year with an impressive 21-6 record and the Super Essex Conference divisional title. Their season came to a close on the road at Holy Angels in the quarterfinal round of the NJSIAA State Tournament.
Newark Academy is looking to make another run deep into the state tournament, leaning on leading scorers Kat and Dagny. They will host Kent Place on Friday, February 23 at 4 p.m. for the first round.