With the summer high school-aged girl’s basketball competitions winding down, it is a perfect time for me to look at the emerging younger players in the state of New Jersey.
Here are four lady hoopsters who continue to turn heads, with an eye on future basketball prosperity.
Zoe Brooks
Brooks, a rising sophomore out of girls basketball power Trenton Catholic Academy, enjoyed a fantastic freshman season, dropping in 391 points, 115 rebounds, and 122 assists in 29 games (13.48 ppg, 3.96 rpg, 4.2 apg).
The 5-foot-9 playmaker is also a skilled defensive player, making 134 steals in 2019-20.
She plays(ed) summer ball with the New Jersey Sparks 17U EYBL squad and continued her scoring prowess in the cage and hardwood.
Brooks is on the rise, without question, and possesses all the abilities to be a top player in New Jersey in the future.
Check out Brooks’ speed and sweet spin move to score the bucket below.
Karma Payne
Another rising sophomore on the list, Payne had a stellar freshman year at Glassboro, draining 306 points, grabbing 101 boards, and dishing out 53 helpers in 28 contests (10.92 ppg, 3.60 rpg, 1.89 apg ). She also made 78 thefts.
Sara McShea
A rising junior at Paul Vi High School, McShea scored 207 points, collected 191 rebounds, and had 71 assists, to go along with 56 steals in 27 tilts (7.66 ppg, 7.07 rpg, 2.63 apg, 2.1 spg).
McShea, who scored a season-high 20 points versus Camden Catholic in January, is coming off a solid hoops summer with Books and Basketball Academy.
Katie Ledden
Ledden is a rising sophomore at Arthur L. Johnson who banged home 295 points, collected 223 boards, and blocked 69 shots in 24 games (12.29 ppg, 9.29 rpg, 2.9 bpg).
The six-foot guard, who is a good outside shooter, is playing for the AAU Jersey Cardinals. Ledden delivered a game- and a season-high 19-point performance against New Heights NYC 16U team earlier in August.
View the clip below to watch how Ledden scraps for the rock with other players, and converts into buckets.
— Jerry Del Priore
Brooklyn Sports World/NY NJ Sports World 
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