By BRIAN TORTELLA
Correspondent
On X @tortreports
btortreportssj@gmail.com
Brooke Stagliano is just a sophomore, but already she’s one of the top players in South Jersey — and arguably the best overall shooter.
She’s made clutch shots all season for No. 2 state-ranked Paul VI, and that trend continued in the quarterfinal round of the Non-Public A South sectional playoffs on Monday. She recorded 14 points and two more 3-pointers to help the top-seeded Eagles advance and stay undefeated with a 67-42 victory over ninth-seeded Our Lady of Mercy Academy. The undefeated Eagles (25-0, 6-0 Olympic National) host another state power, St. John Vianney, at 5 p.m. on Thursday in the semifinals.
This season, Stagliano has hit a whopping 73 three-pointers and is averaging nearly three long-range makes per game. For her career, she already has 117 made threes.
“She’s a phenomenal shooter,” Eagles coach Orlando Hidalgo said. “I’ve seen Brooke since she was in seventh grade. When I first saw her, I thought she could have been playing in high school. She’s that good when it comes to shooting. She’s also perfected her defense some. That’s one of the things that she struggled with last year, she’s worked on that. She has high basketball IQ, so not only can she shoot it, she can put the ball on the floor. You need a bucket, she can still take it off the glass and shoot floaters. She’s a very versatile player.”
Stagliano, a Washington Township resident, has virtually doubled all of her major offensive stats from her rookie season. She has 29 more three-pointers, 32 more rebounds, and 165 more total points. She averaged a little more than seven points per game as a freshman, but now averages better than 14.
Even more special about her play is that it evolves as the game goes on. The bigger the moment, the better she performs. Her most impressive performance came against nationally-ranked Long Island Lutheran (N.Y.), when she fueled a second-half comeback effort with 21 points and five 3-pointers in the Eagles’ 65-57 triumph.
Stagliano’s stat line from the opening round of the playoffs on Monday isn’t exactly eye-popping when you compare it to the majority of her games. However, what the box score won’t tell you is that she racked up three fouls early on in the second quarter and didn’t play from then until late in the third.
“I got in foul trouble,” Stagliano said. “I had three fouls going into the second half, so he sat me for a little so I didn’t pick up anymore fouls. I was a little upset.”
Said Hidalgo: “She’s a player who opens up the floor for us. We like to have her out there because a lot of teams scout her as well. They’re constantly either going to box-and-one or they’re going to face guard her, which opens up our lanes for the players who actually attack the basket. When she picked up the three fouls, it was like ‘oh jeez, you’re going to have to sit now because we don’t want you to get the fourth.’
“She’s one who is always ready to play. No matter what the situation is, how many minutes or whatever the case is, she’s going to get in there and give us at least a shot.”
Paul VI is such a well-rounded team that the Eagles had no trouble holding down the fort. Kiyanna Blacks-Stewart tallied 21 points while Azanah Campbell added 16 more in the win. Uncoincidentally, all 37 of their combined points came from layups, midrange, or the free-throw line.
“We all did good, we all did what we needed to do,” said Campbell, a senior. “We executed. All we do is just push each other. In practice we push each other and make each other better. Even though (Stagliano’s) not in the game, we’re all able to score. It’s not just a one-man show. We all know how to pass the ball to each other and get the open look.”
When Stagliano got subbed in off the bench late in the third quarter, she naturally hit her signature three-ball on her very first attempt.
“It felt good to hit that shot, especially after staying out so long and coming back in,” she said. “It felt really nice to hit it.”
She’s accounted for 45 percent of the team’s made threes this season.
“I think she’s the best shooter in South Jersey,” said Mike Hallahan, founder and director of the South Jersey Invitational Basketball Tournament. “One of the best shooters I’ve ever seen. A pure shooter. And I’ve been around for 36 years. She was the Most Valuable Player of the SJIBT, and there’s a reason she was the MVP.”
That’s a strong statement from Hallahan, who’s seen hundreds of talented players come through in his decades involved in the South Jersey girls basketball community.
When asked what she thought of being this widely regarded across the region as a sophomore, Stagliano didn’t hesitate to talk about her team.
“It’s really cool to know I’m such a great part to such a great team,” she said. “It’s just so fun. Being on a good team is so much better. It makes you play better and it makes me more confident as a player to get everything going.
“The win (Monday) was great and was definitely a great feeling, but we have a lot of tough teams coming up, so we just have to prepare. Bigger things ahead. If we play together as a team, I think we’ll be fine.”
Stagliano and the rest of the Eagles will have their hands full against a familiar foe in St. John Vianney, who they beat, 61-48, in the second game of the season back before Christmas.
Prior to the start of the state playoffs, Hidalgo preached to his squad that an undefeated mark means nothing now. It’s back to the drawing board.
“Before the game started, we were like ‘the game is 0-0, now it’s win-or-go-home’,” he said. “We have another tough team that we’re about to play. St. John Vianney has a great coach and they’re always very competitive. They’ve beaten us many times; we did beat them this year though.”
