HAMMONTON—Emma Peretti scored a career-high 36 points and added 12 rebounds as Hammonton High School’s girls basketball team took control early and cruised to a 45-22 win against St. Joseph Academy, completing a sweep of the two-game series against their crosstown rivals this season.
Peretti scored 11 points in the first quarter as Hammonton built a 13-6 lead. Brielle Hutchison hit a 3-pointer in the second period for St. Joseph, and Macie Jacquet added a basket, but the Wildcats were unable to mount any consistent offensive threat and trailed 25-12 at the half.
Peretti continued to be a problem for St. Joe, as the 5-foot-11 sophomore dominated the lane, adding nine more points in the second quarter.
“She’s a very good player and we really don’t have an answer to controlling her underneath,” St. Joseph coach Matt O’Keefe said.
In the third quarter, Hammonton continued to feed Peretti in the post, as she tallied 10 more points. Hutchison added her second 3-pointer of the game to highlight the period for St. Joseph.
In the fourth quarter, Peretti closed out her night with six more points, helping Hammonton seal the win.
“Emma [Peretti] has played so well down the stretch for us,” Hammonton coach Mike Velardi said.
“With some of the players we’ve lost to injuries, we’ve had to lean on her [Peretti] much more than I’d really like to, but she’s stepped up and handled it well,” Velardi said.
Alexa Panagopoylos added seven points for Hammonton, while Perri led St. Joseph with 11.