Colonia’s Mattison Chiera (l) and Taylor Derkack lead the way for the Patriots. (submitted photo)
Don’t let the record fool you. At 2-2 overall, but 1-0 in the GMC Red Division, No. 5 Colonia has been tested early, dropping meetings with Dalton (NY) in the She Got Game Classic, and to 3-1 Chatham of the NJAC.
But when it comes down to tonight’s game at No. 4 South Brunswick, expect another knock-down, drag-out battle, like the kind they played late last February in the Greater Middlesex Conference Tournament semifinals, a 57-48 Lady Vikings win that both teams likely remember pretty well.
You can hear the game live on Central Jersey Sports Radio, with coverage beginning at 5:45 pm for the pregame, and tip-off at 6. Mike Pavlichko will call all the play-by-play; click here to listen.
Colonia was one of the favorites to win the GMCT last season, powered by the duo of sophomore Taylor Derkack and junior Mattison Chiera. For South Brunswick, the win put them on the map.
This year, Derkack – now a junior – is playing out of her mind in the first four games of the season.averaging 26.5 points per game, and only scoring fewer than 19 once, in the season-opening loss to Dalton. As for Chiera, the coach’s daughter? Well, the senior only became the all-time leading scorer in Colonia girls’ hoops history, passing Tiffany McDaniel (2007) with a ten point game, giving her 1,157.
That’s a pretty good 1-2 combo.
Derkack has 837 and should breeze past that 1,000-point mark any time now, and – at some point – will pass Chiera. She also leads this year’s team with 8 rebounds a game, 9 assists, 6 blocks and 14 steals.
Click below to hear about Colonia’s early season and a preview of the South Brunswick matchup with Patriots’ head coach Sandi Chiera:
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