Scoring with balance is the name of the game for No. 2 St. Thomas Aquinas as it looks to run the table – again – in GMC Red

The last time the St. Thomas Aquinas girls’ basketball team didn’t win or finish first in its division in the Greater Middlesex Conference (division champs weren’t recognized in the COVID-abbreviated 2021 season) was 2016-17.

That’s also the last time they lost a division game at home, a 60-52 loss to Sayreville. Since then, Bishop Ahr/Aquinas has won 42 straight divisional games, be it in the White or Red Division.

The No. 2 Trojans (15-5, 12-0 GMC Red) put that streak on the line tonight when they face a Colonia team they’ve already beaten once this year, 58-29 on January 12th.

But Colonia (11-9, 8-5) has lost some close ones, including four other divisional games by a grand total of 22 points, none by more than seven.

Tonight’s game can be heard on Central Jersey Sports Radio, with Mike Pavlichko on the pregame at 5:15 and tip-off at 5:30 pm. Click here to listen.

Still, Aquinas has what you’re looking for in a championship-caliber team: defense, and scorers – and plenty of them.

Three players are averaging in double-figures for STA, including leading scorer Jessica Cooper, a senior averaging a double-double: 12.7 points along with 10.2 rebounds per game, which also leads the team.

Then, sophomore Gianna Chuffo – their leading three-point shooter with 60 on the year, an average of three per game, scores at a 10.5 clip, while another sophomore – Leah Crosby – is averaging 10.2

All three lead in other key statistical areas, too. Cooper is tops with 51 points from the free-throw line, Chuffo hits from downtown, and Crosby has a team-leading 48 steals.

Senior forward Nia Clemons is almost in double figures at 9.5 points per game, while junior Amarillis Shubick runs the point, and is less focused on scoring, but she gets the ball to those who can, with a team-leading 98 assists this year, almost five per game.

Oh, and did we mention freshman Jordan Barnes? She’s just scoring 4.5 a game, but has a team-leading 24 blocks.

Balance, balance and more balance will

Click below to hear Mike Pavlichko talk with St. Thomas Aquinas head coach Joe Whalen: