East Brunswick completes furious comeback, but otherwise no big surprises in GMC Tournament girls’ first round as top seven seeds advance

Most of Wednesday night’s girls’ basketball games in the Greater Middlesex Conference Tournament’s first round Wednesday night weren’t all that competitive, , with only eight-seed Spotswood suffering an upset, falling to ninth-seed Middlesex at home, 70-56.

It sets up a nearly-chalk quarterfinals Saturday at Middlesex County College in Edison with four games, beginning at 11 am. Scroll down for the full schedule.

#7 East Brunswick 59, #10 North Plainfield 58

The Lady Bears (13-10) knocked out the Cancucks (15-7) in one of the wildest finsihes you’ll ever see, behind 16 points from Nicole Motusesky. Down 12 with 1:50 to play, she scored the final four field goals for EB, all three-point baskets. She was fouled on the last one to put her team up one with 1.8 seconds left, but intentionally missed the and-one opportunity to close out the game and not give North Plainfield a chance to set up for a game-winning shot. The only got off a half-court heave, which didn’t make it.

Click below to listen to East Brunswick head coach Travis Retzlaff recap the wild finish for the Lady Bears:

#1 St. Thomas Aquinas 81, #16 JP Stevens 34

The top-seeded Trojans (18-6) opened tournament play with a big win, behind 27 points from Albany commit Jessica Cooper and 13 from Leah Crosby. Aquinas jumped right out of the gate against their in-town opponent, taking a 30-8 lead at the end of one quarter, with the game never really in doubt, jsut as most haven’t been this season for STA, at least in GMC play. The Hawks dropped to 9-15 with the loss.

#9 Middlesex 70, #8 Spotswood 56

It was more of an upset by seed only, as the Lady Chargers (17-7) were given the eight-seed by rule that all division winners in the GMC must be seeded among the top eight. Middlesex (17-5) led by six at the end of one quarter, but pulled ahead by 21 at halftime. Spotswood (17-7) closed the gap a bit in the fourth quarter, but it wasn’t nearly enough. Sophomore Jessica Devine had a career high 31 points in the win, combining for 59 total with senior Neysa Aguilar, who chipped in 28 points.

#5 Edison 62, #12 Woodbridge 31

The Eagles (19-4) opened GMCT play with a big win, and led nearly wire-to-wire, up ten after the first eight minutes, and by 15 at halftime over the Lady Barrons (13-9), behind 24 points from junior Ghelsey Go. It was her ninth game out of 23 played this season scoring over 20 points. Senior Keisha Ortiz added 15 for Edison.

Click below to hear Edison head coach Frank Eckert talk about the win:

#4 Monroe 61, #13 North Brunswick 25

The Falcons (13-7) got out to a hot start right out of the gate, building a 22-7 lead at the end of one quarter, and holding the Raiders (5-16) to single digits in all four periods, with seven in each of the first two quarters, five points in the third and six in the fourth. Three players scored in double-figures for Monroe, led by junior Halley Cottrell’s 17, senior Haley Higgins’ 13 and Nicole Turco’s ten points.

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#3 Colonia 56, #14 South Plainfield 38

The Patriots (12-10) got their GMC Tournament started on the right foot, after having lost three of their last four games coming in, all in GMC play (to East Brunswick, at Monroe and at Colonia). But they rebounded nicely as senior Mattison Chiera and junior Taylor Derkack got back to their dynamic duo ways by combining for 49 points. Derkack led with 25, while Chiera added 24.

#6 Old Bridge 52, #11 Piscataway 44

This was one of the few tight games in the GMC Tournament Wednesday night, as the Knights (13-8) held just a 12-11 lead at the end of one quarter, and even trailed Piscataway (6-16) at halftime. But it was just like their other two games this season, an eight-point win for Old Bridge on the road in December, and a narrow two-point home win in mid-January. Junior Abigail Jazmin led with 18 points, while Old Bridge got a dozen from senior Leena Tran, along with seven rebounds.

#2 South Brunswick 68, #15 Metuchen 35

Despite 20 points, five rebounds and four assists from senior Cassidy Connors, the Lady Bulldogs (17-7) couldn’t quite pull the upset over the Lady Vikings (16-6). Four players scored in double figures for South Brunswick, including sophomore Alexis Lease-Springer and senior Katie Rausch, who just became the latest member of the program’s 1,000-point club – now at 1,019. Junior Meher Vig added 12, while senior Cynai Price chipped in 11 points.

Girls’ GMC Tournament Quarterfinal Schedule
Saturday, February 11 at Middlesex County College in Edison