St. Thomas Aquinas seeks fourth straight, while Colonia girls vie for first-ever GMC Tournament Championship

It never gets old for Joe Whalen’s St. Thomas Aquinas Trojans.

“It feels like home,” said sophomore Gianna Chuffo two nights ago.

For a third straight full Greater Middlesex Conference Tournament, St. Thomas Aquinas is back in the championship game, and on Friday night will go up against a Colonia program that is making its first-ever appearance in the finals.

You can hear Friday night’s entire Championship Doubleheader presented by Dayton Toyota Service and Dayton Collision of South Brunswick on Central Jersey Sports Radio, as Mike Pavlichko and Dom Savino call all the action. Pregame begins at 5:45 for the 6:00 girls title tilt between top Seed St. Thomas and third-seed Colonia.

That will be followed by the Boys’ final at 8:00 with top-seed Aquinas taking on seventh-seed South Brunswick. Click here to listen to the live broadcast for free.

Here’s a complete preview of the championship game, with audio from both coaches, analysis, stats, notes, nuggets and more.

GMC TOURNAMENT GIRLS’ FINAL:
#1 St. Thomas Aquinas (20-6) vs. #3 Colonia (14-10)
When: Friday, February 17 at 6 pm
Where: Monroe Township High School
Listen Live: Central Jersey Sports Radio, pregame begins at 5:45 pm

*The St. Thomas Aquinas girls basketball team with its 2022 Championship Banner. (Photo: Mike Pavlichko)*

St. Thomas Aquinas
Head Coach: Joe Whalen – 3rd season, 49-16

The Trojans are in the finals of the GMC’s postseason for a fourth straight year. The run started in 2019, before the school’s name changed from Bishop Ahr to it’s original moniker, St. Thomas Aquinas. As the top-seed, they beat second-seed Edison 47-32 under head coach Brittney Griffin. The next year, they had a new name, and Griffin’s squad again was the top seed, and beat third-seed Monroe, 64-41. In 2021, the COVID-19 pandemic results in a delayed, shortened season, with no full tournament – and no state tournament – just a series of four-game postseason pods. Under first-year head coach Joe Whalen, Aquinas made it to the final, but lost to Monroe in North Edison. They came back as the top-seed last year in the full tourney, and beat seven-seed South Brunswick 64-58.

One could say this is an experienced bunch, led by two D1-committed seniors in the front court: All Red-Division standout Jessica Cooper is headed to Albany, and Nia Clemons is headed to Caldwell. The rest of their starting lineup features two sophomores and one junior, but they’ve been here before – last year, to be exact. The third-year standout who played in the COVID pod final is Leah Crosby, a regular threat for a double-double who leads the team in steals. The two sophs are guard Gianna Chuffo – who had 21 points on seven treys in a 67-39 semifinal win over fourth-seed Monroe, and point guard Amarillis Shubick, who has given up some scoring pressure to me more of a distributor this year. She’s the “priority of every team we play,” says Whalen.

Projected Starting Five:

PG Amarillis Shubick (5-5, Jr): 8 ppg, 1.8 rpg, 4.92 apg, 30 treys
G Gianna Chuffo (5-4, Soph): 10.1 ppg, 2.0 rpg, 76 treys
F Leah Crosby (6-2, Soph): 11.3 ppg, 8.8 rpg, 22 blocks, 65 FTM
F Jessica Cooper: 12.6 ppg, 9.3 rpg, 47 steals, 65 FTM
F Nia Clemons (6-0, Sr): 9.2 ppg, 7.0 rpg, 10 treys

Coach’s Interview:

St. Thomas Aquinas Head Coach Joe Whalen

GMC Tournament History:

1984 – #1 Bishop Ahr 52, #2 St. Peter’s 49 (MCT)
1985 – #1 St. Peter’s 40, #2 Bishop Ahr 21 (MCT)
1986 – #1 Hoffman 55, #2 Bishop Ahr 52
1987 – #1 Hoffman 74, #2 Bishop Ahr 46
1994 – #2 Bishop Ahr 51, #1 East Brunswick, 36
1996 – #2 East Brunswick 50, #5 Bishop Ahr 43
2001 – #5 Bishop Ahr 55, #2 East Brunswick 43
2014 – #2 Piscataway 50, #12 Bishop Ahr 45
2019 – #1 Bishop Ahr 47, #2 Edison 32
2020 – #1 St. Thomas Aquinas 64, #3 Monroe 41
2022 – #1 St. Thomas Aquinas 64, #7 South Brunswick 58

Aquinas is tied with four other teams from three other schools for most consecutive titles won, with three. In addition to the Trojans COVID-interrupted three-tournament run including titles in 2019, 2020 and 2022, Piscataway won three straight twice, from 2009 to 2011 and again from 2013 to 2015. JP Stevens won three in a row from 2003 to 2005, and Hoffman won the first three GMC Tournament titles from 1986 to 1988.

How they win: St. Thomas is battle-tested and clicking on all cylinders. They need to keep playing the great defense they’ve been all season long, and if they can keep another All-Red Division pick by the coaches, Taylor Derkack, from going off like they did in their last regular season meeting – she only had four going into the fourth quarter, when the game was long ago decided – they’ll be in great shape.

Past Coverage:

*Colonia’s Mattison Chiera (l) and Taylor Derkack lead the way for the Patriots. (submitted photo)*

Colonia Patriots
Head Coach: Sandi Chiera – 4th season, 57-36

The Patriots took a big step forward in 2021-22 and had a program year, setting a program record for wins with 25 and going 14-0 in the GMC White to win its first-ever divisional title of any kind. But their run ended in disappointment, getting upset by seventh-seed South Brunswick in the GMC Tournament semifinals. They made it to the Central Jersey Group 3 final, but lost to Ewing 69-46. This year’s team was hoping to take a step forward, but didn’t – at least in the win column. Part of that was moving up to the GMC Red Division, and facing tougher opposition. In six divisional losses, not counting two to Aquinas, Colonia dropped four division games to East Brunswick, Old Bridge, Monroe and South Brunswick by the sum total of 22 points, and lost none of those games by more than seven. They also split with all four teams. They learned how to make adjustments by getting revenge wins against the Knights and Vikings, but also dropped rematches to East Brunswick and Monroe.

There’s no secret that it’s junior Taylor Derkack and senior Matti Chiera – the coach’s daughter – who make the team go, accounting for 36.3 of the team’s 46.6 point per game average. Derkack does it all, leading in all but one major offensive category, socring 21.5 points per game, grabbing 12.2 rebounds, and adding 75 assists, 46 blocks, and 93 steals. She’s even made 139 free throws on the season, accounting for 26-percent of her points. She’s hit 34 treys, the only category she doesn’t lead; Chiera has 41. But the rest of the supporting cast doesn’t have the numbers scoring numbers. Beyond overall points, the duo has made 75 of the team’s 78 treys on the year. What’s been an enigma is this: Where has Colonia lost games? Even in defeats, Chiera and Derkack get their points, in general. It’s a matter of how hard they have to work.

Projected Starting Five:

PG Taylor Derkack (6-0, Jr): 21.5 ppg, 12.2 rpg, 75 assists, 46 blocks, 93 steals, 34 treys, 134 FTM
G Mattison Chiera (5-7, Sr): 14.8 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 41 treys, 50 steals
G Sarah Genoni (5-5, Sr): 1.1 ppg, 1.4 rpg, 1 trey, 10 steals
F Isabel Gidado (Soph): 4.5 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 27 steals
F Amani Moore (5-10, Sr): 2.7 ppg, 5 rpg

Coach’s Interview:

Colonia Head Coach Sandi Chiera

GMC Tournament History:

Last year was Colonia’s first-ever appearance in the county tournament semifinals, MCT or GMC. It ended there, with a loss to South Brunswick, making this the Patriots’ first-ever county tourney finals appearance.

How they win: St. Thomas did a number on Colonia defensively in their last meeting. Colonia hung in, but was gassed by halftime. Down just 17-11 after one quarter, Aquinas ratcheted things up in the next eight minutes and led 47-14 at the half, and won 83-33. The first meeting was a 29-point loss. It’s hard to say Derkack and Chiera need to step up any more than they already do, so it falls upon the supporting cast to set screens and give the due the best looks possible. Draw defenders down and kick out. Move the ball, and value it.

Past Coverage:

***Follow Sportsplex at Metuchen on Instagram for the latest on open gym sessions on their courts and turf!***

NOTES AND NUGGETS:

Top Seeds Rule: More often than not, the No. 1 seed wins the GMC. Including MCT play (1975-1985) the top-seed has won 28 titles, while the three-seed has won only seven. Even the No. 2 seed has won only nine. The five-, seven-, and 13-seeds have each won one apiece. Overall, the No. 1 seed is 28-12 in the championship game, while third-seeds are 7-7. But third-seeds have also done fairly well against the top-seeds considering. The combo has happened 13 times, with the top seed only prevailing in seven of them. The most recent to do so was in 2011, when third-seed Piscataway beat top-seed Cardinal McCarrick, 67-45, in the South Amboy school’s final appearance in the GMCT final before closing after the 2014-15 school year.

Big Loss: One other reason for Colonia’s struggles this year was the loss of Mya Patino. The junior guard suffered a season-ending knee injury in a scrimmage against Hillsborough. She averaged 5.1 points per game and 2.4 rebounds last year, and was expected to make a significant contribution this year. She’ll be back next season, but not before the Patriots lose Matti Chiera to graduation.

Aquinas Success: Going back to the start of the 2017-18 season, St. Thomas has won 71 of 84 GMC divisional games – and 43 straight – whether in the White or the Red, which they’ve been in for two seasons now.

Ahr/Aquinas Success Against Colonia: The last win for Colonia against the school now known as St. Thomas Aquinas came when they were still known as Bishop Ahr, on February 1st, 2014, a 52-35 Patriots win. Since then, Ahr/Aquinas has won 15 straight in the series, including twice this season. 58-29 on January 12th, and 83-33 on February second on Central Jersey Sports Radio.

Halftime Leads: When St. Thomas Aquinas leads at the half, they don’t look back. Their last loss when going into the locker room with a lead was a 46-41 defeat at the hands of Monroe in the Somogyi Family Pod to end the 2021 COVID-shortened season.