The St. Thomas Aquinas girls basketball team with its 2022 Championship Banner. (Photo: Mike Pavlichko)
The St. Thomas Aquinas girls’ basketball team has been the top-seed in the Greater Middlesex Conference so long, they had a different name when their streak began.
Then-Bishop Ahr earned the top seed in 2019, and won its first title that year in nearly two decades, since 1991. They got the top seed again the next year, too, renamed St. Thomas Aquinas. Then after the full tournament couldn’t be held in 2021 due to the lingering effects of the at-that-time year-long COVID-19 pandemic, Aquinas got the top nod in 2022 and 2023.
Well, they’ve got a new coach this year in Tim Corrigan, but got the top seed yet again. Will they be able to win it again?
Colonia got the second seed, with the top two seeds going to the Red Division.
The next two teams came from the White Division, with champion JP Stevens followed by North Plainfield.
The last four top eight seeds went to Monroe, South Brunswick and East Brunswick at five, six and seven coming out of the Red, before Spotswood – the Blue Division champion – got the eighth seed. Division winners are guaranteed a top eight finish.
Though the committee broke the tie atop the GMC Gold Division, giving it to Dunellen over Wardlaw-Hartridge, neither finished their division schedule, so they are not officially co-champions, thus were not guaranteed a top eight seed.
Tournament play begins Saturday with the play-in round at higher seeds.
Below is the full 2024 GMC Tournament bracket, including dates of games. Higher seeds host through the first round. The quarterfinals are at Spotswood High School, with the semis and finals at Monroe Township High School.
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