Colonia’s Taylor Derkack goes up for a shot in the paint in a GMC Red Divsion home game against South Brunswick on December 21, 2023. (Photo: Mike Pavlichko)
NOTE: Due to Tuesday’s snowstorm, the GMCT semifinals have been moved to Wednesday at Spotswood High School, with both games being played at the same times.
Colonia has senior Taylor Derkack. Middlesex has Jess Devine.
Those are the players that get the most attention for the second-seeded Patriots and the 14th-seeded Blue Jays, and certainly they will be the key players to watch in Wednesday’s GMC Tournament semifinal game between the two.
But both teams have so much more in terms of key players, and their success very well could be the determining factor in who moves on to the title game Friday night.
Central Jersey Sports Radio will have coverage of Wednesday’s semifinals, with Alex Crouthamel providing pregame interviews, live updates, and postgame reaction during our coverage of the boys’ semifinals with Mike Pavlichko. A special, extended pregame show begins at 4:15 Click here to listen.
Derkack is the all-time leading scorer in Colonia girls’ history, surpassing Matti Chiera, the coach’s daughter, who’s now at William Patterson. She has 1,934 career points, and is averaging an even 24 points per game this season. She leads the team in all three types of shots – twos, threes and foul shots – as well as points, rebounds, assists (71), blocks (73) and steals (107).
Not too shabby.
Among those, Jess Devine – just a junior and already a 1,000 point scorer for the Blue Jays with 1,270 – is first in all categories but two. But even those are close. Senior Jaclyn Deshields has 55 treys to Devin’s 54, and Devine has five blocks, while Senior McKenna Healy has nine to lead the team. She’s averaging 23.3 points per game.
Yup, not too shabby either.
But it’s the supporting cast both coaches will need to be the difference. Shields brings Middlesex the 1-2 punch. Everyone else has to be considered to contribute to keep Colonia from just paying attention to Devine.
Same for Colonia, which gets big contributions from three-point shooters Mya Patino and Isabel Gidado as well.
Click below to hear both coaches talk about the semifinal matchup, and scroll down for more info on the game:
MORE ON TUESDAY NIGHT’S OPENING SEMIFINAL:
(2) Colonia (18-7) vs (14) Middlesex (15-11)
When: Wednesday, 5 pm
Where: Spotswood High School
Live Updates: Alec Crouthamel
COACHES:
Colonia: Sandi Chiera, 5th season (74-35)
Middlesex: Stew Lester, 1st season (15-11)
HOW THEY GOT HERE:
Colonia: The Patriots topped 18-seed Carteret 52-36 in the first round, then beat 7-seed East Brunswick 43-22 in the quarterfinals on Saturday. Taylor Derkack poured in 38 of her team’s 52 points against the Ramblers – including five from beyond the arc – then scored a human 16 in a lower-scoring victory over the Lady Bears.
Middlesex: The Blue Jays stunned third-seed JP Stevens in the first round, 48-39. The game marked the first time since 2013 a GMCT girls’ top four seed had been knocked out before the quarterfinals. They followed it up with a 66-59 win against six-seed South Brunswick Saturday. Top-scorer Jess Devine had 26 points against the Hawks, then had a double-double of 33 points and 11 assists against the Vikings. She also added five treys.
TOP SCORERS:
Colonia: Taylor Derkack (24 ppg, 40 treys), Mya Patino (9.5 ppg, 37 treys), Isabel Gidado (6.6 ppg, 20 treys)
Middlesex: Jess Devine (23.3 ppg, 54 treys), Jaclyn Deshields (9.4 ppg, 55 treys)
TOP REBOUNDERS:
Colonia: Taylor Derkack (12.4), Nashaelah Hooker (5.3)
Middlesex: Jess Devine (6.6), McKenna Healey (6.4)
RECENT MEETINGS: These two teams rarely meet, with Colonia being a Group 3 school and Middlesex being a Group 2 or 1 over the last decade-and-a-half. They have only played three times since 2012, with the Patriots winning in 2022, but the Blue Jays beating Colonia in 2021 and 2012.
GMC TOURNAMENT HISTORY:
Colonia: The Patriots are playing in the semifinals for the third straight season. They made their first-ever GMC Tournament final last year, falling to St. Thomas Aquinas in the title game.
Middlesex: This is the Blue Jays first time in the GMCT final four since 2020, when they lost to Monroe. The Blue Jays have never made a county final, whether in the GMC era (since 1986) or its predecessor, the Middlesex County Tournament, which ran for eleven seasons from 1975 through 1985.
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