Somerville, Bound Brook, Middlesex, St. Thomas Aquinas advance in girls’ NSIAA state tournament; South Plainfield knocked out by top-seed Chatham in North 2, Group 3

Three of the five teams in action Saturday from the Central Jersey Sports Radio coverage area won their NJSIAA state tournament games, as Somerville advanced in North Jersey, Section 2, Group 2, and Bound Brook and Middlesex moved on in Central Jersey Group 1. St. Thomas Aquinas also won in the first round over Camden Catholic in Non-Public South A.

Ninth-seed South Plainfield tipped later in the day, and the Tigers fell to top-seed Chatham in North 2, Group 3 quarterfinal play

North Jersey, Section 2, Group 3: The Pioneers got 22 points from Charlotte Taylor and 19 from Kaylee Lauber in a 65-43 win over Carteret. It moves the Somerville (23-5) into the semifinals Tuesday against sixth-seed Cranford (14-11).

Meanwhile, the season came to an end for ninth-seed South Plainfield, which lost at top-seed Chatham, 69-38, despite a high game of 16 points from Stella Sweeney. Chatham jumped on the Tigers early, leading 25-12 after one and 38-16 at the half.

Semifinals
(4) Mendham at (1) Chatham
(6) Cranford at (2) Somerville

Central Jersey Group 1: Third-seed Bound Brook had four players in double-figures in a balanced scoring effort, as the Lady Crusaders topped 6-seed Roselle Park, 58-47. Lauren Polakiewicz led Bound Brook with 18 points, while Ti’asjah Ferguson added 14, Jayden Campbell scored 13, and Rosie Sipiran contributed a dozen. Campbell had a double-double, with 14 rebounds as well. NExt up, the Crusaders go down to second-seed Thrive Charter in Trenton Tuesday evening.

Meanwhile, fourth-seed Middlesex topped five-seed Shore, 64-52, at home, avenging last year’s loss to the Blue Devils in the sectional finals. They’ll face top-seed New Providence (26-2) on the road Tuesday night.

Semifinals
(4) Middlesex at (1) New Providence
(3) Bound Brook at (2) Thrive Charter

Non-Public South A: Six-time GMC Tournament champion and sixth-seed St. Thomas Aquinas (23-6) won its opening round game, 69-41, behind 18 points from Jordan Barnes, and 11 each from Adrianna Summerset and Trista Whitney. They’ll have to go on the road Tuesday to play third-seed Red Bank Catholic (25-4), which cruised past 14-seed Princeton Day, 68-41, Friday night.

Quarterfinals
(9) Our Lady of Mercy at (1) Paul VI
(5) Bishop Eustace at (4) St. John Vianney
(6) St. Thomas Aquinas at (3) Red Bank Catholic
(7) Trinity Hall at (2) St. Rose