Middlesex hosts Dayton in a GMC-Union County girls’ crossover game on January 31, 2026. (Photo: Mike Pavlichko)
When you lose someone the caliber of Jess Divine – who scored 2,135 points in a four-year varsity career at Middlesex – who’s going to pick up the points?
For the Blue Jays, though, it’s always been the defense fueling the offense, and that was on full display Saturday as they picked up a 42-32 win over visiting Dayton in a GMC-Union County crossover.
Senior Alyssa Young scored nine points, including a pair of treys, one of which was a four-point play in the first quarter. But the more impressive part of her stat line was the fact that she had a dozen steals.
No matter who the coach is – Kevin Harper, Stew Lester, and now first-year skipper and 2016 MHS grad Zakiya Beckles – that’s the program, the consistency: defense and pressure.
And it works.
The game was a tight one until the Jays (12-7) pulled away in the fourth quarter. No one led by more than five throughout the first half, not until the final period, in fact, when Middlesex built as big as a ten-point advantage.
Sophomore Kaylee Devine, Jess’s younger sister, led all scorers with 13 – including three from downtown – while Avery Iskra had 12.
Sophomore Aria Molinelli had 12 for Dayton, which was highly competitive, despite falling to 2-13 with the loss. Junior Madison Tarrant – the only junior to dress, with no healthy seniors on the squad, added six, while sophomore Maggie Hildebrand added five.
Click below for postgame reaction from Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko with Middlesex senior Alyssa Young and head coach Zakiya Beckles:
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