Somerville celebrates in the locker room after a North 2, Group 3 quarterfinal win over Summit. (Source: @VilleWBBall on Twitter)
As Week Two of the NJSIAA state high school basketball tournament gets underway, six area girls’ basketball teams advanced to sectional semifinals with wins on Monday night.
That includes top-seed Somerville in North Jersey, Section 2, Group 3 and second-seed Bound Brook in Central Jersey Group 1. Meanwhile, all four parochial schools in action – Pingry, St. Thomas Aquinas, Gill St. Bernard’s and Rutgers Prep – also advanced to sectional semifinals.
The only girls’ squads from the Central Jersey Sports Radio coverage area to get knocked out Monday night were second-seed Colonia in North 2, Group 3, and South Amboy in Central 1.
Read on for a full recap of quarterfinal action from Monday night, with all scores in those sections, plus a look ahead to semifinal action the rest of the week.
North Jersey, Section 2, Group 3
It might not have been pretty, but style points don’t count in the state tournament – just points. Top-seeded Somerville won a low-scoring affair, 35-26, over eight-seed Summit at home, behind 17 points from Kaylee Lauber – who just missed a double-double with nine rebounds – while Lily Taylor grabbed 12. The Pioneers (21-6) held the Hilltoppers without a field goal the entire first quarter, and led 9-1 after the first eight minutes. That turned out to be the decisive quarter, as the teams played fairly even the rest of the way.
It will be The ‘Ville’s second straight trip to a sectional final, as they try to make a title game for the first time since they won this section in 2018, the second of back-to-back sectional titles for the Pioneers. They will meet fifth-seed Chatham (16-12), which also won a low scoring game Monday night, 30-21, knocking off fourth-seed Cranford.
Meanwhile, second-seed Colonia got upset by seventh-seed Mendham, 42-39. Trailing 40-33 heading into the fourth, the game ground to a halt, with Colonia winning the period 6-2, but falling short by three. Samantha Howell was the lone double-digit scorer for the Patriots (20-4), finishing with 11 in defeat, while Nashaelah Hooker had five points and 12 rebounds, and Hailey Conklin added eight and eight.
- (1) Somerville def. (8) Summit, 35-26
- (5) Chatham def. (4) Cranford, 30-21
- (6) North Hunterdon def. (3) Millburn, 40-35
- (7) Mendham def. (2) Colonia, 42-39
Central Jersey Group 1
Second-seed Bound Brook advanced, beating seventh-seed Thrive Charter 66-61. But it got a little too close for comfort down the stretch for the Crusaders. They led 51-36 heading into the fourth, and 59-45 with just over five minutes to go. But Thrive got it down to a 59-57 deficit with a minute left, and it looked like the wheels were about to come off for The Brook. But they hit a couple of free throws with 54 seconds left to go up by four. Thrive missed on the offensive end, and fouled Bound Brook, which made one of two to go up five. It went on like that, and in the end, the Crusaders hit seven of eight free throws down the stretch to give them the win. Freshman Peytan Pugh finished one shy of a career high with 26 points, adding ten rebounds and 13 steals, for her second triple-double this season, while Lauren Polakiewicz scored 13, including three triples. Pugh leads New Jersey with 231 steals this season.
The Crusaders (24-3) will get sixth-seed Roselle Park and the state’s top scorer in Sidney Smith (30 ppg), after the Panthers (18-7) rolled past third-seed Keansburg, 72-27 behind a 40-point night from Smith that was just her fourth-highest scoring total of the season.
In the other half of the bracket, fourth-seed South Amboy was upset at home by fifth-seed Brearley, 55-27. Gabby Evanski was the Lady Guvs’ only double-digit scorer with 13 points, 12 of which came on four treys.
- (1) New Providence def. (8) Shore, 60-38
- (5) Brearley def. (4) South Amboy, 55-27
- (6) Roselle Park def. (3) Keansburg, 72-27
- (2) Bound Brook def. (7) Thrive Charter, 66-61
Non-Public North A
Sixth-seed Pingry picked up an upset win all the way up in Sparta over third-seed Pope John, 55-51, behind 16 points from Val Triana and another 13 from Charlotte Hunzinger, while Gisel Calulo added nine, all from downtown. The Big Blue (16-10) will visit Immaculate Heart (21-5) up in Bergen County Thursday in the sectional semifinals, after they beat 10-seed Paramus Catholic, 61-37, Monday night. The two have played only twice in the last 15 years, with Pingry losing 44-40 last season, but winning 61-47 two years ago.
- (1) Morris Catholic def. (9) Oak Knoll, 89-27
- (4) DePaul def. (5) Mount St. Dominic, 61-53
- (6) Pingry def. (3) Pope John, 55-51
- (2) Immaculate Heart def. (10) Paramus Catholic, 61-37
Non-Public South A
Fourth-seed St. Thomas Aquinas (24-6) rolled past five-seed Trinity Hall, 74-47, getting 19 points and two treys from Trista Whitney, 18 points and three treys from Lauryn Downing, and 15 points and six rebounds from Jordan Barnes. Aquinas led 36-25 at the half, but pulled away in the third on the strength of a 27-7 quarter. Now comes perhaps their biggest test of the year, as they will head down to face the state’s top-ranked team – and the No. 1 seed in their section – Red Bank Catholic. The Caseys (27-2) beat eighth-seed Union Catholic 75-22 Monday night.
- (1) Red Bank Catholic def. (8) Union Catholic, 75-22
- (4) St. Thomas Aquinas def. (5) Trinity Hall, 74-47
- (3) Paul VI def. (6) Camden Catholic, 73-37
- (2) St. John Vianney def. (7) Bishop Eustace, 73-22
Non-Public North B
Top-seed Gill St. Bernard’s played its opening round (quarterfinal) game last week, as did its semifinal opponent Villa Walsh, but the other half of the bracket played Monday night.
- (3) Hudson Catholic def. (6) Mount St. Dominic, 70-17
- (2) Saddle River Day def. (7) Roselle Catholic, 39-23
Non-Public South B
Top-seed Rutgers Prep got a balanced scoring effort, as Ava LaMonica, Bri Duque, Sophia Georgiades and Hannah Fraser each scored 11 points for the Argonauts (24-3), who beat ninth-seed Holy Cross Prep, 67-23. Prep led early, and by a lot: 24-9 after one, 43-14 at the half. They’ll get fifth-seed Stuart Day (15-9) in Thursday’s semifinals, a 43-41 winner at fourth-seed Holy Spirit Monday night.
- (1) Rutgers Prep def. (9) Holy Cross Prep, 73-27
- (5) Stuart Day def. (4) Holy Spirit, 43-41
- (3) Wildwood Catholic def. (11) Ranney, 83-76
- (2) Gloucester Catholic def. (7) Koinonia, 74-26
UPCOMING SCHEDULE
Note: Not all game times have been announced. This schedule will be updated as game times are set.
TUESDAY, MARCH 3 (SEMIFINALS)
Central Jersey Group 4
- (5) Jackson Twp. at (1) Franklin, 5 :30 pm
- (3) Hillsborough at (2) East Brunswick, 6 pm
Central Jersey Group 2
- (13) Metuchen at (1) Manasquan, 5 pm
- (3) Johnson at (2) Rumson-Fair Haven, 5 pm
North Jersey, Section 2, Group 2
- (4) Voorhees at (1) Caldwell, 5 pm
- (3) Madison at (3) Bernards, 7 pm
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 3 (SEMIFINALS)
North Jersey, Section 2, Group 3
- (5) Chatham at (1) Somerville, 5:30 pm
- (7) Mendham at (3) Millburn
Central Jersey Group 1
- (5) Brearley at (1) New Providence
- (6) Roselle Park at (2) Bound Brook, 5:30 pm
THURSDAY, MARCH 5 (SEMIFINALS)
Non-Public North A
- (4) DePaul at (1) Morris Catholic
- (6) Pingry at (2) Immaculate Heart
Non-Public South A
- (4) St. Thomas Aquinas at (1) Red Bank Catholic
- (3) Paul VI at (2) St. John Vianney
Non-Public North B
- (4) Villa Walsh at (1) Gill St. Bernard’s, 5 pm
- (3) Hudson Catholic at (2) Saddle River Day
Non-Public South B
- (5) Stuart Day at (1) Rutgers Prep, 5 pm
- (3) Wildwood Catholic at (2) Gloucester Catholic
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Mike,Thank you very much for your coverage for the Bill Denny Rutgers Letterwiners Luncheon on Sunday at the PINES,It was greatly appreciated! Best Pete Clark(secretary)
You’re welcome!