Frank Eckert – Central Jersey Sports Radio

Sophomore Gabrielle Hill hit a three to put Spotswood up two, Susan Oshinski scored underneath to tie it at 46 and send the game to overtime, but it was all Edison in the extra period.

For the second time this year, Edison came back from a halftime deficit against the Chargers, and the Eagles won 56-50 in overtime at home, in a game heard on Central Jersey Sports Radio.

With the Spotswood loss, and a 72-49 win by Middlesex over North Brunswick, the Blue Jays take the GMC White Division title, and get one of the coveted top eight seeds in the GMC Tournament that go to the division winners.

The Tournament will be seeded next Friday, February 7th.

Spotswood jumped out to a 4-0 lead early on two quick baskets by Gabrielle Hill, one off a steal, one off a feed following a steal by a teammate. But she also quickly got into foul trouble, as did Violet Tharney, each sitting a good part of the second quarter with three each.

Still, the Chargers – who had a nine-point lead at one point in the second – found themselves in the lead at the half, albeit by a slim 22-20 margin.

The second half was much more back and forth, featuring all nine of the game’s lead changes; there were six ties, the last at the end of regulation, at 46-all.

Hill and Tharney never fouled out, but Spotswood (15-5, 11-3 White) was in foul trouble all night. Two others fouled out. And Edison (12-8, 10-4) had a big advantage at the line, going 15-of-22, the Chargers 2-of-9.

Senior Olivia Smart led the Eagles with 19, while freshman point guard Carmela Arana has 16. Hill led Spotswood with 20.

Click below for postgame reaction from Edison’s win over Spotswood with Olivia Smart, Carmela Arana and head coach Frank Eckert, presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen:

With the four division winners in the Greater Middlesex Conference guaranteed a top eight seed – and byes in the two opening rounds – winning a title is of paramount importance.

In that case, tenth-ranked Spotswood, nearly controls its own fate. With a win at Edison Thursday in their division finale, the Lady Chargers would at least clinch a tie for the division with Middlesex, if the Blue Jays beat North Brunswick.

You can hear that Spotswood-Edison game live on Central Jersey Sports Radio with Mike Pavlichko calling all the play-by-play. Tip-off is at 5:30 pm; click here to listen.

Should Spotswood win and Middlesex loses, the White would go to Spotswood. The reverse would hand the title to the Blue Jays. A Middlesex win and a Spotswood loss would make Middlesex the champs.

If there’s a tie, the first team out of the White would be decided at the seeding meeting next Friday, February 7th.

Scenarios out of the way, expect a good ballgame. Edison (11-8, 9-4 in GMC White) won the first meeting back on January 11th, 54-45. Spotswood (15-4, 11-2) then lost 38-32 to Middlesex – after beating the Jays 47-37 in their home opener in December.

The first time out, the Eagles got a double-double from Olivia Smart – 19 points and 14 boards – while freshman point guard Carmela Arana had 15. Spotswood was led by Lizzie Calandruccio with 23, while sophomore Gabrielle Hill added ten points.

Both teams like to hang their hat on defense, but Spotswood has been a bit better on the offensive side. They’ve been scoring more of late as they learn how to share the ball, according to head coach Vin Vizzi.

Click below to hear both coaches talk about their teams, and Thursday’s matchup: