Tag: Jess Devine

by Mike Pavlichko

Central Jersey Sports Radio GMC Girls’ Player of the Year: Leah Crosby of St. Thomas Aquinas helped lead Trojans to sixth straight title

The more things change, the more they stay the same.

The St. Thomas Aquinas girls’ basketball program has won six straight GMC Tournament titles, a county record, going back to 2019 when the school was still called Bishop Ahr. Three different coaches led them through those titles: Brittney Griffin in 2019 and 2020, Joe Whalen in 2022 and 2023, and Tim Corrigan the last two seasons.

Leah Crosby has been around for three of those, having spent her freshman and sophomore seasons at Aquinas before spending a year at Rutgers Prep. But she came back to the Trojans for her senior year, and – of course – won another championship.

On a team with a host of talent, it’s tough to pick any one player, even among the seniors. But Crosby has been the most prolific – and also steadiest scorer – of the bunch over her four years of scholastic basketball. She scored 900 points even at Aquinas alone, giving her 1,157 for her career counting the 257 points she scored last year with the Argonauts.

And while this is the Central Jersey Sports Radio GMC Girls’ Player of the Year award, we couldn’t think of anyone more deserving when also factoring in consistent play, year after year.

Crosby scored 329 points this year, but in just 21 games, as she had to sit out some due to her second transfer. But she averaged 15.7 points a game this year and is also an excellent free throw shooter, hitting at an over 80-percent clip.

Click below to hear Central Jersey Sports Radio’s GMC Girls’ Player of the Year Leah Crosby of St. Thomas Aquinas:

Here are our Honorable Mentions for GMC Girls’ Player of the Year:

  • Evangelina Francisco, Monroe: First-year head coach Brian Hinz says his Coach of the Year award is really a team award, and we agree. To that end, no one was more valuable for the Falcons this season in going 20-10 and reaching both the GMC Tournament finals and the Central JErsey Group 4 title game than Francisco. She joined the 1,000-point club this year, breaking the mark mid-season, and ending her career with 1,335 points. This season, she averaged 20.7 points per game, while also dishing out 126 assists and hitting 66 times from beyond the arc. More than the numbers, she was the heart and soul of the Falcons.
  • Jess Devine, Middlesex: Unassuming, small in physical stature, she was nothing else than huge on the floor for the Blue Jays her entire career, and another incredibly consistent performer. While her numbers were “down” a little this year as other options to take the weight off her emerged – like junior Mallory Gianchiglia and freshman Avery Iskra – she still averaged an eye-popping 18.6 points per game on a team that went 21-9. The Blue Jays reached the GMC Tournament and Central Jersey Group 1 semifinals in the final year of Devine’s stellar career.
  • Trista Whitney, St. Thomas Aquinas: We could have filled much of this space with great players from Aquinas, but here’s another one. Whitney scored the most points on the team this year with 386, averaging 12.9 per game, second to Crosby in that regard, but she also was second on the team in rebounds and an unselfish guard, dishing out 121 assists on the season. Not too shabby at all.
  • Lizzie Calandruccio, Spotswood: In an 18-8 season, Calandruccio scored double figures in 20 of 26 games this season, averaging 14.5 points per game and hitting 59 times from beyond the arc, a career best. She also was a McDonald’s All-American Game nominee along with just one other from the CJSR coverage area, Gandy Malou-Mamel of Gill St. Bernard’s. Excellent company to keep!

by Mike Pavlichko

Middlesex feels “Devine” heading into 2024-25 with state’s No. 2 returning returning scorer

There’s no doubt basketball is a team sport, but sometimes there’s that one individual that makes the team go.

At Middlesex, that player is Jess Devine.

The second-highest scoring girls’ basketball returnee in all of New Jersey is back for her senior year with the Blue Jays, and they are looking to fly high in 2024-25 before she heads off to East Stroudsburg University..

Last season, Devine poured in 723 points – just four fewer than Madison’s Charlotte Tuhy, the state’s top returning scorer – for an average 23.3 points per game, and she scored in double figures in all 31 contests she played in a year ago.

With 1,576 career points, she should reach the 2,000 point mark this year, but she already is the all-time leading scorer in school history, boys or girls. She passed Brian Feath’s boys’ mark of 1,322 years ago, as well as the previous girls’ record holder, Tiana Mayer, who graduated in 2009 with 1,471 in the scoring column.

Last year was the first for head coach Stew Lester, who took over following the retirement of Kevin Harper, one of the all-time greats in the state. And Devine says it has been a pleasure playing for both coaches. Her first two seasons in the program were under Harper’s tutelage.

And while Devine could play anywhere, she’s happy to “stay home” and play for her small, hometown public school, noting there’s a lot of pride in Middlesex, and she’s all about making sure that name stays on the map in New Jersey high school sports.

Middlesex graduates two other significant contributors in swing Jaclyn DeShields and post McKenna Healey, but senior Lexi Demeter returns as well, along with other key players like Taylor Lawrence and Armani Nguestop.

Middlesex junior Jess Devine. (Photo: Mike Pavlichko)

The Blue Jays open their season at home Thursday at 6:30 when No. 10 Spotswood (0-1) visits in both team’s GMC White Division opener.

Middlesex will make an appearance on Central Jersey Sports Radio on Tuesday, January 21st when they host JP Stevens at 5:30 pm.

Click below to hear Middlesex senior Jess Devine talk about the Blue Jays with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko:

by Mike Pavlichko

Devine’s 26 power Middlesex into CJ1 final with 52-35 win over Point Pleasant Beach

A game that Middlesex never trailed all of a sudden got close in the fourth quarter.

And almost just as quickly, it was no longer close.

Top-seed Middlesex earned its second straight berth in the Central Jersey Group 1 title game, thanks to a 26 point night from junior Jess Devine that fueled a 52-35 win over fourth-seed Point Pleasant Beach.

The Garnet Gulls cut a nine-point third quarter deficit to four – at 39-35 – with 5:45 to go. But the Middlesex defense didn’t allow another point the rest of the way, finishing the game on a 13-0 run.

Middlesex (16-11) will host third-seed Shore Saturday at 5 pm in the CJ1 final. Last year, Shore hosted Middlesex in the final and won 62-31. Now, the Blue Jays will get them in their gym.

Devine scored in all three quarters, and is averaging 28 points per game in two state tournament games.

Click below for postgame reaction from Mike Pavlichko with Middlesex junior Jess Devine, presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen:

Middlesex junior Jess Devine. (Photo: Mike Pavlichko)