Girls Basketball: This week's HNT/GMC Top 10

1. Bishop Ahr (11-0) – Last Week No. 1: The Trojans are playing like a No. 1 team. Bishop Ahr went 3-0 in the poll week (Thursday to Thursday) and is showing versatility. Rebounding. Shooting. Defense. In the 74-60 win over No. 6 Edison on Jan. 9, sophomore Emma Boslet exploded for 30 points and 19 rebounds and has scored 20 points or more in nine of the 11 games. Edison’s 60 points were the most an opponent has put up in a game this season. The previous high was Howell’s 48 points on Dec. 30. An anticipated meeting against No. 7 Sayreville on Jan. 4. was postponed because of the weather

2. East Brunswick (8-0) – Last Week No. 4: So East Brunswick is for real. Not that there were major question marks with an experienced team guided by head coach Keith Lane, who returned after taking a season off. But the gritty Bears keep winning against tough teams. East Brunswick went 2-0 on the week with a 77-68 overtime win over No. 3 Piscataway and a 58-47 victory over No. 5 Woodbridge, in which the Bears pulled it out with a 21-6 fourth quarter. In the Piscataway win, senior guard Nicole Johnson sank a pair of free throws with 3.6 seconds left in regulation to force overtime and she then scored nine points in OT to lift her team.

3. Piscataway (8-1) – Last Week No. 2: Well, Piscataway certainly has a flair for the dramatics. This time, however, the Chiefs couldn’t pull out the close one in the overtime loss to East Brunswick. That’s basketball. Can’t win them all. Piscataway had previously beaten No. 4 South Brunswick 37-34 and No. 6 Edison 53-52 on two free throws with no time left. Senior guard/forward LaNiya Miller and freshman forward Ariel Jenkins are turning into one of the GMC’s best combos. Will there be more drama next week? The Chiefs play No. 10 J.P Stevens on Saturday and No. 6 Edison on Wednesday. 

4. South Brunswick (5-2) – Last Week No. 3: This GMC Red Division race, wow. It’s going to be tough on teams and fun for fans. Witness South Brunswick’s 45-41 double-overtime loss to No. 6 Edison on Jan. 11. Those types of results will likely be happening all winter. Expect South Brunswick to be right in the mix led by University of Buffalo-commit Alexis Adams, who leads the team with 15 points and nine rebounds a contest. The Vikings only had one game in the poll week because of the weather cancellations.

5. Woodbridge (6-3) – Last Week No. 5: Say this about Woodbridge, the Barrons will give a good showing no matter the opponent. The Barrons emerged from a tough week at 1-1 beating No. 7 Sayreville 53-44 and losing to No. 2 East Brunswick 58-47, in which they led 41-37 entering the fourth quarter. Kameron de Voogd and Brooke Timinski continue to lead the way. Woodbridge plays No. 9 Spotswood on Monday.

6. Edison (4-5) – Last Week No. 6: Finally. You just knew that Edison would get a big-time win at some point. The Eagles’ lineups oozes with talent, but they had a tough start with five losses against teams owning a combined 38-6 record. The 45-41 double-overtime win over No. 4 South Brunswick signals that Edison isn’t straying too far from the top of the GMC Red Division race. The junior combo of Samira Sargent and Daniella Marmol leads the way. Things doesn’t get easier as Edison plays No. 2 East Brunswick and No. 3 Piscataway this week.

7. Sayreville (5-4) – Last Week No. 7: Can’t really knock the Bombers for losing a close game against No. 5 Woodbridge. Again, that’s basketball, ie. nightly matchups against good teams. It was Sayreville’s first GMC loss this season. The Bombers went 2-1 in the week, picking up wins against North Brunswick and Monroe. While Bishop Ahr is the favorite in the GMC White Division, Sayreville is right behind them vying with Woodbridge, South Plainfield and North Brunswick for the second spot.

8. Middlesex (9-0) – Last Week No. 8: The Blue Jays just keep getting better. Middlesex is coming off a 3-0 week, including a quality 57-23 win over the GMC Gold Division’s Timothy Christian (7-3) on Jan. 6. Opponents have scored in the 40s just twice against the Blue Jays. Middlesex could be good for a while as junior guards Carly Santucci and Gianna Canavesio lead the way with freshmen Jessica Forte and Brianna Montajes emerging.

9. Spotswood (4-3) – Last Week No. 9: Balanced scoring is generally a good thing. But sometimes, someone needs to step up. Enter Maddie Hellerich’s big-time performance in Spotswood’s 58-51 win over a tough Dunellen team on Jan. 10. The sophomore, averaging eight points and seven rebounds a game, had 17 points and 15 rebounds as Spotswood rallied from a four-point deficit entering the fourth quarter. On another night, players like seniors Erin Malin or Courtney Potter could explode. But if Hellerich keeps it up, it makes Spotswood that much more dangerous in the GMC Blue Division.

10. J.P. Stevens (5-3) – Last Week Not Ranked: You want to get ranked? Beat the team ahead of you. Now, that doesn’t always work out with multiple games in a week. But sometimes it’s that simple – thank you schedule makers! Last week, J.P. Stevens was on the bubble of the Top 10. South Plainfield got the nod, primarily because of a quality early win over Woodbridge. On Jan. 6, J.P. Stevens won the meeting 46-41 with a 16-9 fourth-quarter advantage. Disha Prabhudesai and Kiarah Turner each scored 17 points to lead the Hawks, who beat Perth Amboy 40-26 on Jan. 11. Next up is a key game Saturday against No. 3 Piscataway.