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

1. Bishop Ahr (14-0) – Last Week No. 1: Maybe Emma Boslet should change her name to Emma Emma Boslet Boslet. The sophomore has 11 double-doubles this season as the Trojans keep rolling. Bishop Ahr went 3-0 in the poll week (Thursday to Thursday) against teams with a combined 6-26 record. Still, they were dominant wins and it allowed several players to get game time. The cast includes Jessica Boakye, Sara Decker, Megan Herka and Morgan Maguire. This week, Bishop Ahr can open its lead in the Greater Middlesex Conference White Division with games against No. 5 Woodbridge, No. 7 Sayreville and South Plainfield, who was ranked No. 10 earlier in the season.

2. East Brunswick (11-0) – Last Week No. 2: What makes East Brunswick so difficult is a deep supporting cast around cool leading scorer Nicole Johnson. That includes Alyssa Bondi, Lauren Krinsky and Brianna Sliwinski. The Bears went 3-0 in the week with wins over No. 6 Edison, No. 10 J.P. Stevens and Monroe to remain in first place in the GMC Red Division. A matchup with No. 4 South Brunswick awaits on Monday.

3. Piscataway (11-1) – Last Week No. 3: It has been a fun season for Piscataway and senior LaNiya Miller got an important milestone when she surpassed 1,000 career points after dropping 31 against Perth Amboy on Jan. 16. Miller’s the leading scorer followed by Ariel Jenkins, Yamirah Bennett and Saniya Myers. Piscataway also had wins over No. 6 Edison and No. 10 J.P. Stevens, cementing its Top 5 status. Not that it gets much easier. This week, the Chiefs play No. 4 South Brunswick, non-conference Bridgewater-Raritan – No. 3 in the Courier News Top 10 – and Old Bridge. Looking ahead, No. 1 Bishop Ahr looms on Jan. 27.

4. South Brunswick (8-2) – Last Week No. 4: Upsets would not be all that surprising in the deep GMC Red Division. Last week, South Brunswick played like an upper echelon team, going 3-0 against the bottom three in the division, allowing an average of 34 points a contest. Alexis Adams (15.1 points per game), Onoseta Ufuah (9.5 ppg) and Luese Ufuah (8.9 ppg) remain the squad’s top-3 scorers. Talk about a difficult upcoming stretch, this week the Vikings play No. 2 East Brunswick, No. 3 Piscataway, No. 10 J.P. Stevens and non-conference Hunterdon Central, ranked No. 10 in the Courier News Top 10.

5. Woodbridge (7-5) – Last Week No. 5: Woodbridge remains in the Top 5 despite going 1-2 during the week with losses to No. 9 Spotswood and North Brunswick. North Brunswick lost to No. 7 Sayreville this week. So why does Woodbridge get the edge? The Barrons beat Sayreville 53-44 on Jan. 11. That head-to-head meeting keeps Woodbridge in the Top 5. Plus on Jan. 16, the Barrons had an impressive 60-29 win over South Plainfield led by Kameron De Vogd’s 22 points. Of note, Brooke Timinski is 26 points shy of 1,000 career points.

READ: Edison and J.P. Stevens girls basketball teams unite for The Marisa Tufaro Foundation

6. Edison (5-7) – Last Week No. 6: If WFAN had a call-in show that discussed GMC girls basketball, the lines would light up. The Eagles went 1-2 in the week with a win over Old Bridge and loses to No. 2 East Brunswick and No. 3 Piscataway. Certainly, keeping a seven-loss team at No. 6 could be debated. But the Eagles are 1-5 against teams in the Top 4 (and also lost to non-conference Pingy, ranked No. 8 in the Courier News Top 10). While at some point you have to pull out the tough games, Edison’s record would probably look shinier with a less taxing early schedule. The Eagles do have a 68-33 win over No. 10 J.P. Stevens on Jan. 2, showing they’re a Top 10 team. Of note last week, Gianna Fresnedo made five 3-pointers in a season-high 17 points in a 62-55 loss to East Brunswick on Jan. 16.

7. Sayreville (8-4) – Last Week No. 7: In 2018, Sayreville has gone 6-1 with its only GMC loss against Woodbridge on Jan. 11. The Bombers went 3-0 last week holding off a tough North Brunswick team to win 45-41 and limiting both New Brunswick and J.F. Kennedy to under 30 points. Sayreville has been getting balanced efforts keyed by Lyssandra Delacosta and Jackie Ventricelli with Janeva Holland, Jaci Jurkiewicz, Serina Townes and Stephanie Van Note making contributions. One reason the Bombers aren’t ranked higher is because they’re 0-1 against teams in the Top 10. On Saturday, Sayreville has a showdown with No. 1 Bishop Ahr with first place in the GMC White Division on the line.

8. Middlesex (11-0) – Last Week No. 8: The wins continued for Middlesex with a 2-0 week. Players having at least one double-digit game included Gianna Canavescio, Brianna Montajes, Carly Santucci and Olivia Robel, who had 25 rebounds and 19 steals in the two games. This is not a knock on the Blue Jays’ success at all, but one reason they’re not ranked higher is because they have just two wins against squads with a winning record (Spotswood and Timothy Christian). Still, you play the teams on your schedule and Middlesex has looked fantastic, scoring an average of 60 points a game and allowing 30 points a game.

9. Spotswood (9-4) – Last Week No. 9: Spotswood had a busy and challenging week, emerging with a 3-1 record. The Chargers’ only loss was to non-conference Somerville (9-3), ranked No. 9 by the Courier News. Spotswood had an impressive win over No. 5 Woodbridge from the GMC White Division and two big-time GMC Blue Division wins over South River, 48-28, and Carteret, 62-39. Erin Malin had two double-doubles during the week, while Maddie Hellerich and Courtney Potter each had one.

READ: Girls Basketball: Spotswood rolls to victory over South River

10. J.P. Stevens (7-4) – Last Week No. 10: Welcome, Megan Duffy. The sophomore had been steady averaging 12 points a game before this week, including 27 points in the opener. She broke out with 31 points in a 64-49 win over Old Bridge on Jan. 15 and followed up with 23 the next night in a 50-45 victory over Monroe. The Hawks only loss was to No. 3 Piscataway, 48-35, on Jan. 13. Also having good weeks were Disha Prabhudesai, who got a double-double against Piscataway, and Kayla Gatling, who got a double-double against Monroe, while Kiarah Turner scored 11 against Old Bridge. This week, J.P. Stevens look to make a move in the GMC Red with games against No. 4 South Brunswick and No. 6 Edison.