Girls Basketball: This week's HNT/GMC Top 10
Here is this week's Girls Basketball Top 10 for Home News Tribune and Greater Middlesex Conference teams. The poll week runs Thursday to Thursday.
1. East Brunswick (17-2) – Last Week No. 1: If the free throw missed, things might have been different. But Alyssa Bondi’s foul shot with 0.2 seconds left gave the Bears a 43-42 win over Piscataway on Saturday. With it, came a GMC Red Division title and the No. 1 HNT ranking for the second week in a row. East Brunswick (14-0 in the Red) also claimed a No. 1 seed in the Central Group IV tournament that begins Feb. 26. In the poll week, the Bears went 2-1, holding off an always-pesky Monroe team 50-46 and losing to Ridge of the Skyland Conference.
2. Piscataway (17-3) – Last Week No. 2: Another week, another dramatic game for Piscataway. The Chiefs seem to have a knack for these nail-biting contests. A week after beating Bishop Ahr in a close one, Piscataway lost to East Brunswick on the last second free throw. Piscataway did have an impressive 76-43 win over then-No. 6 J.P. Stevens on Tuesday. LaNiya Miller leads a balanced and deep team. Piscataway drew the No. 3 seed in the North 2 Group IV section.
READ: Girls basketball state tournament pairings
READ: Courier News Top 10, through Thursday, Feb. 8
3. Bishop Ahr (21-2) – Last Week No. 3: The Trojans finished the GMC White Division slate at 14-0 with wins over New Brunswick and J.F. Kennedy last week. They’ve won every GMC game by double digits, minus the three-point loss to Piscataway on Jan. 27. On Thursday, Bishop Ahr lost 66-34 to state power Rutgers Prep, the two-time defending Non-Public B champ. Emma Boslet, who has gotten several double-doubles this season, added a triple-double to her CV in a 58-16 win over J.F. Kennedy on Feb. 6 (20 points, 11 steals, 10 rebounds).
4. South Brunswick (11-8) – Last Week No. 4: The Vikings had hit a tough patch going 1-6 in the past two poll weeks against top competition. This week, South Brunswick returned to its winning ways with victories over Edison (48-40) and Perth Amboy (41-23). A key for the Vikings is keeping the score low as they’ve scored over 50 twice during the season and have nine games scoring under 40. For the most part, it’s worked, as South Brunswick finished third in the GMC Red with a 9-5 record behind East Brunswick (14-0) and Piscataway (12-2). Alexis Adams leads the team with 13 ppg.
5. Sayreville (13-8) – Last Week No. 9: This is where the rankings start to get difficult. In the past three weeks, Sayreville went from No. 6 to No. 9 to … No. 5. Yes, the Bombers have emerged in the Top 5 after a stretch of A beating B, then B beats C and C beats A. When the dust cleared, Sayreville found itself in second place in the GMC White Division (11-3) ahead of North Brunswick (9-5) and Woodbridge (8-6). Sayreville went 2-1 in the week with wins over then-No. 5 Woodbridge and New Brunswick and a nonconference loss to Freehold Township. Sayreville continues to get balanced scoring from the likes of Lyssandra Delacosta, Janeva Holland, Serina Townes, Stephanie Van Note and Jackie Ventricelli.
6. North Brunswick (11-8) – Last Week No. 10: From unranked to No. 10 to No. 6. Things are happening quickly for North Brunswick. The Raiders started 5-7 without a winning record at any point in that stretch. But since Jan. 23, they’ve gone 6-1 and moved into third place in the GMC White. In that span, the Raiders allowed an average of 34 points per game. This week North Brunswick had wins over Colonia (35-23) and Woodbridge (41-29).
7. Spotswood (16-5) – Last Week No. 7: Upsets happen in basketball, and the Chargers fended off a tough Dunellen team this week with a 41-31 win. Savannah Robinson scored a season-high 18 points in that victory, and followed it up with 17 points in a 45-26 win over Highland Park the next day. Spotswood (13-1 in the GMC Blue) and Middlesex (14-1 in the division) are in contention to get top 10 seeds in the upcoming GMC Tournament. Spotswood lost to Ridge of the Skyland Conference during the week.
8. Middlesex (18-3) – Last Week No. 8: The Blue Jays scored a key 60-32 win over South River on Feb. 2 to clinch at least a share of the GMC Blue title with Spotswood. Middlesex also beat South River 44-34 on Jan. 29. Combining the fourth quarter of the first game and the first quarter of the second meeting, Middlesex outscored the Rams 38-4. Middlesex got tested in nonconference losses this week to Immaculata and Bernards.
9. Woodbridge (12-8) – Last Week No. 5: Where, oh where, to put Woodbridge this week? The Barrons lost to two teams ranked below them, then-No. 9 Sayreville and then No. 10-North Brunswick. Woodbridge, though, finished the week with a 51-47 win over then-No. 6 J.P. Stevens, keyed by a 16-0 third quarter. Brooke Timinski and Kameron De Vogd each scored 21 points in the game. Woodbridge split with Sayreville during the season and is 0-2 against North Brunswick. They’ll be a tough out in the GMC Tournament.
10. J.P. Stevens (13-8) – Last Week No. 6: It’s the age-old rankings question: Body of work vs. what have you done for me lately? J.P. Stevens has recent wins over Sayreville and North Brunswick. But the Hawks lost to Woodbridge on Thursday. And Sayreville and North Brunswick beat Woodbridge this week. Now, try saying that fast five times! The bottom line is not that much separates No. 5 to No. 10. Any given week, any given game, and the rankings could flip flop. But add in a loss to No. 2 Piscataway for a 1-2 week, and the wheel stops at No. 10 for the Hawks. For now.