Crosby Earns MVP Honors with Double-Double of 21 Points and 14 Rebounds
MONROE, NJ—After three lead changes and four ties early on, it seemed like top seeded St. Thomas Aquinas was well on its way to winning the 2022 GMCT Girls Championship. With 6:05 remaining in the fourth, the Lady Trojans appeared in control with a 51-31 lead after breaking away from the early back and forth battle with a 25-3 surge for a 33-12 lead late in the second quarter.
However, 7th seeded South Brunswick, led by the play of the likes of Meher Vig, Alexis Lease-Springer, Katie Rausch, and Carol Seyfarth, had other ideas. Coupled with efforts from Leilani Pinder, Zoe Zamir, Anjali Mahesh, and Cynai Price, the Vikings demonstrated the heart, grit, and determination that had defined their storybook run through the 2022 GMC Girls Tourney.
Capping with a 27-12 surge to pull within five points at 63-58 after an and one by Vig with 22 seconds left, and a bucket by Lease-Springer with 3.9 seconds of remaining, South Brunswick gave their fans plenty to cheer about. Unfortunately, the Lady Vikes ran out of time. Kayla Perez drew a foul, and made one of two from the line with 0.3 seconds to play to wrap up Aquinas’ third GMCT Girls crown in the past four years.
Leading the way in victory for the Lady Trojans was freshman, Leah Crosby, who earned tourney MVP honors with a double-double of 21 points and 14 rebounds. Meanwhile, junior forward, Jessica Cooper chipped in with 20 points including a couple clutch baskets down the stretch and 7 boards. Perez, a senior guard, who scored 27 points in the semifinals, made the All GMCT Team with 12 points, 6 assists, 2 rebounds, and 2 steals.
Sophomore guard, Amarilis Shubick netted two threes from almost the exact same spot on the right wing in the first half for all 6 of her points along with 3 rebounds while junior forward Nia Clemons added 5 points and 5 rebounds to round out the scoring for Aquinas. Freshmen Gianna Chuffo (4 rebounds and 3 assists) and Gabrielle Ziegenbalg (a rebound) also saw action in the contest for the Lady Trojans.
Vig, who relentlessly pushed the ball down the floor and attacked the basket in the four quarter, led the Lady Vikings in defeat with a team high 18 points along with 2 rebounds, 2 assists, a block, and an assist. Lease-Springer, a freshman, also raised her game in the second half, and especially in the fourth quarter, chipped in with 17 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 steals.
Seyfarth, a senior, who also earned All GMCT Team honors, stepped up her play on the defensive end in the final two periods and added 10 points, 8 rebounds, 6 steals, and 2 assists. Rausch, who played pivotal roles in South Brunswick’s quarterfinal and semifinal victories over Monroe and Colonia, made the All GMCT Team as well after finishing with 8 points, 5 assists, 4 rebounds, and a steal.
Pinder, a sophomore, collected all kinds of stats with 4 points, 9 assists, 6 rebounds, 2 steals, and a block while Mahesh (1 point and 2 rebounds) rounded out South Brunswick’s scoring. Zamir and Price also saw action for the Lady Vikings in the contest. South Brunswick had advantages in points scored within the arc (40-36) and at the foul line (12-8), but Aquinas had a decisive edge from long distance (18-6).
St. Thomas Aquinas, which rolled past 5th seeded East Brunswick in the semifinals, also dominated the glass. Led by Crosby and Cooper, who combined for 21 rebounds, the Lady Trojans had a 36-25 advantage in rebounding. South Brunswick did a tremendous job defensively and sharing the basketball, enjoyed a 20-10 edge in assists, and also had more steals (12-2) and blocks (2-0). Aquinas outscored South Brunswick in each of the first three periods played to establish a 49-29 lead.
Refusing to quit though, South Brunswick doubled the Lady Trojans output in the fourth as it equaled its scoring total in the first three periods. The game started with a back and forth tug of war that gave the early impression of an epic struggle to the 2022 GMCT Girls title. The Lady Vikings went toe to toe with the tourney’s top seed over the first half of the opening period.
When Rausch converted a traditional three point play for a 9-8 lead, there were three lead changes and four ties. Aquinas then seized control of the game with a 10-1 run that began with five straight points for a 13-9 Lady Trojans’ lead with 2:29 left in the first period as Cooper opened the contest with 6 points. St. Thomas Aquinas scored 5 of the last 6 points including a bucket by Clemons to take an 18-10 lead into the second.
The Lady Trojans began the second much like it had ended the first by scoring the first five points including a Crosby score and a three from Perez for a 23-10 lead with 6:48 remaining in the period. Following a South Brunswick timeout, St. Thomas Aquinas finished the first half by scoring 12 of the last 18 points of the second quarter including a putback by Cooper and a three from Shubick for a 35-16 lead going into the intermission.
The second half started much like the first half had ended as Aquinas continued its onslaught with 5 of the first 7 points including a three from the right wing by Clemons that banked in for the Lady Trojans largest lead of the game at 40-18 with 6:15 to play in the third. At this point, South Brunswick showed signs of fighting back as Seyfarth and Lease-Springer had scores during an 11-9 run to end the frame and trim the deficit to 49-29.
Both teams opened the final period with scores that put Aquinas up 51-31 with a little more than six minutes to play. Then, the Lady Vikes began to play with more urgency, and put together a frantic, memorable rally to finish what had been an incredible tourney ride. Over a span of 2:34, South Brunswick scored 9 of the next 12 points as Vig connected on a three from the right wing and added two free throws to close the gap to 54-40.
Aquinas increased the lead back to 15 at 58-43 with 3:10 remaining by scoring four of the next seven points including a momentum breaking score from Cooper. South Brunswick scored the next five points to close within ten before Cooper struck again with another huge bucket to push the Lady Trojans’ edge back up to a dozen at 60-48 with just 1:12 to play.
South Brunswick was still unwilling to capitulate though as the Lady Vikes reeled off 10 of 13 points in quick order as Vig converted a layup from the right side as she was fouled for an and one with 9.8 seconds to play to pull within two possessions of Aquinas at 62-56. Following a free throw by the Lady Trojans, Lease-Springer pushed the ball down the floor and scored a layup from the left side between two defenders with 3.9 seconds to play.
Fortunately for St. Thomas Aquinas, time was on its side as it was able to get a free throw from Perez to wrap up the 64-58 victory to win its third GMCT Girls crown in the last four seasons. With the victory, Aquinas improved to 21-3 overall including a 19-1 mark in conference play, and now move on to the state playoffs with an opening round game versus Princeton Day in the 2022 NJSIAA Non-Public A South Tourney on Wednesday, March 2nd.
Meanwhile, South Brunswick fell to 18-7 overall and 15-7 in the GMC with the loss. The Lady Vikings, the 7th seed in Central Jersey Group 4, now get ready for state tournament play with a first round game against 10th seeded Old Bridge in Monmouth Junction on Monday night, February 28th at 5:00 PM.