Aquinas Opens Game on 37-7 Jaunt to Defeat East Brunswick, 72-55
MONROE, NJ—Heading into the 2022 Greater Middlesex Conference Girls Basketball Tournament, top seeded St. Thomas Aquinas had not been playing its best basketball. Two weeks ago, the Lady Trojans were defeated by a Rumson-Fair Haven squad that was playing on all cylinders, particularly from long range in an 80-58 victory at the Coaches Choice Shore Conference Challenge in Holmdel.
Fast forward two weeks later, and Aquinas appears to have regained top form heading into its third GMCT Girls Championship Game in four years. After rolling past a determined 9th seeded North Brunswick (78-59) team led by senior Niyell McCargo, who set a school record 38 points in the GMCT Girls Elite Eight last Saturday, the Lady Trojans left no doubt by midway through the first half of its semifinal with 5th seeded East Brunswick.
Over the first 12 minutes or so of the game, St. Thomas Aquinas outscored EB by a margin of 37-7, and although the Lady Bears showed plenty of fight in the second half with a run of its own, the Lady Trojans were never really threatened en route to a 72-55 victory. Senior guard, Kayla Perez turned in a tremendous performance with a game high 27 points along with 12 assists for a double-double.
Freshman Leah Crosby had a double-double of her own with 15 points and 17 rebounds while also blocking 5 shots and picking up an assist and a steal. Junior center, Jessica Cooper was a third Aquinas player to record a double-double in the contest with 17 points and 11 boards along with an assist and a blocked shot. Nia Clemons came out firing with two first quarter threes en route to 8 points, 5 assists, 4 rebounds, 2 steals, and 2 blocks.
Sophomore guard, Amarilis Shubick, didn’t have her usual game in terms of scoring with just 2 points, but found other ways to contribute by handing out 6 assists while also collecting 3 rebounds and 2 steals. Freshman guard, Gianna Chuffo, who is still recovering from a recent injury, rounded out the Lady Trojans scoring in the contest with 3 points on a three pointer in the fourth quarter, a rebound, and an assist.
East Brunswick, which fed off of great support and inspiration from its bench after falling behind by 30, rallied to pull with 12 midway through the third, and 14 on a couple of occasions in the second half thanks to the efforts of junior forward Tamea El, who finished with 14 points. Senior guard, Sam Lederman also helped lead the fight to try to get back into the game, and ended up with 12 points.
Senior forward, Rebecca Perez, who led the Lady Bears with 15 points, 7 rebounds, and 4 steals in the 58-42 victory over 4th seeded Old Bridge in the GMCT Girls Quarterfinals on Saturday, chipped in with 9 points while Julia Perez added 8. Sophia Winston scored five points including a three in the second half while Nicole Motusesky (3 points), Sam Motusesky (2 points), and Annie Nezaria (2 points) rounded out the scoring for EB.
St. Thomas Aquinas, which outscored East Brunswick in each of the first two periods to establish a 39-15 halftime lead, outscored the Lady Bears in points within the arc (50-34) and from long distance (18-9). EB held an 11-4 edge in points scored from the foul line. In addition, Aquinas collected 41 rebounds, 26 assists, 10 steals, and 8 blocks as a team in the contest.
The Lady Trojans went to work right away by scoring 13 of the first 15 points including a putback by Perez at the 4:16 mark. Following a timeout, Aquinas went back to work by scoring 5 of the next 8 points including a three by Nia Clemons for an 18-5 lead with 2:05 remaining in the first. The top seeded squad then ended the opening frame with the last six points including a Shubick layup for her only points of the game, and a 24-5 lead.
The beginning of the second quarter saw more of the same as St. Thomas Aquinas opened the frame on an 11-2 spurt including a bucket by Cooper for a 35-7 lead at the 5:58 mark. Crosby added a layup after a timeout for the Lady Trojans largest lead of the game at 37-7 with just over five minutes to play in the first half. Then, East Brunswick began to fight back.
Highlighted by a score from Lederman, the Lady Bears rallied to score 8 of the last 10 points of the opening half to trim the deficit to 39-15 at the intermission. Upon returning from the locker room to start the third, East Brunswick picked up from where it left off by scoring the first 12 points of the second half including an and one from El to make it a 20-2 surge, and a 12 point game at 39-27 with 3:29 remaining in the third.
The Lady Bears gave way to another Aquinas spurt, but got back on track to pull within fourteen at 51-37 on a three from Nicole Motusesky. Aquinas retaliated with a three of its own though to go back up by 17 at 54-37 heading into the fourth. Perez then opened the fourth quarter with five points on a three from the right wing, and a drive along the right baseline for a floater that put the Lady Trojans up 60-42 with 6:26 to play in the fourth.
Over the next 2:39, East Brunswick tried to chip away at the lead again with 8 of the next 14 points including a score in transition by El for a 66-50 Aquinas lead, but couldn’t get any closer. St. Thomas Aquinas then finished off the game with 6 of the last 11 points for the 72-55 victory. With the win, the Lady Trojans improved to 20-3 overall including an 18-1 mark in conference play.
The win also advanced Aquinas to its third GMCT Final in four years. The Lady Trojans also played in the Championship Game of the GMC Girls top pod a year ago as well before losing to Monroe. St. Thomas Aquinas will face 7th seeded South Brunswick in the title game at Monroe High School starting at 6:00 PM on Friday night. East Brunswick falls to 16-8 overall and 13-8 in the GMC, and now prepares to play Howell in the 2022 NJSIAA Central Jersey Group 4 playoffs on Monday.