Germain, Connors, and Breen Lift Lady Bulldogs to GMCT Girls Preliminary Round Win
METUCHEN, NJ – The Metuchen High School girls basketball team has turned in a solid season. Despite the graduations of their leading scorer in Molly Malague and leading rebounder in Carly Pichalski from a team that went 14-12 a year ago, the Lady Bulldogs entered Monday night’s GMCT Preliminary Round game against 18th seeded Perth Amboy with a 16-6 overall record, and a 2nd place finish in the GMC Blue.
Led by senior forward, Aurelie Germain, who is averaging a double-double of 13.3 points and 10.7 rebounds per game, and senior guard, Cassidy Connors, who leads the team in steals with 40, and is averaging 10.0 points and 4.8 rebounds per contest this season, Metuchen girls hoops has improved by two games in the win column, and six in the loss column.
And now, the improvement went up by another game as Metuchen turned a 14-10 early second quarter deficit to a 28-20 early third quarter lead, and the pulled away from a 30-27 late third quarter deficit to lead by as many as 12 in the fourth en route to a 51-41 victory over Perth Amboy. Germain turned in a solid all around performance to lead the way for the winners.
Germain scored a game high 16 points while also collecting 8 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 blocks. Connors added 10 points including two threes along with 5 assists, 4 rebounds, and a steal. Sophomore Charlotte Breen chipped in with 10 points, 4 rebounds, 3 steals, and 2 assists. Leading the way in defeat for the Lady Panthers were Laura Angeles (8 points, 5 rebounds, 2 steals, and a block), Brianna Estevez (8 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 steals), and Izabella Pardo (8 points, 5 steals, 3 rebounds, and 2 assists) with 8 points each.
Metuchen had 8 different players break into the scoring column while Perth Amboy had 7. However, three of Metuchen’s players scored in double figures while Amboy had none. While both teams each netted two threes, Metuchen outscored Perth Amboy by a margin of 38-32 from within the arc, and 7 to 3 at the foul line. The Lady Bulldogs shot 77.8 percent from the charity stripe while the Lady Panthers were only 50 percent.
MHS also enjoyed a 26-23 edge in rebounding, a 16-3 edge in assists, and a 6-1 advantage in blocked shots. Perth Amboy managed to stay in the game thanks to a 15-5 edge in steals that led to a number of open court opportunities. After a first quarter tie (10-10), Metuchen outscored Perth Amboy in each of the final three periods.
Perth Amboy actually took a 4-2 lead with back to back scores after Germain opened the contest with two from the line to give Metuchen the first lead. The Lady Bulldogs then scored 6 straight points including a bucket by Germain and a steal and a score by Connors to go up 8-4. The Lady Panthers responded by scoring 6 of the last 8 points of the opening frame including a score in the paint by Angeles to tie the game at 10-10.
Amboy then took a four point lead as it opened the second with the first four points including a score by Kyara Marquez for a 14-10 lead. Metuchen then closed out the first have with an 11-4 spurt that included a Breen layup off a nice pass off the 3-on-1 break by Sam Pfeiffer at the 2:37 mark, and a bucket by sophomore Josie Gray off a nice feed from the baseline by Germain with 14 seconds left in the second for a 21-18 Lady Bulldogs lead heading into the intermission.
At the half, Germain and Angeles were tied for game high with 6 while Connors chipped in with 5, and Marquez had 4 for their respective teams. The pace of the game picked up significantly in the second half as both teams became more active on the defensive side with pressure, and open floor chances developed. Metuchen began the third quarter with 7 of the first 9 points for a 28-20 lead.
After Amboy got a three from Aliani Colon (6 points on two treys), the Lady Bulldogs went back up by seven with a score from Germain on the left low block for a 30-23 advantage with 4:23 remaining in the third. Perth Amboy then scored four more points to pull within a single possession at 30-27, but Breen came up with a huge steal for a layup and a 32-27 edge with 58.5 seconds to play in the third.
Metuchen added another score to lead 34-27 heading into the fourth. The Lady Bulldogs then scored 14 of the first 23 points of the final frame including a Katie Gray bucket with 3:08 remaining for its largest lead of the game at 48-36. Colon then knocked down a high arching three from the left corner to get Amboy back within single digits, but unfortunately, the Lady Panthers were unable to get any closer.
With the victory, Metuchen improved to 17-6 overall and 12-5 in conference play, and advance to the GMCT Girls Round of 16, where it will travel to Monmouth Junction on Wednesday to take on 2nd seeded South Brunswick at 5:30 PM. Perth Amboy falls to 7-14 overall and 6-12 in the GMC with the loss.