Lady Vikings Defeat 3rd Seeded Colonia to Reach GMCT Final for 1st Time Since 2017
MONROE, NJ—South Brunswick’s magical ride through the 2022 Greater Middlesex Conference Girls Basketball Tournament will continue for another day. Trailing 23-14 late in the first half versus 3rd seeded Colonia, the Lady Vikings rallied with a 43-26 surge over the final 18:23 of the game to come away with a hard fought, 57-49 win to advance to the GMCT Girls Championship Game for the first time since 2017.
Freshman Alexis Lease-Springer led four South Brunswick players in double figures with a team high 18 points including seven from the foul line while also picking up 4 rebounds, 2 assists, and a steal. Junior Katie Rausch chipped in with 13 points, 8 boards 2 assists, and 2 blocks. Sophomore Meher Vig chipped in with 12 points along with 2 assists, 2 steals, and a rebound while senior Carla Seyfarth added 10 points, 6 rebounds, 4 steals, an assist, and a block.
Colonia, which defeated Middlesex in the GMCT Girls Quarterfinals on Saturday at Middlesex County College, got 35 of their 49 points from the tandem of sophomore Taylor Derkack (21 points) and junior Mattison Chiera (14 points). Mya Patino (4 points), Kennedy Goncalves (4 points), Francesca Rosario (3 points), and Isabel Gidado (3 points) rounded out the scoring for the Lady Patriots.
Although sophomore Leilani Pinder and junior Anjali Mahesh only scored two points for SBHS, they found other ways to make contributions as Pinder pulled down 10 rebounds, handed out 6 assists, and swiped a steal while Mahesh collected 3 boards. Zoe Zamir (a rebound, block, and a steal) and Anisha Tahbildar also saw action in the contest for the Lady Vikes.
As a team, South Brunswick tallied 18 total field goals including the only three pointer of the game courtesy of Lease-Springer, and netted 20 from the foul line as it held on to its lead and increased it by making clutch free throws late. Lease-Springer and Rausch, who combined to score 31 of their team’s points nearly had half of those put together from the charity stripe.
The Lady Vikings also racked up 33 total rebounds, 13 assists, 9 steals, and 4 blocked shots. Both teams had six different players score in the contest by SBHS had four in double figures while Colonia only had two. After being outscored 13-8 in the opening quarter, South Brunswick outscored Colonia in each of the final three periods including a combined 38-26 over the last two for the win.
South Brunswick dug itself an early hole as Colonia scored 8 of the first 10 points of the game by the 3:51 mark including a couple scores from Derkack. The Lady Vikings did trim the deficit a bit, but still trailed 13-8 after one as Derkack led Colonia with 7 points including a three. SBHS rallied back with 6 of the first 7 points of the second to tie the game at 14-14, but Derkack responded with back to back threes from the right side including one with a fortuitous bounce for a 23-14 advantage.
Rallying to end the half, the Lady Vikings scored the last five points to trail by only four at 23-19 going into the intermission. Then, South Brunswick made it a 14-4 spurt by scoring 9 of the first 13 points of the second half including two free throws by Rausch to take its first lead of the contest at 28-27 with 3:13 left in the third.
SBHS then closed the third on a 7-5 run including a putback by Pinder to cap a 16-9 effort in the frame for a 35-32 edge heading into the fourth. Colonia had already begun to rally back as Chiera fired in a long three point bomb from the left side to pull the Lady Patriots within three, and then Francesca Rosario opened the fourth with another bucket that got a kind bounce as she was fouled for a traditional three point play to knot the game at 32-32.
Then, with 7:09 to play, Derkack struck again with a triple from the right wing to cap a 9-0 Colonia spurt that gave the Lady Patriots a 38-35 lead. South Brunswick, which advanced to the semis with a thrilling win over 2nd seeded Monroe, wouldn’t fold though. Instead, the Lady Vikings fought back with five straight points including Lease-Springer’s three from the right wing, and then a score in the paint from Seyfarth for a 40-38 advantage
After Colonia got a free throw from Gidado to pull within one at 40-39 with 5:18 left, South Brunswick got a layup from the right side by Lease-Springer to go up by three again before the Lady Patriots got scores from Chiera and Patino to retake the lead at 43-42 with under three minutes to play. Rausch then put SBHS up to stay with a score down low while Vig added a free throw and Seyfarth added two foul shots for a 47-42 lead with under two minutes to play.
Rausch was then fouled again with exactly a minute to play, and made both ends of the bonus for a 49-42 South Brunswick lead. Although Derkack would score, and hand out an assist on another score while Chiera netted another high arching three, it would not be enough as South Brunswick finished off the win with eight more from the charity stripe to wrap up the 57-49 victory.
With the victory, South Brunswick improves its record to 18-6 overall on the season including a 13-6 mark in conference play. Meanwhile, Colonia dropped to 22-3 overall including a 15-1 mark in the GMC. The Lady Vikings advanced to its first GMCT Girls Championship Game in five years and will take on top seeded St. Thomas Aquinas, a 72-55 winner over 5th seeded East Brunswick, on Friday evening at 6:00 PM at Monroe Township High School.