Rausch Makes Key Plays Down Stretch to Lift 7th Seeded Lady Vikings to Semis
EDISON, NJ—At first glance, seventh seeded South Brunswick’s win looked like a significant upset, an if you based things upon tourney seed, you would be correct. However, if you went beyond the numbers, and saw that there’s plenty of parity in the GMC Red in girls hoops, you would say that the Lady Vikings victory was not that much of a surprise.
However, South Brunswick’s come from behind 58-56 victory over 2nd seeded Monroe was not only dramatic, but also historic in that the win placed the Lady Vikings in the GMCT Girls Final Four for the first time since losing to Sayreville (59-52) in the championship back in 2017. Three players scored in double figures while a fourth pulled down double digit rebounds to lead SBHS to this memorable win.
Junior guard, Katie Rausch, connected on a three pointer and then made a conventional three point play that turned a 53-49 South Brunswick deficit into a 55-53 lead with 1:33 remaining while Meher Vig gave the 7th seeded team a four point edge with 45.9 seconds to play. Monroe got a three pointer with 3.9 seconds to play to pull within one at 57-56, but the Lady Vikes hung on for a thrilling 58-56 victory.
Rausch ended up with a game high 16 points including four of her team’s five three pointers in the contest. Rausch also picked up 6 rebounds and 2 assists while senior teammate, Carla Seyfarth chipped in with 14 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists, and a steal. Vig was the third Lady Viking to score in double figures with 10 points while also collecting 3 assists, 2 rebounds, a block, and a steal.
Alexis Lease-Springer added 8 points while pulling down 11 rebounds, handing out 7 assists, and swatting away 2 blocks. Zoe Zamir (4 points, 2 rebounds, and a steal), Leilani Pinder (4 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, and a block), and Cynai Price (2 points, 2 rebounds, and a block). Anjali Mahesh also saw action in the contest for South Brunswick, and had a rebound and a steal.
Monroe was led in defeat by junior guard, Katelyn Louro, who had a team high 15 points to lead four different MTHS players in double figures. Louro also compiled 3 rebounds, 2 assists, and a steal. Sydney Wolven chipped in with 11 points including two threes, 8 rebounds, 3 assists, and 3 steals. Avery Labaska and Haley Higgins also scored in double figures with 10 points each while Labaska picked up a double-double with 10 rebounds.
Higgins, who sank two threes as well for Monroe, also picked up 4 rebounds and 2 assists while Labaska also had an assist and a steal. Hally Cottrell (8 points, 2 steals, and a rebound) and Nicole Turco (2 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, and a steal) rounded out the scoring for the Lady Falcons while Evangelina Francisco also played and handed out two assists and collected a rebound for Monroe.
Defense turned out to be a key in this one. After a fast paced first quarter that saw both teams combine for 41 total points, the two teams slowed up a bit with a combined 41 over the next two periods. Then, in the final frame, the offenses picked things up a bit as both teams combined for 32 points. Trailing 23-18 after one, South Brunswick outscored Monroe by a margin of 25-16 in the middle two periods including a 12-6 showing in the third for a 43-39 lead heading into the fourth.
Both teams had five threes and the same amount of points from the line in the contest, but South Brunswick enjoyed a 30-28 edge in points scored from within the arc. Monroe jumped out to a 10-5 lead early on as Higgins sank a triple to cap a 6-0 run. South Brunswick fought back with 4 of the next 6 points to narrow the deficit to 12-9 with 3:29 to go in the first.
South Brunswick scored 7 of the next 11 points including a drive from the right wing for a layup by Lease-Springer, to tie the game at 16-16. The Lady Falcons would take control again heading into the second with 7 of the last 9 points including a score from Wolven for a 23-18 lead at the end of the first period.
Monroe increased its lead to five at 28-23 after a three pointer by Wolven at the 4:37 mark, and Louro added a couple scores of her own to keep the Lady Falcons in front despite an 8-5 finish to the second by SBHS for a 33-31 MTHS lead heading into the intermission. The Lady Vikes began the third with an 7-6 rally including a score from Zoe Zamir at the 2:56 mark to pull within one of Monroe at 39-38.
Nearly 50 seconds later, South Brunswick went in front for the first time since the early first quarter as Vig drew a foul, and made a pair of free throws at the 2:07 mark of the third for a 40-39 edge. Lease-Springer then connected on a three pointer from the right corner to give SBHS a 43-39 lead heading into the final period.
Trailing 45-41 early in the fourth, Monroe made its move with a 9-2 spurt over a three and a half minute span as Higgins scored five of her points including a drive into the paint from the left wing for a layin, and a 50-47 lead with 2:31 remaining in regulation. In just under a minute’s time, the Lady Vikings rallied back on a three, and then an and one by Rausch to retake the lead at 55-53 with 1:33 remaining in the fourth.
After stopping Monroe on its next offensive possession, South Brunswick increased its lead back to four at 57-53 as Vig drove in from the right side for a layup with 45.9 seconds to play. The Lady Falcons made it a one point game by sinking a three pointer from the right wing for a 57-56 score with 3.9 seconds to play, but Leilani Pinder made one of two from the line to wrap up the 58-56 South Brunswick victory.
With the win, South Brunswick improved to 17-6 overall on the season including a 12-6 mark in conference, and will face 3rd seeded Colonia in the GMCT Girls Semifinals on Tuesday afternoon in Monroe at 5:00 PM. Meanwhile, Monroe falls to 15-5 overall on the season including a 14-2 mark in the GMC, and will now prepare for the 2022 NJSIAA Central Jersey Group 4 state playoffs, where it will face West Windsor-Plainsboro North in the opening round on February 28th.
DID YOU KNOW? Lady Vikings hoops standout, Ashley Lease-Springer, is the niece of former South Brunswick boys hoops standout and 2008 graduate, Sean Lease. The elder Lease was a back-up forward-center on the 2007 SBHS boys basketball team that won the Central Jersey Group 4 Championship over Freehold Township (88-71) and lost to Linden (63-54) in the Group 4 State Championship Game at Rutgers.
Monroe girls hoops standout, Avery Labaska is the younger sister of Monroe boys hoops standout and 2021 graduate, Jake Labaska. The elder Labaska was the point guard on last year’s team that won the Taylor Family Pod with an overtime win over Wardlaw (45-40) in the first round, and a victory over Timothy Christian (63-47) in the Championship Game.