Finishes on 25-4 Surge to Defeat Team White in GMCBCA Senior Girls All-Star Game
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WOODBRIDGE, NJ—In a contest with several swings in momentum, Team Black finished with a flourish to defeat Team White in the 2022 GMCBCA Senior Girls All-Star Game. Leading by 57-55 in the fourth quarter, Team Black put together a 25-4 surge to come away with an 82-59 victory at Woodbridge High School on Tuesday night.
Three players on Team Black shared the game high along with one player on Team White. Old Bridge’s Payton Alcorn, Monroe’s Sydney Wolven, and Toni Polvere of St. Thomas Aquinas led Team Black with 12 points. Woodbridge Academy standout and 1,000 point scorer, Henna Thakkar chipped in with 11 points for the winners. Meanwhile, Brianna Harris also got a share of the game high with 12 points for Team White.
Team Black outscored Team White by a margin of 45-18 from beyond the arc while dishing 21 assists as a team. In addition to sharing the game high, Wolven also handed out 5 assists and grabbed 3 rebounds. Piscataway’s Julia Stewart was another key contributor with 8 points and 6 assists. Stewart wrapped up the victory with a three from well beyond the top of the arc in the closing seconds.
Team White opened the game by scoring 12 of the first 17 points. Middlesex’s Madison Robel (6 points and 8 assists) inspired a balanced scoring attack with her unselfish play. Harris opened the scoring for Team White with a three from the left wing off a kickoff from Robel. The duo then combined for another score as Harris scored on a layup from the left lane off a feed from Robel.
Team Black replied with five straight points including a follow by Thakkar and a three from Polvere. After Team Black tied the game at 5-5, Team White scored 7 unanswered points. Colonia’s Kennedy Goncalves sparked the spurt with a putback for a 7-5 lead. Spotswood’s Ally Clarke then fed Robel for a layup from the right side. Returning the favor, Robel subsequently kicked out to Clarke for a three from just to the right of the top of the key for a 12-5 lead.
Team Black rallied back with an 8-0 run. Stewart and J.P. Stevens’ Karly Wittenbauer highlighted the run with back to back threes for a 13-12 lead at the 1:19 mark of the first. The game continued to go back and forth into the second. After Team Black scored four of the first six points, JFK’s Sofia Hindy sank a three to tie the game at 20-20 at the 7:25 mark.
Wittenbauer put Team Black back on top at 22-20 with a score from the left low block at the 6:53 mark. Team White quickly replied with a score from Robel off a feed from Clarke to tie the game again at 22-22. After Goncalves tied the game at 24-24 on another putback, Team Black seized control again with a dominant tear to end the half.
Team Black scored 15 of the last 16 points including 7 points from Wolven and 5 from South Brunswick’s Carla Seyfarth. Both sank threes to cap the run for a 39-25 Team Black lead heading into the intermission. Team Black scored the last 12 points of the 2nd unanswered. In the same way it had ended the second, Team Black began the third on a 14-7 spurt to take a 53-32 advantage.
Wolven and Seyfarth picked up in the third where they had left off in the second. Wolven scored on a putback while Seyfarth got a layup from the left side. Alcorn then sank a three from just to the left of the top of the key to cap the start. Up to this point, Team Black outscored Team White by a margin of 29-8 over a span of about 10 minutes.
The game then turned as quickly and dramatically in favor of Team White. Led by Sayreville’s Brooke Holland, Team White rallied with a 23-4 surge. Holland scored 7 of her 9 points including a three point play as Team White ended the third on a 17-2 tear to pull within six at 55-49.
Finishing the rally, Team White scored 6 of the first 8 points of the fourth quarter. North Brunswick’s Megan Farrell capped the run with a free throw at the 7:39 mark to close the gap to 57-55. Unfortunately, Team White was unable to get any closer. Team Black closed out the game by scoring 25 of the last 29 points. Highlighting the run was two threes from Alcorn, two buckets by Thakkar, and three points from Wittenbauer.
Despite the disparity in the final score, the contest was well played by both teams and competitive. Both teams did a superb job of sharing the basketball. The two teams combined for 36 assists. In the end though, Team Black did a better job.