By: Carolyn M. Hartko
Third time jinx aside, there was nothing supernatural about South Brunswick’s 65-58 loss to Piscataway in this year’s quarterfinal round of the Greater Middlesex Conference Girls Basketball Tournament. A talented but formerly unorganized team finally got its act together, and the Lady Vikings happened to be the team in the crosshairs.
It was the third time this winter that these two foes have locked horns, with South on the winning side during the regular season. But sixth-seeded Piscataway pulled off a tournament upset, bouncing third-seeded South Brunswick. The prevailing wisdom is that it’s hard, especially in upper divisions like the GMC’s Red, to beat a team three times in a single season.
"People talk about that, but last year we beat East Brunswick three times, including one time in the tournament," Lady Viking head coach Jaymee Boehmer said. "So, yeah, it’s hard, but I also believe that Piscataway’s a good team. We beat them twice, and I felt they really stepped up and played well (on Saturday). It’s a very tough loss for us. But I’m glad that we played well. We really gave everything we had and we came up short. Which is really hard to swallow."
Another cliché to bite the dust after this game is the one that says a team needs several people in double digits in order to win. This time around, South Brunswick had four girls score a double, and Piscataway only had two. But when one of them nets a game-high 23 points, the old standard is out the window.
"Asia Jenkins really stepped up," Boehmer said. "She put in a lot of fade-away threes. And that’s why I always felt Piscataway was such a dangerous team, because they have the players. They really played hard. So did my kids."
The game started out pretty even, and an eight-point run helped South to a slight 17-12 lead at the end of the first quarter. A seven-point run in the middle of the second period shifted the advantage to the Lady Chiefs, and by half time, they were up 27-26.
However, the real damage came when Piscataway pummeled South Brunswick with a 14-2 run at the beginning of the third quarter. At the worst point in the game, the Vikings were down 13 (41-28), but they managed to cut the deficit to 43-35 by the end of that period. The final stanza was even as far as the scoreboard went, but South could not get back in the driver’s seat. With 4:10 left in the game, point guard Janay Barnett fed Janelle Payne for a post-up, getting the Vikings within three (48-45), and it never got any better than that.
Payne finished with a double-double, 12 points and 10 rebounds. Jess Mastronardi led the Viking offense with 16. Alicia Langone posted 12, and Barnett contributed 11. Caitlin Wesnesky, with 16 points, was the other high scorer for the Chiefs.
The Chiefs went on to upset 2nd seeded Perth Amboy, the White Division Champion, 63-59 in Monday’s semifinal and will play J.P. Stevens Friday.
FREE THROWS: The Vikings were expecting to host a talented Nottingham squad for a make-up game Wednesday night, and were looking to pick up an away game this coming Saturday to help prepare for the states. South Brunswick is seeded third in Central Jersey Group IV, and has a first round ‘bye. They will host Rancocas Valley in round two in the first half of a double header, starting at 6 p.m.. The Viking boys’ state game will follow at 8:00.
