Girls basketball: County tournament roundup

EDITOR’S NOTE: Beginning Friday, Feb. 10, this story will be continuously updated through the duration of our four local girls basketball county tournaments, culminating with finals in four tournaments on Friday and Saturday, Feb. 17-18

GREATER MIDDLESEX CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT QUARTERFINALS

Saturday, Feb. 11 at Middlesex County College

Colonia 38, Old Bridge 27: Taylor Derkack went for 15 points and 16 rebounds, and Mattison Ciera added 14 points and third-seeded Colonia advanced to the GMCT semifinals. The Patriots will face second-seeded South Brunswick on Tuesday at Monroe HS. Malvina Sullivan tallied eight points and nine rebounds and Gabrielle Walker scored eight points for No. 6 seed Old Bridge.

Monroe 58, Edison 39: Nicole Turco notched 14 points and Haley Higgins added 12 points and fourth-seeded Edison moved into the semifinals. Evangelina Francisco helped out with 10 points for the Falcons, who will take on top-seeded St. Thomas on Tuesday. Keisha Ortiz scored 16 points and Olivia Smart added eight points to pace the fifth-seeded Eagles.

South Brunswick 73, East Brunswick 70 (OT): No. 2 seed South Brunswick advanced to a Tuesday meeting with No. 3 Colonia.

St. Thomas Aquinas 86, Middlesex 60: The top-seeded defending champion Trojans face No. 4 Monroe in Tuesday’s semifinals.

SOMERSET COUNTY TOURNAMENT SECOND ROUND

Saturday, Feb. 11

Ridge 59, Bound Brook 38: Emma Landes poured in 23 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, and Nancy Puthenpurayil pitched in 14 points and eighth-seeded Ridge rode a 22-8 first-quarter advantage and a 40-15 halftime lead to advance to the quarterfinals. Lilly Donohoe helped out with 11 points for the Red Devils, who will visit top-seeded two-time defending champion Rutgers Prep on Tuesday. Casey Miller paced ninth-seeded Bound Brook with 19 points, while Sara Thiessen added eight points.

Pingry 54, Somerville 34: Debra Hill netted 16 points and Taylor Francis scored 15 points and seventh-seeded Pingry advanced. Ngozi Nnaeto aided the cause with 10 points for the Big Blue, who will travel to No. 2 Gill St. Bernard’s for Tuesday’s quarterfinals. Kaylee Lauber scored 10 points to pace No. 10 Somerville.

Franklin 43, Immaculata 21: Iyanna Cotton totaled 16 points, 10 rebounds and six steals, and Precious Wheeler contributed nine points and five rebounds and Franklin advanced. The fifth-seeded Warriors will visit No. 4 Hillsborough on Tuesday in the quarterfinals. Giovanna Dragin tallied 12 points and 10 rebounds for the 12th-seeded Spartans.

Mount St. Mary 50, Bernards 43: Mia Gestosani netted 14 points and Rachel Castela added 12 points and eight rebounds and sixth-seeded Mount St. Mary advanced. Phoebe Costalos pitched nine points and five rebounds for the Mount Lions, who will visit third-seeded Watchung Hills on Tuesday. Sydney Incarnato scored 18 points to lead 11th-seeded Bernards, which fought back from a 12-point first-quarter deficit to close it to within a point in the fourth quarter, but MSM pulled away.

HUNTERDON/WARREN/SUSSEX TOURNAMENT SEMIFINALS

Saturday, Feb. 11 at Warren Hills HS

Sparta 54, Voorhees 38: Madie Petak scored 13 points, while Christina Sullivan added 10 points and seven rebounds, but sixth-seeded Voorhees fell to the second-seeded defending champ. Maansi Patel pitched in 10 points for the Vikings.

Pope John XXIII 68, Phillipsburg 30: Keya Gulati paced fourth-seeded Phillipsburg with eight points, but the Stateliners fell to the No. 1 seed.

UNION COUNTY TOURNAMENT QUARTERFINALS

Friday, Feb. 10

Westfield 62, Governor Livingston 30: Catie Carayannopoulos dropped in 20 points and pulled down 13 rebounds, and Annie Ryan added 18 points and second-seeded Westfield handled No. 7 Governor Livingston in the quarterfinals of the Union County Tournament, Friday at Rahway High School. Paige Gorczyca helped out with nine points, seven boards, five assists and four steals for the Blue Devils, who will meet No. 6 seed Elizabeth in Wednesday’s semifinals. Ava Feinberg tallied 10 points and Caroline Freer added eight points for the Highlanders.

New Providence 65, Dayton 20: Annie Conover delivered 15 points and Meghan Lamanna scored 12 points and top-seeded defending champion New Providence rolled into the semifinals. Jasmine Miller pitched in 11 points, six rebounds and five assists for the Pioneers, who will battle No. 5 Roselle Catholic on Wednesday. Amiel Dillard scored eight points and Angela Gatto added seven points for No. 8 seed Dayton at A.L. Johnson High School.

Roselle Catholic 57, Scotch Plains-Fanwood 45: Jasmin McKay posted 24 points and five steals, and Sidney Smith added 15 points and fifth-seeded Roselle Catholic knocked off No. 4 Scotch Plains-Fanwood at A.L. Johnson HS, avenging two regular-season losses. Amanda Baylock paced the Raiders with 18 points, while Alicia Murphy totaled 12 points. The Lions will take on top-seeded defending champion New Providence in Wednesday’s semifinals.

Elizabeth 59, Cranford 57 (OT): Dynasty Chandler notched a triple-double with 22 points, 23 rebounds and 10 steals – adding four assists -- and sixth-seeded Elizabeth rode a fourth-quarter rally to force the extra session at Rahway HS, where the Minutemen shocked third-seeded Cranford. Jah’nae Lembrick tallied 11 points for Elizabeth, who face second-seeded Westfield on Wednesday. Bella Curanovic scored 14 points, Kristina Lowe netted 13, and Sophia DeMarco dropped in 12 points for the Cougars.

Staff writer Simeon Pincus has been covering NJ sports since 1997. He can be reached at CNGirlsHoops@aol.com. Follow him on Twitter @SimeonPincus.

This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: NJ Girls basketball: County tournament roundup