Girls basketball ranking, notes: Greater Middlesex Conf. Top 10 and notebook, for Jan. 8
The holidays are behind us, as is the first week of January, giving us plenty to look back on and even more to look forward to.
HNT/GREATER MIDDLESEX CONFERENCE AND AREA UCC GIRLS BASKETBALL RANKINGS, THROUGH JAN. 8
1. St. Thomas Aquinas (8-3) – preseason No. 1 – The Trojans had a five-game winning streak end when they dropped a 49-35 decision to Shore Conference member Trinity Hall in the Boardwalk Showcase at Brookdale Community College in Lincroft on Sunday. Undefeated at 6-0 in GMC Red Division play, St. Thomas Aquinas defeated Ranney and the host school in the Holmdel High School Holiday Showcase the last week of December. The Edison parochial school posted double-digit, division victories last week vs. Monroe and Piscataway.
2. Colonia (9-2) – preseason No. 3 – The Patriots have won six in a row since consecutive losses to Red Division foe South Brunswick and Morris County contender Madison (8-2). Five of Colonia’s six straight victories, including two in the division, have come by double-digits, with the other triumph during the streak a nine-point win. The Patriots sit second in the GMC Red Division.
More: Girls basketball rankings, notes: Skyland Conference, area UCC Top 10, notebook, for Jan. 8
3. North Plainfield (8-2) – preseason No. 10 – In just its second season in the Greater Middlesex Conference, the Somerset County school is making quite an impact on the girls basketball landscape. The Canucks, who compete in the White Division, have yet to lose to a GMC member (falling to Teaneck and Paterson Eastside in the West Orange Holiday Showcase). North Plainfield has even stepped it up a notch, with very impressive wins over Red Division powers Monroe and South Brunswick.
More: Girls basketball: North Plainfield surges past South Plainfield as program continues climb
4. Monroe (6-3) – preseason No. 4 – The Falcons sprinted to a 3-0 start in the Red Division (wins against South Brunswick, Old Bridge and East Brunswick). Monroe also cruised past Marlboro and defeated Westfield, which won the Group IV state tournament in 2022, 50-46, to win its own Falcon Holiday Tournament. The Falcons own a 4-2 Red Division record, falling to the top two teams in the division, St. Thomas and Colonia, last week.
5. South Brunswick (5-4) – preseason No. 2 – The Vikings won twice in the competitive Ridge Holiday Classic, knocking off Hunterdon Central and the host school in the Somerset County event. South Brunswick, which sits in third place in the Red Division, is the only GMC school to defeat Colonia so far this season. South Brunswick opened 2024 with a victory against rival North Brunswick.
6. East Brunswick (6-4) – preseason No. 8 – The Bears have already posted victories against teams from four counties, including Hunterdon (North Hunterdon), Ocean (Jackson Memorial) and Union (Gov. Livingston). The Bears are .500 in the Red Division, with all of their setbacks coming against teams ranked above them.
7. Old Bridge (5-5) – preseason No. 5 – The Knights went 3-0 in the Lady Chiefs Holiday Showcase at Piscataway High School the final week of December. Old Bridge has a chance to even its Red Division record this week with games against South Brunswick and East Brunswick.
8. J.P. Stevens (7-0) – preseason not ranked – The Hawks start the week tied for first place in the GMC White Division with a 6-0 division record, just a win away from matching last year’s division victory total. Only one of the North Edison school’s seven victories was decided by fewer than 10 points.
9. Woodbridge (5-4) – preseason No. 7 – The Barrons have won two straight and sit in third place in the White Division, behind only North Plainfield and J.P. Stevens, which Woodbridge faces for the first time this season on Tuesday.
10. Spotswood (6-3) – preseason not ranked – The Chargers are undefeated and in first place in the GMC’s Blue Division, with only one of the five wins having a single-digit margin of victory. Spotswood lost three games in the Lady Chiefs Holiday Classic at Piscataway, but was very competitive in two of the three contests against Red Division schools.
TAKING THE LEAD
There’s a new solo leader in C-Town. And a new career scoring leader, too.
Senior Taylor Derkack became the Colonia High School girls’ basketball team’s all-time leading scorer with her first basket of the game on Thursday night against East Brunswick. She finished with 16 points in a 58-28 victory against the Bears.
As a follow-up to the record-breaking performance, Derkack scored more than half of her team’s points in the Colonia’s 56-47, road victory against Greater Middlesex Conference Red Division foe Monroe on Saturday.
Derkack, last season’s HNT Player of the Year, boosted her career total to 1,558 points by the end of the week, surpassing the 1,514 points Mattison Chiera scored for Colonia’s girls’ basketball team before she graduated last season and headed to William Paterson.
“Mattison and Taylor have known each other and been best friends since they were babies,” said Colonia coach Sandi Chiera, Mattison’s mom. “Records aren’t made to be held on to. The fact that it was Taylor who broke the record … Mattison was so happy for her.”
Derkack, who averages 22 points and 11 rebounds per game, will add to her point total when she and the Patriots return to action on Tuesday vs. Red Division foe Piscataway. Second-ranked Colonia and Derkack, who contributes six steals, four assists and three blocked shots per game, face top-ranked St. Thomas on Thursday.
“Taylor has always been a leader, but her leadership is something that has improved and she’s taken to a higher level this season,” Sandi Chiera said. “Taylor is a fierce competitor, always demanding a high level of play from herself. She holds herself accountable, while demanding a lot from her teammates, too.
“I’d say Mattison was more of a vocal leader in the past, but Taylor has stepped into that role this season. She’s being more vocally demanding of herself and her teammates.”
Taylor Derkack’s older brother, Jordan Derkack, is a sophomore at Merrimack College, a member of the Northeast Conference, where he’s averaging 18 points per game for the Massachusetts school. Younger brother Aiden is a Colonia HS sophomore averaging 21 points per game for the Patriots.
The shoulder of Colonia’s road jersey, above the numbers, reads “C-Town.” There should be more positive results on the hardwood for Derkack and the Patriots from the Colonia section of Woodbridge Township this season.
Colonia senior guard Mya Patino is averaging 11 points, four rebounds and three steals per game this season, while junior forward Isabel Gidado contributes nine points, five rebounds and two steals per contest to the Patriots’ attack.
Derkack still has more than half of her senior season still to play, as the Patriots attempt to return to the GMC Tournament final, before continuing her career at the collegiate level, in the Atlantic 10 Conference at the University of Massachusetts (UMass).
"I am excited to coach a scorer like Taylor," UMass head coach Mike Leflar said in a release when Derkack signed her national letter of intent. "She is an aggressive guard who can score at all three levels, and she will have a great opportunity to showcase those skills in our offense. When I saw Taylor play with her high school team, I was as impressed with her competitiveness as I was with her basketball ability."
3 STARS
The first three plus weeks of action featured plenty of big-time performances and player emergence to tip off the new season. Here are some of the top performances so far:
Gianna Chuffo, St. Thomas Aquinas: She sank five 3-point field goals in Saturday’s victory against Piscataway, the third time this season the junior guard has nailed at least five trifectas in a game. Chuffo also netted nine 3-pointers in a season-opening, 27-point performance for the top-ranked Trojans. She averages 15 points per game and has 36 3-pointers for the season,
Taylor Derkack, Colonia: She scored a season-high 29 points on Saturday to become the program’s all-time leading scorer, and is averaging a double-double (22 points and 11 rebounds) for the second-ranked Patriots. Derkack has also contributed six steals, four assists and three blocked shots per game.
Layla Gutierrez, North Plainfield: She poured in a season-high 24 points in North Plainfield’s victory against Red Division foe South Brunswick last week. Gutierrez, a sophomore, is averaging 14 points, four steals, four assists and three rebounds per game for the third-ranked Canucks.
GAMES OF THE WEEK
Woodbridge at J.P. Stevens, 5:30 p.m. Tuesday: A clash between teams ranked in the Top 10, and two of the top three teams in the GMC White Division. The Edison school is undefeated with six of its seven victories coming against Division foes. Woodbridge halted a four-game losing streak with wins against South Plainfield and Middlesex last week to improve to 5-1 in the White Division.
Colonia at St. Thomas Aquinas, 5:30 p.m. Thursday: A marquee matchup between the top two teams in the Top 10. These Red Division foes met in the GMC Tournament final last year, with St. Thomas scoring a 49-42 victory. Combined, Colonia and St. Thomas have won 11 of their last 12 games.
Old Bridge at East Brunswick, 11:30 a.m. Saturday: Expect a hard-fought and a competitive contest as Old Bridge will attempt to avenge the three-point setback it suffered to East Brunswick on opening night.
This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: NJ Girls basketball rankings, notes: GMC Top 10, notebook for Jan. 8
