I saw No. 7 Montgomery vs. No. 10 Gill St. Bernards in what wound up being the least competitive of the four games Saturday. I was very impressed by Montgomery's sophomore trio of Lexee Liaskos, Macria Voigt and Laura Coletti. Montgomery ripped off a season-high 77 points, advanced to the quarterfinals and qualified for the state tournament at 9-9 all in one day.
The Cougars probably don't have it in them to beat Watchung Hills next Saturday, but this is going to be a very, very good team in the near future. Of course, the same can be said about Gill St. Bernard's and its two top freshmen -- Niya Ruth and Daisha Simmons -- but don't be surprised to see Montgomery in next year's preseason Top 10.
The real game to talk about, however, is No. 12 Bridgewater-Raritan's 36-33 upset of No. 5 Somerville. This is a great win for a program that desperately needed one. Bridgewater-Raritan started the season 0-10 and there were not-so-silent grumblings about the program's status.
But coach Jeff Coates has a winning history, and his girls really are starting to come together. Three weeks ago, there was no way BR wins this game. But a core group of previously inexperienced players now has more than half a season's worth of experience, and it's paying dividends.
The fallout is not good for Somerville. The Pioneers may be the easiest team to figure out in an unpredictable county. They have 15 wins against teams they were favored to beat, and three losses against their three best opponents. Of course, they entered this game with nothing to gain, and everything to lose. Tough spot, but maybe this team really is the product of an easy schedule. Just hard to figure out considering nearly the identical team was within one possession of going to the SCT final last season.
As for the other two games, Rutgers Prep won rather convincingly, and Bernards beat North Plainfield 39-37 on a buzzer beater by someone not named Catherine Carr.
Carr, who regularly scores more than 2/3 of her team's points, got some help from sophomore guard Dana Perotti who converted a fast break layup at the buzzer after making a steal.
The win avenged a 39-36 loss to North Plainfield on Jan. 9. The teams meet again in the regular season Tuesday when Carr shoots for her 2,000th career point. She needs 28 to reach the rare milestone.
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33 comments:
Delaware Division, Rutgers Prep, and Carr show dominance
Montgomery and BR get beat up a lot by division foes but are still quality teams, and in BR's case that ridiculous non-conference schedule (readjust in future so kids actually get states! - some games can be played after the cut-off, coach or AD are you reading??) makes visiting Somerville seem like nothing. Remember this at the seeding meeting - rare (Bernards over Immaculata, Pingry over Watchung a couple of years ago) when the little schools can pull off the upset.
Gill plays nobody so has a great record and Simmons is a fast freshman who'll have a super career, but stop the hype until there is competition and more than just chaos and a huge gym as a game plan. Laub and Somerville feast on weak comp, and have not shown up against good teams. Good for the records!
Prep has size, and Klinger and the crew will be tough in quarters, but are not in Watchung's league this year - Kopecki has too much help to lose this tournament. Griff can pass over Hills' press, but if she tries to dribble, watch the layup parade begin for the Warriors!
Carr is amazing. While she didn't get the steal and layup to win it, when team trailed in 4th, she scored 6 straight and had every rebound on a North miss. I never saw her until last night, and now I know why she's been called the county's best player for 3 years - wow!
Predictions for Saturday:
Hillsboro over Bernards by 18
Immaculata over BR by 16
Rutgers Prep over Franklin by 6
Watchung over Montgomery by 14
It's hard to beat a team like BR when the 'Ville girls can't move the ball around because they are getting smacked in the face and the refs don't call any of it...The reffing and continued hacking by Bridgewater cost Somerville the game. Too bad that doesn't show up in the papers.
BR will get killed by Immaculata. That is, if the refs take control of the game and don't let it turn into a game of street ball. That's basically what the game was like last night. Shame on the refs.
took carr 40 shots to make 18 points-and a foot taller than anyone-cannot play with big schools
Somerville lost to Belvidere twice last year, lost to Franklin and Immaculata in the regular season, and lost to BR in OT as well. They currently have a better record than they did this time last year.
The game last night could have gone either way. Missed foul shots and layups that went in and out by Laub, Black, and Bradley would have turned the balance and Somerville would have won. If competent refs are called in for the rematch in two weeks, I have no doubt Somerville, who will have absolutely nothing to lose or gain by the win, will rebound and handle BR.
A word on Rutgers Prep after scouting their game against Ridge, No they will not beat Franklin. Guard play for Rutgers is adequate but can be exploited with a good press. They do play tough defense as a couple of their kids are ridiculously quick with good length and can frustate opposing guards. You will not score a lot on them but neither will they for that matter. I am picking Franlin to win by 4, low scoring game,36-32.
All I have to say is that there are some good games coming up. Bernards vs. Hillsboro this Sat - even though Hillsborough will win by 20 easily, it's going to be great to see Carr go up against Kutch. Saw Carr play last night, she took maybe 35 shots. No wonder she scores 30 plus a game, she's a ball hog
I think the county finals will be Hillsboro vs. Watchung
Maybe Immaculata can pull an upset win off
If Carr is the best player in the county then why did she only shoot 14%(5 for 35) against North the other night? She may do well against the smaller schools with less talent,but if she spent one year in the Delaware Divison she would not be putting the numbers like Kopecki, Kutch, and Malone put up.
Let's see - a bad shooting night is allowed when for her career she is way above 50%...four games (all on the road in 5 days) plus a recruiting trip could tire a player's legs, and it's probably hard to carry a team for four years and then have the Canucks hacking at you all game long! No one said she'd score 2000 against different teams, but she's still the best in the county and when the game was on the line, she scored, got the rebounds and passed to her open teammates
We'll see who's best in the county in these county tournaments games coming up. I feel that Carr will get shut down playing big schools
Carr carried the team, what an insult to the other team members. As far as being the best in SC, "No", there are more talented girls then she is. Do you ever hear her name in the AAU circut?
Carr if controlled right can be shut down very easily, doesn't necessarily need to be a big school.
Carr carried the team, what an insult to the other team members. As far as being the best in SC, "No", there are more talented girls then she is. Do you ever hear her name in the AAU circut?
Carr if controlled right can be shut down very easily, doesn't necessarily need to be a big school.
Carr is the only one on her team. When she plays no one else gets involved in the game...Ball hog?
I'm happy someone else on Bernards(the girl who scored the winning layup against N.Plainfield) actually got recognition besides Carr for once. No one else on her team ever gets a chance to be high scorer because Carr takes about 40 shots a game
Agreed, there is another girl on the Bernards team, Lindsey Darvin she is a junior and has been able to make a line or two in the papers. It is a shame the papers brag about Carr and her stats against smaller teams - "32" points, 22 rebounds, 10 assists,etc. really looks bad on both the part of the coach and paper or whom ever is calling it in.
That's why it'll be good to see this Saturday against Hillsboro what kind of numbers Carr can put up. This is almost like a test. With Jones guarding her from Hillsboro and Kutch leading the offense, it will be real interesting to see...
Trust me, Carr's legit. Nobody's saying she's UConn or Tennessee matieral but the girl can play with anyone in Somerset County, and don't use Monday's game against Hillsborough as a referendum on her talent. Any coach in Somerset County would love to have Carr on their team.
Geoff's right, Carr can't be judged by just the Hillsborough game. The only way anyone scores on her team is when she sets them up, or when Darvin makes her 10% shooting and takes enough shots in a game. Carr is the best player around, but without good teammates she may well be "shut down" because no one else needs to watched! Hillsborough will win because they are the superior team, and have many good players, with Kutch and Jones being more than just good. Who, besides Carr, could even make the Hillsboro team?
Ryan,
you might be impressed with the Montgomery trio of Liaskos, Voigt, Coletti, but it seems the Montgomery coach is not. I was at the Boro-Montgomery game last night, and thought we would see a lot of them. They torched us for 45 at their place, and as you said, they ran all over Gill on Saturday. Instead, they ran the same play all night through Voigt. She got her points (seems like she always does, she's that good), but they never got Liaskos involved, and I barely remember seeing Coletti on the court. Too bad, from what I have seen of them, they are a tough bunch. While the game at Montgomery was a tough win, this one was a piece of cake. Coach Reese, you should send a big thank you to the new guy down the road...go Boro!
carr could start for boro but would be about a 10 point scorer because her lack of speed would keep her under the basket and rely on the passing of team mates
CARR 1 POINT AT HALF
carr only scored against the hboro bench which is about the normal level she is used to-air ball air ball air ball
Also not impressed with Carr against Hillsborough. I expected a lot more. She clearly couldn't handled Ebony Jones' defense. She certainly wouldn't have reached 2000 points in the Delaware division. Kutch, Kopecki or Melone are more deserving of county player of the year.
Either Carr or Melone for player of the year for the county. Kopecki and Kutch have been sort of disapointing. I had high hopes for Kopecki to lead Watchung to the championship, but that isn't going to happen now; she never took control and so she's out for player of the year. Kutch and Hillsborough have been playing very inconsistently lately so I'm not sure about her. Lindsey Melone, although sometimes I think she is cocky, is a terrific player while Carr is the heart and soul of Bernards and reaching 2,000 points, regardless of the competition, is a remarkable accomplishment. Her or Melone would be good choices. I don't want to rule out Kutch yet, but let's just see how she does against Melone and Immaculata Saturday.
Also, Caity Laub of Somerville, who probably won't win player of the year because she is overshadowed by the other four, absolutely deserves the fifth spot in the all-county first team.
I am confused, I can see why you would rule out Kopecki, I saw her game vs. Montgomery and she never took charge, but why rule out Kutch. I had been told she has put up good numbers and is a real leader for Boro
POY discussions should really stop with Carr the clear winner. What some people forget is that she can't score 20 points against Delaware teams when she has no one else on her team - she forced some shots against Hillsborough, but her teammates looked awful - they can't catch the ball, have no dribbling ability, can't shoot from anywhere, and aren't big. If she didn't jack it up, then someone would have fumbled the ball or thrown it to the team in white anyway. I was really disappointed to see how Carr is a one-woman team; if you put her on any of the the decent teams (heck, even give her a warm body to line up with) she can get you 18-20 a night with a bunch of assists. She can't beat Boro on her own, but every team knows that she is by herself out there - Coach Reese even said in one of the papers that they threw the ball where Carr wasn't because no one else could play.
Ebony Jones is a terrific defender and did an excellent job Saturday, but she has a few 6 footers behind her to help; Kutch is a nice player, but there were three players on her team who hit for 15 the other afternoon - her team's balance prevents her from being the star; Melone, hand-down a 1st teamer, has Bay hitting threes to open up the court; Kopecki has a bunch of help.
County Player of the Year: Carr
1st team: Carr, Melone, Kopecki, Kutch, Laub
2nd team: Jones, Clark (NP), Bay, Zigarelli, Occhipinti (Pingry)
Area Player of the Year: I'm taking Carr over Asia Jenkins, in a close call - Take Jenkins off Piscataway and you've still got a team that goes deep into GMC and state tournaments (lots of talent on that squad), but take Carr off Bernards, and you have a team that goes from 17-6 to winless.
1st team: still too many games to play - Carr and Jenkins are locks, and Melone is probably as well...how well Watchung, Piscataway, Hillsborough, and Voorhees do, and how marquee players fare, will impact the remaining spots - have fun Ryan!
I would not rule out anyone at this point...there's still some basketball to be played. Melone has a great handle, Kopecki averaged over 20 points per game against Boro this year, and Kutch is steady. Carr may still have some good games in states against competitive teams.
Let's look at some of the other stats other than points after the season.....steals,assists, and rebound should carry some weight along with the success of the team.
County player of the year will either be Melone or Kutch.
First team - Melone, Kutch, Carr, Kopecki definitely. 5th spot will be up for grabs. Even though she's in the running, I don't think Katie Laub deserves the 5th spot
i agree with John on player of the year for Somerset either being Melone or Kutch. These are two completely different players though. Tough call
do you think this year it could be co-players of the year?
lets put this in the proper perspective-isn't playing the games all about winning when you play???
who has won (and for that matter lost) what? who has won the county championships
both carr and kopecki are zero for their careers
I agree we need to wait and see until the season ends. All 4 girls are AMAZING players and it's hard to pick one that stands out more then the next (although I'm leaning towards Carr & Kutch right now). I'm not really seeing why many of you have Lindsey Melone at the top. She's by far the best ball handler, but the other 3 are much better 'All-Around' players. Just wondering what you all see in her that puts her ahead of the other 3....
Well, if we are looking for the best all-around, that would narrow it down to Kutch or Carr.
But Carr and Bernards haven't accomplished anything as a team. Hillsborough and Kutch at least have a county title under their belt
Agreed that Kopecki or Carr or Melone (so far) has never won county title, but once Hillsboro gets ourside Skyland/Somerset, what has it ever done?
Carr's never had a chance (1 on 5 most of career), but has gotten little Bernards into quarters which is about the best that team could ever do, and single-handedly carried it to section final last year.
Kopecki has put up consistently solid numbers, has had teammates the past few years, but has disappeared at times in big games. She is a terrific all-aournd player, but not POY.
Kutch is on the most successful teams, but has never been the headliner. Even this year, while she is the best player on the team, the team is loaded with options.
Also agree that Laub isn't a lock. She plays the little schools, has had some individual stinkers against mid- and low-level Delaware teams, despite having some help on her pressing team, and still scores most of her points at the line.
Melone is good ball handler, but has always had some teammates who knock down shots. Plus, she rarely puts up big numbers (or is primarily responsibility for wins) when facing the big schools.
Stats other than scoring must be considered, but team of the year may be the result of multiple talented players and a nice system; player of the year will recognize the best individual player. It will be hard to overlook Carr's ridiculous numbers, plus her team has a nice record playing against schools its own size.
Please, Caity Laub is a lock. The way she has been playing lately you can't not give her first team. In the SCT, Kutch, Kopecki, Carr, and Laub were all disappointing; only Melone has led her team to the final.
It will be interesting to see how these players lead their teams in the states. Kutch and Kopecki have not stood out enough. Laub has had some fantastic games, including the game winning, half-court basket against Bernards, who people constantly bashing.
In conclusion, if one of these five takes over and leads their team far into states, they should seriously be considered for POTY. Right now, I'd give it to Melone. However, I can see Caity Laub and possibly Kelsey Kutch doing very well in the states.
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