So I went 3-for-4 on my Somerset County Tournament predictions as Immaculata, North Plainfield, Bridgewater-Raritan and Gill St. Bernard's advanced. The only one I got wrong was picking Hillsborough to beat Gill St. Bernard's, which is ironic because early in the season I was on the Gill bandwagon, saying "Gill and Rutgers Prep could meet in the SCT final" to several of my colleagues.
Also, let us make sure not to lose track of big wins by South Hunterdon and Plainfield on Saturday that qualified both schools for the state tournament at exactly .500. Timothy Christian had an opportunity to do the same this weekend but finished one game under .500 thanks to a loss to Ross Corners (N.Y.) on Friday night. The Tigers responded with a too-little too-late win Saturday afternoon.
***A major theme during and after the game was the play of Immaculata sophomore point guard Shauna Mulkerin, who reminded reporters, fans and both coaches of former Somerville native and Immaculata star Lindsay Melone.
Melone owned the Somerville-Immaculata rivalry for the past four years, not just with points, assists and steals, but with savvy, unheralded little plays.
Mulkerin -- who even looks a little like Melone -- did those same things Saturday during an 18-point effort, and the comparisons couldn't be helped.
I chatted with Melone, who was in the stands as a fan, after the game but did not ask her about Mulkerin.
Hilgenberg did mention after the game that she thinks Mulkerin greatly benefited from battling one-on-one in practice against Melone, who told me she has left Richmond University where she started the year as a walk-on and is attending Delaware.
Here are some leftover quotes from the Immaculata-Somerville game that I attended Saturday night but wrote only a few paragraphs about because of the late starting time.
JEN HILGENBERG, IMMACULATA COACH:
"It was just a huge game for them (our players) because we've been struggling all year. And it's Somerville-Immaculata. They are just more pumpe dcup when it comes to play Somerville."
On her team:
"When they play intense, they are a very good team."
IMMACULATA SENIOR GUARD BRITTANY MUSCATELL
"I've never lost to Somerville and I never want. I told them (my teammates) that. This is a game you don't want to lose. It's all about pride."
On scoring eight of her 10 points in the fourth quarter, all from the free-throw line:
"I couldn't score earlier in the game, but free throws are an important part of the game."
SOMERVILLE COACH CORBY SWAN
On Mulkerin:
"I've never seen her play like that. She picked a great game to play like that."
"I can't make it anything else (than just any another game). I can't allow this game to deter our path. We still have the conference and the states to worry about."
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2 comments:
Good job by Coach Swan to move on right away and start thinking about down the road. Neither Somerville or Immaculata is/was going to beat Watchung next weekend anyway.
I've seen both Mulkerin and Melone play and I have to say, I think it's a little early to start comparing the two. Many of Mulkerin's shots were WIDE OPEN jump shots and no outstanding defensive plays come to mind. Her control of the ball and speed did remind me of Melone, however.
It's a shame to hear that Melone isn't playing hoops in college like many of the other standout players from last year. Cat Carr (Holy Family) and Megan Kopecki (Scranton) are leading their teams in scoring and Kelsey Kutch (The College of New Jersey) is a starter and playing great. Any chance she'll be playing again next year?
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