GL girls' basketball should garner top seed for UCT; Seeds 2-8 should be very interesting, with the teams very close; Meeting is Wednesday at RC

By JR Parachini
Union County Sports Editor
On the afternoon of Sunday, Feb. 26 at Kean University’s Harwood Arena in Union, I can see the Union County Tournament trophy being handed to:
Governor Livingston head coach Andy Silvagni, with a very happy Highlander squad the first in school history to win the county championship.
“We’ve got that date marked down,” GL junior center Erin Ferguson said. “That’s when we want to be playing our best basketball.”
Roselle Catholic head coach Joe Skrec, with the Lions becoming only the third team to win the title four years in a row and the first since Union Catholic accomplished the feat from 1986-1989.
Linden head coach Paul Gorski, with the Tigers winning the crown for the first year since 1994 when seniors Simon Gilliam and Raquia Johnson helped the program repeat as champions for the only time.
“I think the tournament is wide open this year, with any number of teams capable of winning it,” Gorski said. “It’s going to be whichever team gets hot at the right time.”
Cranford head coach Jackie Dyer, with the Cougars winning for only the second time and first time since 2006 when Dyer was the junior varsity coach and when the final was moved from the Dunn Center to Roselle Catholic.
Dayton head coach Dave Rennie, with the Bulldogs all smiles after capturing the championship for the very first time.
Summit head coach Brian Erickson, with the Hilltoppers winning for only the second time and first time since 1999 when they defeated Elizabeth in the final at the Dunn Center.
“Until someone knocks off Roselle Catholic, they’re still the team to beat,” Erickson said. “However, this tournament should be very, very competitive.”
The above teams are all that close.
In addition, teams such as New Providence, Oak Knoll, Union, Scotch Plains, Westfield, Union Catholic and – we’ll see about improved Hillside – are capable of knocking off any of those teams above.
That makes the 37th annual Frank J. Cicarell Union County Girls’ Basketball Tournament – perhaps – the most competitive we may ever see.
The seeding meeting will take place Wednesday morning in the Roselle Catholic library, with GL (17-1) expected to be named the top seed.
GL reached the final last year at Kean, falling to two-time defending champion Roselle Catholic 33-26.
The Highlanders will capture the Union County Conference’s Mountain Division championship outright Tuesday if they win at Oak Knoll in their final division game.
When the committee seeds teams 2-8, there will be plenty of arguments on which teams should be seeded where.
Here’s a look at the resumes for Linden, Cranford, Dayton, Roselle Catholic and Summit:
 
Linden (14-4): The Tigers have won 10 of their last 11, with the only defeat coming at Summit 49-46 last week. Linden also beat Summit 51-45 at home on Jan. 5. Linden also split with Roselle Catholic in Watchung Division play and owns a 44-43 conference-crossover home win over Cranford, with took place Jan. 13 when Linden outscored Cranford 17-11 in the fourth quarter.
“If we play our game, which means playing hard and as a team, we have a great chance to win,” senior guard Shannon Wheeler said.
“You have to be ready for every team you face, regardless of seeding,” Gorski said.
Losses: at Roselle Catholic, West Morris at Ridge, at Union, at Summit
Key wins: Summit home, 8-0 Somerville on the road in overtime, Cranford home, Roselle Catholic home.
Tuesday, Feb. 7: Union, 4 p.m.
Triple threat: Senior Shannon Wheeler, junior Jada Lewis, sophomore Keajah Hall. Unsung players: Senior Jhaya Johnson, sophomore Nah-Quasia Robinson.
Linden is undefeated at home. The Tigers are the only team in Union County - prior to Tuesday afternoon’s home game vs. Union - which has not lost at home yet.
 
Cranford (16-3): The Cougars have won seven in a row, eight of nine and 10 of 12 since their first loss, which was a 46-43 Mountain Division setback at Dayton. Cranford then lost at home to GL 42-38 six days after its one-point loss at Linden. Cranford has lost three games by a total of eight points, with its biggest win coming at 17-0 GL 49-44 Friday night.
“I think we’re definitely up there,” senior guard Morgan Miller said. “The county’s wide open.”
“We’re here to win and we want to win counties,” junior forward Jessica McCoy said. “We’re a team to be taken seriously.”
“This win (beating GL) might have put us in the No. 2 spot,” Cranford head coach Jackie Dyer said.
Losses: at Dayton, at Linden, Governor Livingston at home.
Key wins: Swept New Providence; Dayton at home by 18 and at Governor Livingston by 5 on consecutive nights last week.
Tuesday, Feb. 7: Elizabeth, 7 p.m.
Triple threat: Senior Morgan Miller, junior Jessica McCoy, sophomore Mairead McKeary. Unsung players: Junior Jenna Goeller, junior Kaitlin McGovern.
Cranford has just one loss at home.

Dayton (14-5): The Bulldogs have won eight of 10. They have been swept by GL in Mountain Division play and split with Johnson, Oak Knoll and Cranford. After losing at Oak Knoll by 15 on Jan. 10, Dayton defeated Oak Knoll by 15 at home last week. Dayton also has a 36-32 overtime home win over conference-crossover opponent Roselle Catholic, which took place Jan. 13.
Losses: Swept by Governor Livingston, at Johnson, at Oak Knoll, at Cranford.
Key wins: Cranford at home, Roselle Catholic at home in overtime, New Providence at home, Oak Knoll at home.
Tuesday, Feb. 7: at New Providence, 7 p.m.
Triple threat: Seniors Anna Lies, Jen Kuczynski and Emily MacDonnell. Unsung players: Junior Heather Fritzen, sophomore Nikki Athan.
Dayton has just one loss at home.
 
Roselle Catholic (13-5): The Lions had a five-game winning streak snapped Saturday afternoon when they were defeated at Watchung Division foe Linden 39-31. Roselle Catholic split with Linden and swept Summit in Watchung Division play.
Losses: Governor Livingston by 17 at home in RC Holiday Tournament final, Paramus Catholic at Kean, at Dayton in overtime, River Dell in overtime at Union City, at Linden.
Key wins: Linden at home, Summit at home, at Summit.
Tuesday, Feb. 7: at Scotch Plains, 7 p.m.
Triple threat: Juniors Marcia Senatus and Renee Oliver, sophomore Tori Pozsonyi. Unsung players: Junior Niavanni Grant, sophomore Kate Tobie.
Roselle Catholic has just one loss at home.
 
Summit (13-4): The Hilltoppers have won four in a row and 11 of 12 following a 2-3 start that included Watchung Division setbacks to Roselle Catholic and Linden before and after a home holiday tournament loss to New Providence. The only loss in their last 12 ames came at home to Roselle Catholic by seven. Summit lost at RC by two.
“We feel like we’re right there with the best teams,” senior guard Kate Martino said. “We’ll take it one game at a time.”
Losses: at Roselle Catholic, New Providence at home in holiday tournament, at Linden, Roselle Catholic at home.
Key wins: Swept Scotch Plains, Johnson at home by 27, Linden at home. (Summit was 0-3 vs. Scotch Plains last year and lost to Johnson in the Central Jersey, Group 2 playoffs.)
Tuesday, Feb. 7: at Westfield, 4 p.m.
Triple threat: Seniors Kate Martino, Kelly Osmulski, Nicole Johnson. Unsung players: Seniors Amanda Murphy, Olivia Galuppo.
Summit has just one loss at home.

GL, also sparked by the play of seniors Alyssa Polimeni, Sam Dowling and Rebecca Johnson and junior Mallory George, has just one loss at home as well, which was its first loss of the year Friday night to Cranford.
“We’ve beaten every team we’ve played so far and proved that we have ability,” Polimeni said. “There is a lot of competition and the county is tough.
“We want to prove it. We don’t want it to be handed to us. We’re just going to keep working hard and take it one game at a time.”
“I think our body of work earned us the top seed,” Silvagni said.

JR’s Top 8 UCT seeds going into Tuesday’s games:
1-Governor Livingston – only loss is to Cranford at home
2-Linden – beat Cranford and RC at home
3-Cranford – split with Dayton, beating Bulldogs by 18, and won at GL
4-Dayton – defeated Roselle Catholic and Cranford at home
5-Roselle Catholic – swept Summit
6-New Providence – won at Summit
7-Summit – has a home win over Linden
8-Oak Knoll – has a home win over Dayton

NEXT 4 SEEDS:
9-Scotch Plains – swept Union
10-Union – has two wins over Westfield, the first in a holiday tournament
11-Westfield – has a home win over Scotch Plains
12-Union Catholic – split with Oak Knoll

CLOSING IN ON 1,000 CAREER POINTS:

Dayton senior guard Anna Lies has 975 going into Tuesday night’s Mountain Division game at New Providence.

Governor Livingston senior guard Alyssa Polimeni has 969 going into Tuesday afternoon’s game at Oak Knoll.