For the first time in an event that dates back to 1982, the Colonial Valley Conference won’t have a place in the Mercer County Tournament girls basketball final.
That much was sealed when top-seeded Trenton Catholic Academy knocked out fourth-seeded Notre Dame after the third-seeded Pennington School did the same against second-seeded Allentown on Tuesday night.
The rest is left to be determined on Thursday at 5:30 p.m. at the CURE Insurance Arena in Trenton where either TCA will win its eighth title or Pennington will win its first. TCA is also the No. 8 team in the Feb. 15 statewide NJ.com rankings.
TCA last won in 2015, which was its fifth title in six years after four in a row from 2010-13 and sixth in 10 years along with one in 2006. The program won its first in 1987 when it was known as McCorristin Catholic High School. The teams last met in 2015, when TCA beat Pennington 39-31 in the MCT first round.
Despite Pennington not only pursuing its first MCT title but also being in its first final in tournament history, Red Raiders coach Jeff Eckerson said that newness won't trouble his team.
“We’re a veteran team. We’re led by two great senior captains, Carly Rice and Ayanna Johnson. We’ve really handled every challenge all year,” Eckerson said. “I’m really not worried about the sort of ‘being in the championship game for the first time’ type thing. I don’t think that’ll be a problem for us at all.”
What he’s focused on is overcoming a TCA defense that forced 38 turnovers from Notre Dame in the semifinal.
“TCA, it’s no secret that they define themselves by their pressure defense,” Eckerson said. “Handling that and getting into situations where we might have the advantage is going to be critical to whoever can come out on top.”
The Red Raiders will also have to concern themselves with standout players like Jada Queen, who posted a triple-double with 11 points, 11 rebounds and 10 steals against the Irish. Queen leads TCA (23-2) in scoring average at 12.9 points per game, just ahead of Giana Boulden at 11.6.
TCA, too, knows it’s in for a battle with Pennington. But, the Lady Mikes have done more than fine for themselves thus far.
"It's a whole different challenge," TCA coach Bob Fusik said. "To me, it's been about our team our year. It's what we need to do in order to win games."
Pennington (22-2) counts Rice, at 15.9 points a game, as its leading scorer, just in front of Leah Johnson at 14 points a game. Diamond Christian, at 10.5 points a contest, also averages double figures and is coming off a 24-point game against Allentown.
“Notre Dame brought something totally different than Pennington will bring,” Fusik said. “To me, it’s always about us, what we need to do to get better.”
Regardless of the outcome, it won’t be the last bracket for either team this winter. Pennington is set to face Pingry on a date still to be set in the NJISAA Prep A final after winning back-to-back Prep B titles the last two years. Pennington, the second seed in that draw, beat Hun and Oak Knoll to make the final, and the Red Raiders won the right to host when fourth-seeded Pingry, which Pennington beat 60-55 in a Jan. 13 road game, upset top-seeded Blair 54-52 on Monday.
TCA has the top seed in the NJSIAA/ShopRite Non-Public, South Jersey Group B draw and will await the winner of next Tuesday’s game between eighth-seeded Moorestown Friends and ninth-seeded Mater Dei for a March 1 sectional quarterfinal.
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