BOGOTA, NJ - Have not seen every team in the NVPL but it is hard to imagine the St. John's eighth grade girls are not the favorites for the upcoming playoffs.

Grade 5-6:

St. John's 25, St. Joe's 19

Visitors lead 19-6 at the half then went into a prolonged second half scoring drought. Joe's got within four with just over a minute to go. A 12 foot corner jumper off a base line inbounds play pushed the lead back to six and ended the scoring.

All due respect to St. Joe';s who kept working, the St. John's girls got tentative with their lead, took a good deal of perimeter shots, maybe too many, and struggled to recapture that early momentum.

Grade 7-8:

St. John's 51, St. Joe's 15

St. John's got out to a 26-9 halftime lead. League rules say there is no pressing if a team is ahead by 20. Well before they hit that margin, St. John's had the press off.

What is St. John's strength? Simply, size, a group that can get out and run, handle the ball and most important, plays well together.

Thought it was humorous, in the second half with a big lead the St. John's called a play, 'UCONN'. The St. John's team basically failed to execute and the result was a backcourt violation. Just wondering, what would Geno (Auriemma) feel about that one?

In retrospect, the dominance of the St. John's girls is something Geno could admire. And relate to.