ABSECON — The Stuart Country Day School varsity girls’ basketball team took another step forward Monday when it hung on to defeat Holy Spirit on the road, 43-41, in the second round of the NJSIAA Non-Public B South Tournament. Upon doing so, head coach Tony Bowman’s fifth-seeded Tartans advanc ed to the sectional semifinal in just their second season in the NJSIAA Tournament. Stuart (15-9) advances to play top-seeded Rutgers Prep (24-3) at a time and date to be determined after the Argonauts defeated ninth-seeded Holy Cross Prep, 67-23, yesterday. “It’s crazy,” Tartans’ 5-foot-7 sophomore guard Carmela Arana said of advancing to the third round. “When I was at Edison (High) last year, we lost a tough game in the first round at Hunterdon Central. I’m so grateful for my coaches, teammates and the fans to be able to be playing in games like this. I’m glad we pushed through.” Even though Stuart Country Day had a 12-point lead (40-28) with 2:35 to go when 5-10 senior forward/center Taylor States scored on a scoop shot, the fourth-seeded Spartans closed the gap quickly with a 13-3 closing charge to get a shot at the win or at least overtime. But after Taylor’s sophomore sister, Lia States, hit 1-of-2 free throws with 14.3 seconds left, Holy Spirit misfired at the other end and the Tartans hung on. “We were struggling in the beginning when we weren’t seeing each other,” Taylor States said. “As the game went on, we were looking for each other.” “We started to move the ball more,” said Arana, who led all scorers in the game with 17 points. “As the game went on, we slowed down and adapted to adversity.” Though Stuart led at the end of each quarter, it really took control in the second half when Arana scored 10 of her points and Lia States added 10 of her 13. With the States sisters splitting 18 rebounds, the visitors were able to expand upon their two-point halftime lead until the home team got hot late. Taylor States’ nine points drew her within one of 1,000 points for her career, which could be a problem since the school has its senior trip to Disney World planned for later this week. “I’m pretty worried,” said Taylor States, who will most likely be heading to St. John’s University next year to study nursing. “If I’d hit just one more layup, I would have had it today.” The Tartans plan to talk to Rutgers Prep to see if there is some way to adjust the game, so their seniors – States, Leila Hernandez-Lewis and Abby Chirik – can be there. Whatever happens with that game, no one can take away the fact that Stuart Country Day won at least nine more games, lost at least six less than a year ago and advanced at least one game further in the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association Tournament. STUART COUNTRY DAY (43) TStates 4-1-9, Chirik 1-0-2, LHernandez-Lewis 0-0-0, Murphy 1-0-2, LStates 4-3-13, Arana 7-1-17. Totals — 17-5-43. HOLY SPIRIT (41) Ward 1-0-2, Fitzgerald 2-3-7, Kane 2-3-7, Byrnes 2-3-9, Cella 4-0-8, Grimley 3-0-8, Hieb 0-0-0, Hagans 0-0-0. Totals — 14-9-41. Stuart (15-9)                         8    11    11    13    —    43 HolySpirit(11-15)                   7    10     5    19    —    41 3-point goals — LStates 2, Arana 2 (SCD), Byrnes 2, Grimley 2 (HS). CENTRAL JERSEY GROUP I BOUND BROOK 66, THRIVE CHARTER 61 BOUND BROOK — The second-seeded Crusaders held off a spectacular fourth-quarter comeback by the seventh-seeded Titans to advance to the sectional semifinal. Thrive, which was led by 19 points from Adris Oppong, 13 points from Clover Spaulding and 10 points from SondJane Daudin, outscored Bound Brook, 25-15,  in the final eight minutes before its season came to an end after a 12-10 campaign. THRIVE CHARTER (61) OMoore 4-0-9, Daudin 2-6-10, Powell 0-0-0, Oppong 7-5-19, Farrior 0-1-1, Kinston 3-2-9, Spaulding 5-2-13, Wilson 0-0-0, Pittman 0-0-0. Totals — 21-16-61. BOUND BROOK (66) Polakiewicz 5-0-13, Campbell 4-1-9, Pugh 6-14-26, Ferguson 3-3-10, Sipiran 1-0-2, Salacki 1-0-2, Turner 1-2-4. Totals — 21-20-66. ThriveCharter(12-11)                7    18    11    25    —    61 Bound Brook (24-3)               12    21    18    15    —    66 3-point goals — OMoore, Kinston, Spaulding (TC), Polakiewicz 3, Ferguson (BB). CENTRAL JERSEY GROUP III NEPTUNE 37, STEINERT 25 NEPTUNE — The 10th-seeded Spartans kept their defense tight, yet could not get past the second-seeded Scarlet Fliers. Steinert, which received 13 points from Bella Rosa, held Neptune to its lowest output of 2025-26 before its 15-12 season came to a close. STEINERT (25) McCarthy 0-0-0, Gray 1-1-3, Wright 0-0-0, KCorby 1-3-6, Chirichella 1-0-3, Constance 0-0-0, Rosa 4-3-13. Totals — 7-7-25. NEPTUNE (37) Carey 0-2-2, Ellington 3-2-8, Quarles 6-2-15, Edgerson 4-4-12, Pinnock 0-0-0, Matos 0-0-0, Furman 0-0-0. Totals — 13-10-37. Steinert (15-12)                     4    7      4    10    —    25 Neptune (18-3)                    11    4    13      9    —    37 3-point goals — KCorby, Chirichella, Rosa 2 (S), Quarles (N). ...read more read less