Girls Basketball – Hagaman’s Buzzer-beater sinks SJV

Shore Conference Tournament Bracket

BRICK – The last time Manasquan junior Marina Mabrey played on the losing end of a Shore Conference Tournament game, she scored 33 of her team’s 54 points while her then-teammate Katelyn Flaherty scored the other 21.

Listen to broadcasts of both games at the end of this report

In the final seconds of overtime Tuesday against top-seeded St. John Vianney in the Shore Conference Tournament semifinals, after Mabrey had helped led her team back with a big fourth-quarter scoring performance, the ball slipped from her grasp and rolled toward the basket. As the final seconds ticked off the clock, if the Warriors were going to win in the first overtime, someone other than Mabrey would have to score.

Manasquan's Marina Mabrey and St. John Vianney's Zoe Pero position for a rebound. Mabrey had 24 points, eight rebounds, six assists and five steals in the Warriors win over the Lancers on Tuesday night. (Photo by Matt Manley)

Junior Courtney Hagaman picked up the loose ball and put up a short turnaround shot that danced on the rim and dropped in as the final buzzer sounded, giving fifth-seeded Manasquan a 63-61, overtime win over the No. 1 Lancers to advance to the program’s second SCT final in three years.

“That was the scariest moment,” Hagaman said, describing the split-second that the ball bounced on the rim. “I was just staring at it, hoping it would go it and it’s amazing that it went in. I’m speechless right now.”

While Mabrey scored 14 of her game-high 24 points in the fourth quarter – including the game-tying basket with 34 seconds left in the regulation – it was Hagaman who owned overtime with all six of Manasquan’s points in the period.

“I knew someone was going to make a play, whether they made one there or whether they made one three plays later, I knew somebody was going to make a play,” said Mabrey, who transferred from Point Pleasant Beach in early January after playing her sophomore season and the beginning of this season with the Garnet Gulls. “In this case it was Courtney, and I’m really happy for her.

“It wasn’t going to be won today without a total team effort and my coach (Lisa Kukoda) has really helped me understand that since I came over from Point Beach,” Mabrey said. “There wasn’t really a team effort there, and I think I this much better.”

Courtney Hagaman scores at the buzzer, Manasquan wins from All Shore Media on Vimeo.

Hagaman, who scored all 11 of her points after halftime, also made the play that led to Mabrey’s game-tying breakaway lay-up in the last minute of the fourth quarter when she knocked the ball away on defense and tapped it ahead to Mabrey with a diving effort.

“I’m so glad the game ended the way it did with Courtney under the boards, because all game long, she was battling down there and getting huge rebounds for us,” said Kukoda, who is in the Shore Conference Tournament final in her second year of her first head coaching job. “It couldn’t have been more fitting than that.”

8 - Mabrey layup ties the game from All Shore Media on Vimeo.

Manasquan did not trail in overtime, initially taking the lead on a running shot off the glass by Hagaman. St. John Vianney sophomore Kelly Campbell tied the game at 59 with a driving lay-up. After Hagaman hit two free throws to put Manasquan ahead, 61-59, Campbell again pulled the Lancers even at 61 with a transition lay-up off a Manasquan turnover.

12 - Kelly Campbell on the break ties the game from All Shore Media on Vimeo.

With 34 seconds left coming out of a timeout, Mabrey dribbled off most of the remaining clock and then drove to the basket. She lost the handle on the ball pushed it toward the baseline, where Hagaman was waiting for a chance at the last shot.

“I feel like my shots weren’t falling so I had to do something else,” said Hagaman, who went 0-for-6 from three-point range. “I figured crashing the boards would be the main thing I could do since my shot wasn’t going in. Someone else coming in from the outside to help with rebounding really helps, so that’s what I tried to do.”

St. John Vianney led 55-50 after a jumper by Gabrielle Caponegro, but Manasquan scored five straight points to tie the game at 55. Mabrey hit her second three of the quarter to make it 55-53 and found Hagaman for a game-tying lay-up with a look-away pass off a turnover.

6 - Marina Mabrey 3 cuts SJV lead to 2 from All Shore Media on Vimeo.

Campbell hit two free throws to give St. John Vianney a 57-55 lead and before Hagaman and Mabrey teamed up to give Manasquan the lead off a turnover, Mabrey missed a potential go-ahead three from three feet beyond the arc.

7 - Courtney Hagaman from Mabrey ties the game from All Shore Media on Vimeo.

Four Manasquan players scored in double-figures, with senior Sam Sullivan (14 points) and freshman Stella Clark (10) joining Mabrey and Hagaman. Mabrey also added eight rebounds, six assists and five steals, while Sullivan pulled down 11 rebounds.

Campbell led St. John Vianney with 16 points, while seniors Jackie Gallagher and Katie Beriont each poured in 13 for the Lancers.

12 - Kelly Campbell on the break ties the game from All Shore Media on Vimeo.

St. John Vianney beat Manasquan twice this season during Shore Conference Class A Central play. Mabrey did not play in the first game and played approximately 12 minutes in the second meeting, which was her first game as an eligible member of Manasquan following her transfer from Point Beach.

“It was important to work (Mabrey) in,” Kukoda said. “We had to make sure the other girls on the court and on the team know that we value what they do for us. Part of it was working her into it, but at the same time having other girls accept and adjust to their new roles was very important because if they didn’t do it, the chemistry wouldn’t have been there.”

“I never beat St. John Vianney before so that was definitely on mind tonight,” Mabrey said. “Once I lose to somebody once, I have this will to win, and I have to beat them the next time.”

Just as they did two years ago, the Warriors will play St. Rose in the Shore Conference Tournament championship, scheduled to tip at 1 p.m. Saturday at Monmouth University. St. Rose beat Manasquan in the final when Mabrey and Hagaman were freshmen on the team and Sullivan was a junior.

“I think it’s amazing that we have made it this far and it shows how much a team we’ve become,” Hagaman said. “We’re realizing what we can be and that we can go in and beat great teams when we play together. It’s amazing how we came together and were able to win this game against a team that beat us twice in the regular season.”

In other SCT semifinal action:

St. Rose 56, Rumson-Fair Haven 40

Junior Kat Phipps scored 14 of her game-high 20 points in the third quarter and the No. 2 Purple Roses took over in the second half en route to a win over the No. 3 Bulldogs. St. Rose will play Manasquan in the SCT final Saturday at Monmouth for the second time in three years after winning the 2012 championship.

Phipps scored 12 consecutive points on four threes during a third-quarter run that turned a 22-22 game into a 34-22 St. Rose lead.

“It’s hard to explain something like that because you’re not really thinking about anything,” Phipps said, describing her third-quarter hot streak. “You just see the rim and the ball just kind of softly flows off your fingertips and when it’s going well, it just goes in.”

Senior Sarah Kurtz also scored 17 points for St. Rose while freshman Jess Louro chipped in 12 points in the Purple Roses, who are the No. 2 seed despite beating No. 1 St. John Vianney in January.

“We had our doubters coming into the tournament, but that just fueled us to play even better,” Kurtz said. “We want to show that we’re still a force in the Shore Conference and being in the Shore Conference final, obviously we’re still one of the top teams out there.”

Sophomore Stephanie Lesko led Rumson with 15 points. The Bulldogs jumped out to a 7-0, but St. Rose chipped away and tied the game at 18 by halftime.

“The first half wasn’t our best half, but we definitely felt good knowing we got to the half tied even though we didn’t play our best basketball,” Kurtz said. “We knew if we came out and played the way we’re capable of playing, we could take them in the second half.”

Box Scores

Manasquan 63, St. John Vianney 61 (OT)

	1	2	3	4	OT	F
Manasquan (19-5)	17	7	15	18	6	63
St. John Vianney (21-4)	10	15	16	16	4	61

Manasquan (63): Stella Clark 3 2-2 10, Courtney Hagaman 3 5-6 11, Sam Sullivan 7 0-1 14, Marina Mabrey 9 4-4 24, Eva Hart 0 0-0 0, Bridget Ford 2 0-0 4, Molly Bryant 0 0-0 0, Addie Masonius 0 0-0 0. Totals: 24 11-13 63

Three-pointers: Clark 2, Mabrey 2

St. John Vianney (61): Jackie Gallagher 4 2-2 13, Emily Uribe 2 0-0 5, Katie Beriont 3 7-9 13, Gabrielle Caponegro 3 0-0 6, Kelly Campbell 4 8-11 16, Kellie Crouch 0 0-0 0, Kim Evans 2 1-2 5, Zoe Pero 1 1-2 3. Claire Stefanelli 0 0-0 0. Totals: 19 19-26 61

Three-pointers: Gallagher 3, Uribe

St. Rose 56, Rumson-Fair Haven 40

	1	2	3	4	F
Rumson-Fair Haven (17-7)	10	8	12	10	40
St. Rose (23-2)	6	12	20	18	56

Rumson (40): Nicole Morris 0 0-0 0, Janae Mayfield 2 3-4 7, Grace Stant 2 3-8 7, Sam Sabino 1 0-0 2, Stephanie Lesko 5 3-4 15, Lindsey Morris 0 2-2 2, Hannah Scanlan 2 1-3 5, Megan Volker 1 0-0 2. Totals: 13 12-21 40

Three-pointers: Lesko 2

St. Rose (56): Jess Louro 5 2-4 12, Kat Phipps 6 3-4 20, Sarah Kurtz 8 1-1 17, Payton Smith 0 0-0 0, Cindy Napolitano 2 3-4 7, Rose White 0 0-0 0, Amy White 0 0-0 0. Totals: 21 9-13

Three-pointers: Phipps 5