Girls Basketball – Mabrey, Manasquan Headline SCT Quarterfinal Winners

Shore Conference Tournament Bracket

LONG BRANCH – It could have been the opposing defense, the early start time, or simply a little bit of rust, but the Manasquan girls basketball team got off to a rocky start on the offensive end Saturday against fourth-seeded Neptune in the Shore Conference Tournament quarterfinals.

Just as the entirety of this 2013-14 season is playing out, regardless of how things started, the Warriors were still too much to handle before all was said and done.

Junior Marina Mabrey scored 14 of her game-high 21 points in the second half and No. 5 Manasquan topped the Scarlet Fliers, 45-21, to advance to the Shore Conference Tournament semifinals for the second time in three years.

The Warriors will play top-seeded St. John Vianney Tuesday night at Brick Memorial High School.

“Anytime you play Neptune, it takes time to get used to their defense,” Mabrey said. “They are constantly pressuring you and it can be hard to get a rhythm going. Eventually we got going.”

Mabrey, playing in her ninth game of the season as a Warrior since transferring back to Manasquan from Point Pleasant Beach on Jan. 4, also grabbed 16 points while adding four assists, two steals and two blocks. Led by Mabrey, the Manasquan defense held Neptune to 8-for-37 shooting from the field while forcing 15 turnovers.

“Our offense might have started slow, but our defense didn’t,” Mabrey said.

Neptune led 14-13 late in the second quarter before Manasquan took control of the game. The Warriors closed the half on an 8-0 spurt and made it a 12-0 run by scoring the first four points of the third quarter. Stella Clark started the run with four free throws and Courtney Hagaman scored baskets on consecutive possessions to close out the first-half scoring.

Clark scored all eight of her points in the first half and Hagaman finished with 10 points.

“We were able to force some turnovers and get some easy baskets to get us the lead and then in the second half, I thought we started sharing the ball on offense much better,” Manasquan coach Lisa Kukoda said.

St. John Vianney beat Holmdel 74-35 Saturday and swept the season series against Manasquan during the Shore Conference Class A Central schedule. Mabrey only played in the second meeting – a 64-54 Vianney win on Feb. 6 – and she played limited minutes off the bench because it was her first game as an eligible member of the team.

“Marina obviously has been a huge boost for the team, not just because she is very talented, but because she understands how she fits into the program,” Kukoda said. “We expected to be a competitive team without her this year and adding her has taken us to that next level

The Lancers also eliminated Mabrey’s Point Beach team, 76-54, in last year’s SCT quarterfinals. Mabrey scored 33 points in that game and combined with teammate Katelyn Flaherty (21 points) to score all of their team’s points.

The Warriors, meanwhile, won the WOBM Christmas Classic in December by beating Rumson-Fair Haven – the No. 3 seed in the Shore Conference Tournament and one of the other two semifinalists along with St. Rose – without Mabrey in the program. With one of the state’s top players back where she began her high school career as a freshman and fitting with many of her old high school teammates, the Warriors are looking to reach the SCT final for the second time in three years.

“I think we can win whole thing,” Mabrey said. “We’re still getting better and better every day, but l think we’re already there.”

In Other SCT Action:

No. 2 St. Rose 38, No. 7 Red Bank Catholic 31

Senior Sarah Kurtz scored 16 points and the Purple Roses held off the Caseys to reach the SCT semifinals for the fourth time in five years. In its first trip to the semifinals since winning the tournament in 2012, St. Rose will play No. 3 Rumson-Fair Haven, 7:45 p.m., at Brick Memorial.

Red Bank Catholic hit St. Rose with a 12-5 run over a stretch of the third and fourth quarters to take a 25-24 lead with a little more than six minutes left. The Purple Roses, however, came back with seven straight points, including five from the free-throw line.

Jess Louro sparked the run with a bank shot from close range to put St. Rose back on top, 26-25. RBC guard Josie Larkins appeared to have cut the St. Rose lead to 29-28 in the final two minutes, but was called for a travel just before burying the three from the right wing.

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Louro finished with eight points and point guard Kat Phipps had seven. Alex Barazotti led Red Bank Catholic with seven points, while Larkins, Grace Fallon and Maureen Coakley all had six points. Fallon also added 12 rebounds and four assists.

No. 3 Rumson-Fair Haven 46, No. 6 Middletown South 38

Grace Stant, Sam Sabino and Stephanie Lesko each scored 10 points and the Bulldogs staved off a number of rallies from the Eagles to advance to the SCT semifinals for the first time since 2009. Middletown South beat Rumson, 51-50, in overtime in last year’s quarterfinals.

After stumbling out of the gate, Middletown South overcame deficits of eight and seven, taking the lead on each run. The Eagles went on a 14-4 run to take a 19-17 lead late in the third quarter, only to have St. Rose respond with a 9-0 run to go up 26-19 early in the third.

Middletown South struck back with a 9-1 run to go up 28-27 heading into the fourth quarter. After tying the game at 28, Rumson took the lead on a 3-pointer by Sabino with six minutes left and would not give it back. Nicole Morris (eight points) landed the decisive blow with a 3-pointer to put Rumson ahead 37-29 with just under three minutes to play.

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Sophomore Stephanie Karcz led Middletown South with a game-high 16 points and junior Jill Falvey and freshman Haley Dalonzo each added nine in the loss.

Rumson will play No. 2 St. Rose on Tuesday at Brick Memorial, with tip-off scheduled for 7:45 p.m.

No. 1 St. John Vianney 74, No. 9 Holmdel 35

Sophomore Emily Uribe led a balanced St. John Vianney offense with 14 points and the Lancers rolled through the Hornets and into the SCT semifinals for the eighth straight year.

Holmdel junior Morgan Graziano left the game in the first quarter with a head injury and did not return because of concussion protocol. She remained on the bench for the rest of the game after leaving with Holmdel trailing just 15-11 after the first quarter.

Senior Jackie Gallagher added 12 points for St. John Vianney and sophomore Kelly Campbell chipped in nine points and seven rebounds in the win.

St. Jon Vianney will play No. 5 Manasquan in the first game Tuesday night at Brick Memorial, which will tip at 6 p.m. The Lancers swept the season series with Manasquan, but the Warriors will have Marina Mabrey in the starting lineup after the Point Beach transfer played limited minutes in a 64-54 loss to Vianney on Feb. 4.

Manasquan 45, Neptune 31

Manasquan (45): Stella Clark 2 4-4 8, Courtney Hagaman 5 0-1 10, Sam Sullivan 1 0-0 2, Eva Hart 0 2-2 2, Marina Mabrey 8 3-4 21, Molly Bryant 1 0-0 2, Addie Masonius 0 0-0 0, Bridget Ford 0 0-0 0. Totals: 17 9-11 45

Three-pointers: Mabrey 2

Neptune (31): Marajiah Bacon 3 3-4 10, Miesha Bacon 4 0-2 9, Lorena Hubbard 0 3-6 3, Iyonna Crenshaw 3 3-4 9, Brianna Love 0 0-0 0, Kaelyn Kimborugh 0 0-0 0, Desiree Allen 0 0-0 0. Totals: 10 9-16 31

Three-pointers: Ma. Bacon, Mi. Bacon

St. Rose 38, Red Bank Catholic 31

Red Bank Catholic (31): Tia Montagne 1 0-1 3, Alex Barazotti 1 5-6 7, Grace Fallon 1 4-4 6, Jackie Robinson 1 0-0 3, Quinn McMenaman 0 0-0 0, Cameron Lynch 0 0-0 0, Maureen Coakley 2 2-4 6, Josie Larkins 2 0-0 6. Totals: 8 11-15 31

Three-pointers: Montagne, Robinson, Larkins 2

St. Rose (38): Kat Phipps 2 3-3 7, Payton Smith 2 1-1 5, Sarah Kurtz 5 5-7 16, Cindy Napolitano 0 0-0 0, Jess Louro 2 3-5 8, Rose White 0 2-2 2, Amy White 0 0-0 0. Totals: 11 14-18 38

Three-pointers: Kurtz, Louro

Rumson-Fair Haven 46, Middletown South 38

Middletown South (38): Stephanie Karcz 5 4-6 16, Haley Dalonzo 3 3-6 9, Jill Falvey 3 3-4 9, Olivia Liskowski 0 1-2 1, Christiana Rutkowski 0 0-2 0, Rachel Becker 0 0-1 0, Angela DeBartolome 1 0-0 3, Julia Valkos 0 0-0 0, Birdie Montes 0 0-0 0, Brianne Naughton 0 0-0 0, Alexandra Balsamo 0 0-0 0. Totals: 12 11-21 38

Three-pointers: Karcz 2, DeBartolome

Rumson (46): Nicole Morris 3 0-0 8, Janae Mayfield 0 1-2 1, Grace Stant 1 8-9 10, Sam Sabino 4 0-0 10, Stephanie Lesko 4 2-4 10, Hannah Scanlan 3 1-4 7, Megan Volker 0 0-0 0, Syd Sabino 0 0-0 0, Katie Foos 0 0-0 0, Nicole Russo 0 0-0 0, Abby Kelly 0 0-0 0, Kyra Sourlis 0 0-0 0. Totals: 15 12-19 46

Three-pointers: Morris 2, Sabino 2