Girls Basketball – Shore Conference Tournament Quarterfinal Roundup
MIDDLETOWN - Although the Manasquan girls basketball team never trailed in its Shore Conference Tournament quarterfinal game against Neptune Saturday at Brookdale College, the No. 7 seed Scarlet Fliers got the attention of the defending SCT champion.
Marina Mabrey scored 14 of her game-high 24 points in the third quarter and grabbed 15 rebounds to help the Warriors fight off a determined effort by the Scarlet Fliers in a 49-39 Warriors win. Manasquan heads back to the SCT semifinals for the third time in four years and will take on Class A Central rival St. John Vianney for the third time this season.
"Neptune likes to make the game wild and when you make the game wild against Manasquan, it usually gets even more wild," Mabrey said.
"Most teams, when they go on a run, will get the crowd involved and they might feed off of it. With Neptune, it's like 10 times more intense for some reason and it can take a little while to calm down and block out everything else that is going on."
Marajiah Bacon and Desiree Allen each scored 14 points for Neptune, which trailed Manasquan by three points as late as the early stages of the third quarter. Mabrey scored 10 points during a 14-4 run that pushed Manasquan's lead to 42-27 in the final seconds of the third.
Manasquan beat the Lancers in last year's semifinal, 65-63, on an overtime buzzer-beater by Courtney Hagaman and went on to win the SCT title for the first time in three decades.
Victoria Galvan added six points, eight rebounds and four blocks for Manasquan.
(1) St. Rose 70, (8) Holmdel 24
Senior Jess Louro scored nine of her game-high 23 points during a 21-6 St. Rose third-quarter run and the Purple Roses coasted to a win over the Hornets to advance to the SCT semifinals Tuesday at Brick Memorial. St. Rose outscored Holmdel 38-8 in the second half to blow the game open.
Louro added eight rebounds, four assists and two steals, while senior Kat Phipps chipped in 17 points, seven rebounds, four assists and three steals. Sophomore Ellyn Stoll poured in 11 points and freshman Elizabeth Marsicano chipped in nine points, 11 rebounds and two steals.
Mia Ehling led Holmdel with 10 points while Morgan Graziano chipped in eight points in defeat. St. Rose will play No. 5 Middletown South in the SCT semifinals on Tuesday.
(3) St. John Vianney 72, (11) Freehold Twp. 37
Kelly Campbell scored 17 points and Kellie Crouch poured in 12 on four three-pointers as the Lancers cruised to a win over the Patriots to advance back to the SCT semifinals.
St. John Vianney will take on No. 2 Manasquan Tuesday at Brick Memorial, the third meeting between the two Class A Central rivals and second straight year they will meet each other in the final. Manasquan won last year's game 65-63 on a shot at the buzzer in overtime.
Sam Famulare - who sent Freehold Township to the quarterfinals with a last-second, go-ahead shot to beat No. 6 Red Bank Catholic on Thursday - led the Patriots with 11 points on Saturday.
(5) Middletown South 55, (4) Rumson-Fair Haven 48 - Game Story
Juniors Stephanie Karcz and Julia Valkos scored 15 points each and the Eagles limited Rumson to 17 second-half points en route to a win over the Bulldogs to advance to Tuesday's Shore Conference Tournament semifinals. In its second trip to the semifinals in the last three seasons, Middletown South will take on top-seeded St. Rose.
With Middletown South clinging to a two-point lead, Valkos scored on two run-outs in transition with less than two minutes left and Angela DeBartolome added a third lay-up in transition to make it a 7-0 run that put Middletown South ahead, 53-45 with 1:06 to play.
DeBartolome added nine points in the win, while sophomore Haley Dalonzo poured in 10 for the Eagles. Karcz also grabbed 12 rebounds for Middletown South.
Grace Stant led Rumson with 15 points and junior Nicole Morris added 11.
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