WEST LONG BRANCH - While Manasquan's girls basketball team has an offense as explosive as any in New Jersey, the Warriors knew that if they were going to take down undefeated St. Rose and win back-to-back Shore Conference Tournament titles, it was going to be achieved by digging in on defense.
Listen to the game broadcast at the end of this report.

The Warriors forced 19 turnovers and held St. Rose to 45 percent shooting, and Notre Dame recruit Marina Mabrey set the tone of sharing the ball offensively from the outset before taking over the game in the second half of a 69-60 victory over the top-seeded Purple Roses (25-1) at Monmouth University on Friday night. The Warriors (23-2), ranked No. 2 in the state and No. 24 in the nation, beat the No. 1 Purple Roses, ranked No. 13 in the country by MaxPreps, in the SCT final for the second straight year to win consecutive SCT titles for the first time in program history.

"Our defense is always our big thing going in,'' Manasquan coach Lisa Kukoda said. "That's all that we're worried about. The offense will come, but we're always focusing on our defense. That's the way that we play best - when we're aggressive, when we're running, when we're just kind of flying all over the court."

Courtney Hagaman celebrates with teammate Gillian Black after Manasquan wrapped up back-to-back Shore Conference Tournament titles. (Photo by Larry Murphy/Sports Pix NJ)
Courtney Hagaman celebrates with teammate Gillian Black after Manasquan wrapped up back-to-back Shore Conference Tournament titles. (Photo by Larry Murphy/Sports Pix NJ)
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Mabrey was flying all over the court on her way to a sensational all-around game in which she finished with a game-high 29 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists, including 17 points in the third quarter when the Warriors extended a nine-point halftime lead to 19 points going into the final period. Junior guard Gillian Black added 11 points, senior guard Courtney Hagaman had 10 points and sophomore forward Victoria Galvan had nine points and nine rebounds for the Warriors, who won their fourth SCT title overall.

(Photo by Scott Stump)
(Photo by Scott Stump)
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Mabrey, who handled the point guard duties for much of the night, helped the Warriors jump out to a 5-0 lead, and they led the game wire to wire. She started the game with a dish to Galvan for a lay-up and then followed with a kick-out to sophomore guard Stella Clark for a 3-pointer.

"That was my goal,'' Mabrey said. "I think once St. Rose realized, 'Hey these other girls are scoring,' it was hard to adjust. I told them in the beginning, 'Guys, this is not me today. I need you guys to play hard.' I think they stepped up really well, and they helped me get out of my funk in the first half."

Eleven of Manasquan's 20 field goals in the game came on assists. Black also gave them a big lift with double-digit scoring off the bench on 3-for-3 shooting that included a pair of 3-pointers.

"We felt our game plan was that Mabrey was going to get hers, and we can't let the ancillary people get their points, and they did,'' St. Rose coach Joe Whalen said.

"I'm really proud of her because she's come a long way,'' Marina Mabrey said of Black. "At the beginning of the season, she was getting down on herself, and we all picked her up practice."

Manasquan senior star Marina Mabrey had 29 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists to lead the Warriors to the SCT championship. (Photo by Larry Murphy/Sports Pix NJ)
Manasquan senior star Marina Mabrey had 29 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists to lead the Warriors to the SCT championship. (Photo by Larry Murphy/Sports Pix NJ)
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Mabrey's younger sister, freshman guard Dara Mabrey, hounded St. Rose senior star Kat Phipps all night, holding her to 10 points on only five shot attempts.

"Dara's faster, (and) Dara kind of got under her skin a little bit,'' Whalen said. "I just think it's a different look. Instead of a longer kid, you get a shorter, faster kid guarding her so that's difficult."

Phipps scored 34 points in a regular-season win over the Warriors in their first meeting this year, precipitating the switch of putting Dara Mabrey on her. Senior Jess Louro had a team-high 26 points and 8 rebounds in the loss for St. Rose, and sophomore guard Ellyn Stoll added 10 points.

"She wanted that job,'' Kukoda said about Dara Mabrey. "She was excited about the challenge of playing a good player, of playing a scorer. Her line to me was, 'I don't care if I score, coach, just let me guard her.' That says a lot about her mentality, that she's kind of willing to do anything to really help us succeed as a team."

"From playing one-on-one in the driveway, she's relentless,'' Marina joked. "I'm like throwing elbows like, 'Dara, get out of my face.' I know what it's like. That's why I always say, 'Coach put Dara on her.' She's a pain when she's playing you."

A 3-pointer by Hagaman with 5:55 left in the second quarter pushed the lead to double digits at 20-9 before St. Rose cut it to 26-19 at the half. That was as close as it would get, as Marina Mabrey exploded for 17 of Manasquan's 26 third-quarter points to blow the game open and give the Warriors a 54-35 lead going into the final period. The McDonald's All-American scored the first seven points of the quarter for Manasquan and began getting into the lane and finishing at will.

"She always plays her best in big games, and when we're able to have other people contributing, then that puts her a little bit more at ease and makes the defense have to worry about everybody on the court,'' Kukoda said.

The Purple Roses had the lead down to 55-45 midway through the fourth quarter before a crucial steal by Hagaman led to three straight points that put the Warriors up by 13 with 2:55 to go after a driving score by Marina Mabrey.

"That let us a take a deep breath,'' Hagaman said about her steal. "We really needed that stop."

Manasquan closed it out from there, becoming the first team to repeat as SCT champs since Neptune won three straight from 2009-2011. Manasquan, Neptune and AsburyPark (1974-77) are the only public school programs to ever win consecutive SCT titles since the tournament began in 1972. A loss to the Purple Roses on Feb. 14 provided more than enough fuel for Friday night's performance.

"It was definitely a good thing for us in the long run,'' Kukoda said. "I said to them, I'd rather lose this one and get the big one on the big stage,' and I think they had that same mentality after that loss."

Box score

Manasquan 69, St. Rose 60

Manasquan (69): D. Mabrey 0 2-2 2, Clark 2 2-2 7, M. Mabrey 10 7-10 29, Hagaman 2 4-4 10, Galvan 3 3-6 9, Masonius 0 1-2 1, Read 0 0-0 0, Kurtz 0 0-0 0, Black 3 3-4 11. Totals: 20 22-30 69.

St. Rose (60): Jess Louro 9 7-10 26, Stoll 3 2-2 10, Marsicano 2 4-6 8, Jen Louro 3 0-0 6, Phipps 3 4-4 10, Coakley 0 0-0 0, Markham 0 0-0 0, Pendergrass 0 0-0 0. Totals: 20 17-22 60.

Manasquan (23-2)   15  13  26  15 - 69

St. Rose (25-1)         7   12 16  25 - 60

Three-pointers: (M) M. Mabrey 2, Hagaman 2, Black 2, Clark; (S) Stoll 2, Jess Louro. Fouled out: (M) Hagaman; (S) Marsicano, Phipps.


GAME BROADCAST

First Half

Second Half

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