Girls Basketball: NJSIAA Scoreboard (March 7)

Tweets by @GreggLerner

NJSIAA Tournament
Thursday, March 7
State Semifinals
At Central Regional, Bayville

Group 2

Manchester 64, Manasquan 48

Senior guard Leilani Correa collected 25 points, 12 rebounds, six steals, two assists and a pair of blocked shots while sophomore swing Destiny Adams totaled 19 points, six rebounds, two steals, two assists and a rejection as the Hawks (30-2) exacted a measure of revenge in advancing to the program's first state final.

Manchester, which ran its win streak to 22, had the last two seasons ended by Manasquan in the state semifinal round but emphatically changed its fortunes through endless hustle and desire. In the process, the Hawks ended Manasquan's five-year run as the Group 2 state champion.

Manchester built a 15-12 lead after one quarter and expanded on the advantage in the second to build a 29-22 halftime edge. Correa was a driving force in the first half showing, supplying 16 points.

Manasquan's hopes of a second-half comeback took a huge blow less than three minutes into the third when senior swing Faith Masonius exited the game with an injury and did not return. In lieu of her absence, the Warriors trimmed the deficit to 34-30 on  3-pointer by senior Annie Mako with 3:34 left in the stanza. That was as close as the Big Blue would get.

Junior guard Serenity Anderson and Adams sank back-to-back threes and Correa stuck in a putback before junior guard Kemari Reynolds punctuated a 13-3 burst with a triple to send Manchester into the final eight minutes up, 47-33.

Senior guard Lola Mullaney topped Manasquan with 17 points and Masonius, whose four-year tenure ended abruptly, picked up seven points, eight rebounds and two assists. Freshman forward Dorothy Loffredo chipped in with eight points and freshman guard Brooke Hollawell had seven.

Manchester will face Lincoln in the Group 2 final on Sunday at the RWJBarnabas Health Arena on the campus of Toms River North.

Manchester (30-2)          15           14           18           17 --- 64
Manasquan (22-7)           12           10           11           15 --- 48

Manchester: Kemari Reynolds 0-2-2-8; Leilani Correa 7-3-2-25; Serenity Anderson 0-1-0-3; Destiny Adams 2-4-3-19; Dakota Adams 3-0-0-6; Nakaleigh Hayes-Jones 0-1-0-3; Morgan Brustman 0-0-0-0; Myah Hourigan 0-0-0-0; Amyah Bray 0-0-0-0; Victoria Labrecque 0-0-0-0; Emily Barron 0-0-0-0.

Manasquan: Lola Mullaney 1-4-3-17; Kate Leturgez 0-0-0-0; Faith Masonius 2-1-0-7; Georgia Heine 1-1-1-6; Annie Mako 0-1-0-3; Brooke Hollawell 2-1-0-7; Dorothy Loffresdo 2-0-4-8; Grace Winn 0-0-0-0; Maddie Fagan 0-0-0-0; Camryn Rothery 0-0-0-0; Kate Montalto 0-0-0-0.

Group 4

Lenape 51, Middletown South 47

Down, 39-21, with less than two minutes remaining in the third, Middletown South (24-6) fashioned a valiant rally before ultimately bowing.

The Eagles fashioned a wild 22-3 comeback, fueled by two 3-pointers from senior guard Isla Brennan, the first marking the 1,000th point of her career, to close the gap to 40-26. A layup and subsequent putback from junior swing Kayla Richardson pulled South to within 42-30 at the end of the third.

Junior guard Stephanie Mayerhofer assured momentum remained on South's side with a 3-pointer to open the fourth and senior guard Emily McCarthy converted a steal into a three-point play, whittling Lenape's lead to 42-36. Brennan dished to senior forward Eve Pirie for a bucket on the block, backed that with her fifth and final 3-pointer and Richardson capped the inspiring charge with pull-up that put the Eagles in front, 43-42, with 4:00 to go.

The lead was shortlived. Shannon Mulroy, who pumped in a game-high 23, drove inside for part of a three-point play and a technical foul was whistled on Middletown South after the bucket. Mulroy tacked on two free throws in a blinding five-point swing, reclaiming the advantage for Lenape (28-3), 47-43, and they never surrerendered it.

Brennan ended her four-year career with 18 points, Richardson netted 12 and Mayerhofer finished with eight for Middletown South. Regan King hit three triples and had 13 points for Lenape.

Lenape (28-3)                              22           04           16           09 --- 51
Middletown South (24-6)             06           10           14           17 --- 47

Lenape: Shannon Mulroy 6-1-8-23; Nevaeh Sutton 1-0-5-7; Regan King 1-3-2-13; Kiana Gosnell 2-1-1-8; Olivia Johnstone 0-0-0-0; Claire Zhang 0-0-0-0; Dyonna Wess 0-0-0-0.

Middletown South: Isla Brenna 0-5-3-18; Kayla Richardson 5-0-2-12; Sam Keenan 0-0-2-2; Eve Pirie 2-0-0-4; Stephanie Mayerhofer 1-2-0-8; Madison Szabo 0-0-0-0; Emily McCarthy 1-0-1-3; Renee Wells 0-0-0-0; Grace Meehan 0-0-0-0.

Follow Shore Sports Network on Twitter @ShoreSportsNet and on Instagram. Like Shore Sports Network on Facebook and subscribe to our YouTube channel for all the latest video highlights.