Girls Basketball Player of the Week: Emily Maire, Toms River East

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Shore Sports Network Girls Basketball Player of the Week

Previous winners

Week 1: Kristina Donza, Jackson Memorial
Week 2: Brooke Hollawell, Manasquan
Week 3: Ariana Broughton, Jackson Liberty
Week 4: Ally Vella, Jackson Memorial
Week 5: Macy Brackett, Neptune
Week 6: Rylee Drahos, Shore
Week 7: Jessica Riepe, Marlboro
Week 8: Olivia Conroy, Donovan Catholic

Chalk it up to tournament time or a senior sensing the end growing near. Whatever the incentive, Emily Maire is applying the last touches on her career at Toms River East with a finishing flourish.

The closing chapters to her run with the Raiders have consisted of versatile scoring patterns making her a difficult matchup to complement her more familiar presence as a worker around the paint. Her late-season outbursts also coincided with Toms River East putting together some of its sharpest performances of the campaign.

More of an inside force through her battles under the boards, Maire stepped out of character -and outside the arc - in the opening round of the Shore Conference Tournament. She went from hitting a total of seven threes over the first 19 games to burying four triples on course to a career-high 22 points to balance 11 rebounds in sparking the 17th-seeded Raiders past 16th-seeded Donovan Catholic, 52-44.

Any thoughts of springing a massive upset in the Round of 16 were dashed with a 72-33 loss to top-seeded and eventual champion St. John Vianney, but Maire faired well in the meeting, depositing team-high 13 points. She followed up by scoring 12 and clearing five boards as the Raiders primed for the South Jersey, Group 3 tournament with a win over Jackson Liberty.

For her work, Maire was voted the Shore Sports Network Girls Basketball Player of the Week and will receive a $25 gift card from Surf Taco.

Since bowing to SJV, the Raiders have won four straight. Spanning back further, they been victorious in nine of their last 10 and boast a 17-4 mark since the calendar changed to 2020.

The 5-9 senior forward has been a catalyst in the surge, alleviating some of the scoring burden off senior guard Jordyn Madigan. Maire (9.8 ppg.) has averaged 14.1 points in the last seven outings.

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