Girls Basketball Player of the Week: Rylee Drahos, Shore

Girls Basketball Player of the Week: Macy Brackett, Neptune

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

For a small Group 2 school like Shore Regional, the rigorous schedule within the grueling A Central Division is a daunting task to survive. Testing its mettle against state powers such as Red Bank Catholic, St. Rose, Rumson-Fair Haven and Manasquan carries perilous consequences in regular season but also has a favorable way of priming the Blue Devils come state-tournament time.

Shore (11-10, 3-9) has absorbed some lumps yet deserves credit for finding a way to keep its head above water. It features an established scorer in junior guard Madison LaRosa (13.7 ppg., 39 3-pointers) but has welcomed the contributions of newcomer Rylee Drahos.

The 5-8 freshman guard eases some of the point production off LaRosa's shoulders and has thrived against the stiff divisional competition, averaging 10.6 points a contest. Over a recent seven-game stretch, Drahos confirmed her value, scoring at 13.1 rate, marked by a gritty showing on Jan. 30 against St. Rose, No. 4 in the Shore Sports Network Top 10.

Drahos embraced the test, exploding for a season-high 25 points as the Blue Devils gave their formidable foe all it could handle before respectably bowing, 57-53. While her ability to put the ball in the basket from virtually anywhere in the halfcourt set has been firmly established, Drahos is also active on the boards, unselfish in the distribution department and was voted the Shore Sports Network Girls Basketball Player of the Week for Week 6, earning her a $25 gift card to Surf Taco.

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