Girls Basketball – Shore Conference Tournament Round of 16 Preview and Predictions

Girls Basketball Shore Conference Tournament Round of 16 Predictions

(9) Rumson-Fair Haven at (8) Wall

Wall is led by their two seniors, Shayne Eldridge (16.3 PPG) and Emily Tvrdik (11 PPG), who both reached the 1,000 point milestone this season. Junior Marissa Amitie (9 PPG) plays with high energy on both sides of the floor and will need her to play consistently for a deep run. Senior Aileen Carr (5.6 PPG) is one of the toughest players in the Shore Conference and will need to stay out of foul trouble. Even though she is the 4th option on offense, she has the ability to cause trouble underneath. 

Round 1: defeated Point Beach 53-35

Rumson is led by senior Raquel Guidetti (13.8 PPG) and sophomore Erin Reid (9.9 PPG) this season. Reid has taken a nice step forward in her sophomore year with her ability to get to the basket and use her height advantage. Rumson is also dangerous from the outside with senior Ella Mason (7.4 PPG)  and junior Sylvie Notine (7.9 PPG) with their ability to knock down 3-pointers.

Round 1: defeated Freehold Township 61-37

Wall defeated Rumson in the WOBM semifinals 50-35. A combination of good defense and a poor shooting night allowed Wall to cruise to victory. Rumson will be ready and they are a team that is very hard to beat twice in a season.

Prediction: Rumson 62-58

(10) Manchester at (7) Red Bank Regional

RBR gets balanced scoring with four players scoring 8 points or more per game. Sophomore Synai Blychanton (9 PPG) controls the pace of the game and has the ability to get the basket and create open looks for her teammates. Junior Caroline Polloway (8.7 PPG) and Camryn Gardner (9.4 PPG) can cause match-up problems with their height and sophomore Zoe Gulley (8.1 PPG) is one of the most dangerous 3-point shooters in the Shore Conference.

Round 1: Bye

Manchester is led by NC State commit Devyn Quigley (33.4) and can score any way she wants. She has 176 points from the foul-line this season. Freshman Madeline Nolan (9 PPG)  has stepped up to become a second option on offense and can handle the ball to help Quigley play off the ball. Senior Zionna Short (4.7 RPG) will play an important role trying to keep Polloway and Gardner off the glass.

Round 1: defeated Monmouth Regional 52-43

RBR defeated Manchester in the WOBM semifinals 59-31 after getting out to a 20-4 1st quarter lead. Manchester will have to make adjustments on the offensive end and need a player to help Quigley with scoring, who scored all but four points in that game. 

Prediction: RBR 55-48

(11) Howell at (6) Trinity Hall

Trinity Hall is led by Harvard commit Nina Emnace (17.2 PPG) who can score by driving to the basket or pulling up for a 3-pointer. Her ability to get to the basket allows for her teammates to get open shots. Sophomore Grace Feeney (9 PPG)  has become the Monarchs second option on offense and has knocked down 30 3-pointers this season. Junior Lilly Riggi (5.5 PPG) and senior Siobhan Stapleton (5 RPG) will use their height to limit Howell’s second chances.

Round 1: Bye

Howell is a team that makes you work on both sides of the floor. The Rebels are led by junior Kiara McKown (11.7 PPG) and freshman Kylee Beam (7.7 PPG) who has taken her game to another level to close out the regular season. Both players cause defensive match-up problems with their height.  Sophomore BellaRose Marino (7.1 PPG) is a threat from outside with her 3-point shooting. Junior Ashley Smith has the ability to limit the opponents leading score with her defense.

Round 1: defeated Barnegat 69-41 

The two division rivals have not played their divisional game yet this season. Last year Trinity Hall defeated Howell three times by an average of 25 points. Howell will need to limit the turnovers and shoot well from outside to pull off the upset. 

Prediction: Trinity Hall 60-48

(12) Ranney at (5) Manasquan

Manasquan has a lot of experience, led by seniors Hope Masonius (13.5 PPG) and Katie Collins (11.9 PPG). Senior McKenna Karlson (6.9 PPG) is one of the best defenders in the Shore Conference and can slow down the best scorers in the area. Junior Olivia Shaughnessy (5.8 PPG) can get to the basket and knock down the 3-pointer making her hard to defend.

Round 1: Bye

Ranney has a big three in juniors Haley Poser (20 PPG), Emily Cavanaugh (9.7 PPG) and freshman Ashley Kreiger (10.5 PPG). If they can stay out of foul trouble, Ranney can make a run in the SCT. Poser has been one of the best scorers in the Shore all season with her 3-point shooting. Kreiger will be difficult to cover with her height advantage and ability in the post. 

Round 1: defeated Brick Memorial 61-41

Manasquan defeated Ranney 69-38 a week ago. The Warriors kept Poser to her lowest point total of the season. Manasquan can be very dangerous when everyone gets involved on the offensive end and has the height to keep Kreiger off the glass.

Prediction: Manasquan 68-50

(13) Holmdel at (4) St. Rose

St. Rose is led by sophomore Jada Lynch (14.5 PPG) who has the ability to take over a game anytime she wants. St. Rose is most dangerous when the ball is moving around and creating open looks from outside the arc. Sophomore Brooke Missry (7.8) has become a dangerous scorer in her second season and has made some big shots in big games. Senior Tanaiyah Decker (8.6 PPG) and junior Cassidy Kruisi (9 PPG) can drive to the basket to create open shots for their teammates or take it themselves.

Round 1: Bye

Holmdel is led by senior Allison Cannon (18.5 PPG) who does whatever the team needs to help them win. She performs on both sides of the floor with 105 steals and gets her teammates involved with 95 assists on the season. Junior Mackenzie Teevan (15 PPG) has stepped up as the second option and can use her height to cause problems for defenses. She also has range so she can stretch the defense out to open up the inside. Junior Michelle Steele (8.9 PPG)  also has stepped up to help Holmdel on the offensive end. 

Round 1: 71-52

St. Rose defeated Holmdel earlier in the season 68-55 by forcing turnovers and outscoring Holmdel 20-9 in the 3rd quarter. Teevan led all scorers with 22 points and can repeat that performance with her height advantage. St. Rose can shoot the ball very well from behind the arc and can not be given open looks.  

Prediction: St. Rose 58-51

(19) Neptune at (3) Ocean Township

Ocean is a difficult team to defend because all five players can score. They are led by the Clark sisters, Eli (14.9 PPG) and Kayden (13.5 PPG), who are the Spartans best outside threats. Senior Gamila Betton (10 PPG) will cause problems on the offensive end with her height advantage. Senior Sofia Chebookjian (6 PPG) can shoot the mid-range jump shot and works hard on the offensive glass to create second chance points. Senior Jineen Ayyash (8.6 PPG) does a good job getting to the basket to open it up for her teammates or finish herself.

Round 1: Bye

Neptune is a tale of two teams, starting the season winning  12 out of their first 17 games and dropping five out of their last six. Juniors Christa Ramos (17.5 PPG) and Bre Evans (11.5 PPG) are the leaders of the teams and they can get up and down the court. Ramos can create her own shots and get the ball to her open teammates. Freshman Lana Ellington (9.4 PPG) needs to be involved on the offensive end like she was to start the season in order for Neptune to make a run in the postseason. 

Round 1: defeated Southern 53-34

One of the rare times two teams did not meet up during the season. Ocean has been in the top five all season and Neptune worked hard to get into the Shore 16. Ocean is patient on offensive and their experience will be an advantage in this game. 

Prediction: Ocean 58-42

(18) Colts Neck at (2) St. John Vianney

It is odd SJV is not the No. 1 seed after the run they have had over the last few years, but they are just as dangerous. Sophomore transfer Stella Lockhart (10.3 PPG) has come into SJV and made an impact right from the start. She has the ability to take over a game in the paint. Junior transfer Daniella Matus (10 PPG) has been playing some of her best basketball of the season at the right time and is a threat from beyond the arc. Sophomore Taylor Sofilkanich (10.6 PPG) has made an impact since day one this season and can cause problems with her height. 

Round 1: Bye

Colts Neck narrowly got into the SCT on the last day by defeating Our Lady of Mercy 38-35. The Cougars are led by senior Julianna Kowaleski (11.4 PPG) who has a game-high of eight 3-pointers this season. Junior Katie Ditchter (7.5 PPG) runs the offense and has 85 assists on the season. Senior Savannah Butz (6.7 PPG) had a big game in the opening round, scoring a season-high 22 points. 

Round 1: defeated Point Boro 49-41

Colts Neck has the ability to catch fire from behind the arc and will need to shoot very well due to SJV’s height advantage. Unlike years past where one player would take over for SJV, this year they have a different player every time that can step up in a big spot. 

Prediction: SJV 64-38

(16) Jackson Memorial at (1) Red Bank Catholic

RBC is a team that can have one of eleven players lead the team in scoring on any given night. Sophomore Addy Nyemchek (14.6 PPG) continues to play as one of the best players in the state with her ability to score inside and from deep. Juniors Christina Liggio (8.4 PPG) and Tessa Carman (5.8 PPG) took over as the leaders on the court and do whatever is needed for RBC to get the win. 

Round 1: Bye

Jackson Memorial is one of the deepest teams in the SCT but also one of the youngest teams. The Jaguars held on to a 47-45 win over TRE during the season, a game they led by 11 at halftime. The team is led by senior Chelsea Lavezzo (12 PPG) and freshman Cali Brown (11.5 PPG) , who both can handle the ball. Sophomore Kaylee Ambos (5.8 PPG) can be a threat from behind the arc and sophomore Avery Brooks (7.2 PPG) can score inside and out for Jackson Memorial. Sophomore Isabella Finer (6.5 PPG) is the Jaguars workhorse on both sides of the floor. She can create second chance opportunities and be a factor inside on defense.

Round 1: defeated Toms River East 40-37 (OT)

Jackson Memorial has a deep bench and can throw different line-ups at RBC, which not many teams can do. The Jaguars are battling the injury bug and will need everyone ready to go against RBC. The Caseys have too many weapons and have shown all season that they can take control of a tight game anytime they want by creating turnovers.

Prediction: RBC 68-52