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Tournament of Champions
Thursday, March 14
At RWJBarnabas Health Arena, Toms River
Semifinal Round

2-Saddle River Day 76, 3-Manchester 63

Saddle River Day (28-2) raced to a 10-0 lead and led wire to wire, despited the resiliency of Manchester (32-3), which had its 24-game win streak snapped.

The Hawks trailed by as much as 15-2 in the opening quarter yet closed the gap to 21-17 by the end of the first period. A driving layup by sophomore Destiny Adams whittled the gap to 26-24 midway through the second but Saddle River Day responded with a 10-1 rebuttal to kick the lead back to 36-25 before settling for a 36-27 advantage at the half.

A jumper by senior forward Dakota Adams with 3:41 showing in the third drew Manchester to within 38-36 but, once more, the Rebels withstood the threat, going on a 12-2 tear that increased the margin to 48-38.

Two free throws by Duke-bound senior Jaida Patrick, who scored a game-high 24, provided Saddle River Day with its largest cushion, 56-41, eight seconds into the fourth. The Hawks countered with a run of nine straight points that made it 58-52 but could get no closer.

Senoir guard Leilani Correa topped Manchester with 17 points to lead four players in double figures. Despite being burdened with foul trouble, sophomore swing Destiny Adams scored 14, junior guard Kemari Reynolds netted 13 and senior forward Dakota Adams netted 11.

Michigan pledge Michelle Sidor scored 16 of her 20 points in the first half for Saddle River Day, which advanced to its first TOC final where it will face top-seeded Franklin on Sunday at Rutgers. The Rebels held a 51-32 edge on the boards and deposited 21 second-chance points.

1-Franklin 55, 4-St. Rose 50

The Purples Roses (28-3) gave unbeaten and top-seeded Franklin (32-0) all it could handle.

St. Rose played the Warriors even in the first half and were deadlocked at 25-25 come intermission. A driving layup by junior guard Brynn Farrell, who complemented her team-high 18 points with ceaseless defense against Maryland-bound senior Diamond Miller, put the Roses ahead, 27-25, but Miller answered by sandwiching two interior buckets around a 3-pointer to give Franklin a 32-28 lead it never surrendered.

St. Rose clawed back to tie the game on three occassions, the last following two free throws by junior swing Makayla Andrews the evened matters at 39-39 with 6:58 to play in the contest.

Christina Midgette finished a Miller feed to break the tie and Miller ensued with a three-point play, supplying Franklin with a 44-39 lead with 6:01 remaining. Senior guard Lauren Lithgow converted a steal in transition to get St. Rose to within 44-43 but the Warriors were able to put the game away at the foul line, going 6 for 6 over the closing 3:44 to preserve their lead.

Franklin earned its third straight appearance in the TOC final and will tackle second-seeded Saddle River Day on Sunday at Rutgers in seach of its second crown.

Miller scored 16 of her 20 points in the second half to go with 10 rebounds and junior guard Kennady Schenck scored 14 for Franklin.

Lithgow and Andrews each scored 11 for St. Rose.

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