TOMS RIVER - St. Rose senior guard Kat Phipps has all the key attributes of a talented scorer - deep range, a quick release, the ability to get into the lane off the dribble and perhaps the most important one - a short memory.

After a tough shooting night in the sectional final, Phipps got back to lighting it up from all over the floor in the Purple Roses' biggest game of the season. She poured in a game-high 25 points and fellow senior star Jess Louro added 15 points to key a 56-49 win over Lodi Immaculate at Pine Belt Arena on Saturday that gave the Purple Roses (31-1) back-to-back NJSIAA Non-Public B titles and their sixth Group title in history.

St. Rose knocked off Lodi Immaculate to celebrate its second straight NJSIAA Non-Public B title. (Photo by Ray Richardson)
St. Rose knocked off Lodi Immaculate to celebrate its second straight NJSIAA Non-Public B title. (Photo by Ray Richardson)
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"The second year in a row is such a huge accomplishment, and I couldn't be more proud of this team,'' Jess Louro said.

When Phipps has been on her game, St. Rose has been unbeatable, which was the case on Saturday after a hiccup against Roselle Catholic in the sectional final.

"A kid that plays like that and shoots like that doesn't have many off games,'' St. Rose coach Joe Whalen said about Phipps. "If I were a betting man I would have certainly bet on her. Kat will be in the gym next Monday looking for someone to rebound. She will play basketball until her last day of eligibility, and she will play hard until the last day."

St. Rose is back in the Tournament of Champions for the second straight season. (Photo by Ray Richardson)
St. Rose is back in the Tournament of Champions for the second straight season. (Photo by Ray Richardson)
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"I don't like to think about the last game,'' Phipps said about going 2-for-15 against Roselle Catholic. "It's over with. I struggled and my team came through. It's not just a one-person team. For me, it's basically read the defense. If they're giving me a jumpshot, I'm going to take it. If they're not giving me the jumpshot, if they're taking it away, I can beat them off the dribble, so I just have to be confident in whatever I'm doing."

St. Rose advances to next week's NJSIAA Tournament of Champions for the second straight season. The TOC will be seeded on Sunday night after the public Group finals. St. Rose will most likely get a bye into the semifinals if it earns one of the top two seeds as expected.

Phipps missed her first five shots, but once she got rolling, she rattled off 14 points, including seven in a row to end the first quarter, during a 23-5 run that bridged the first and second quarters and put St. Rose up 32-20 at the half. The Bluewolves (23-8) led St. Rose 15-9 before Phipps dropped in a lay-up off a turnover, drained a 3-pointer and then scored on a dish by sophomore guard Ellyn Stoll after a steal. While trying to find her outside shot, Phipps was aggressive in getting in the lane and to the foul line.

Senior guard Kat Phipps poured in a game-high 25 points to help St. Rose repeat as Non-Public B champs. (Photo by Sports Pix NJ)
Senior guard Kat Phipps poured in a game-high 25 points to help St. Rose repeat as Non-Public B champs. (Photo by Sports Pix NJ)
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"It helped me get a lot into the flow of the game,'' Phipps said. "Once you get to the foul line, once you shoot a couple more shots, get used to the background, get used to everything, the flow of the game just takes over."

"(That was) huge because we were having a little trouble scoring at that point and (Phipps) was having a little trouble getting her shot off, so it was great for all of us,'' Whalen said. "She can score in a number of ways. She can score off offensive rebounds, she can score in transition, she can get to the rim, she can pull up in the lane, (and) that's really added to her game."

The Purple Roses also played stifling defense during that key stretch for a lead that remained in double digits until there were under two minutes left in the game. When Louro got into foul trouble, her younger sister, sophomore Jen Louro, was switched on to 6-foot-3 McDonald's All-American and Louisville recruit Sam Fuehring and didn't allow a point by her during St. Rose's pivotal 23-5 burst. As a team, Lodi Immaculate shot 8-for-27 (29.6 percent) from the field in the half.

"(Jen Louro) did a really, really good job on her, and again, it's a different look,'' Whalen said. "She's a smaller and faster kid, strong. She had trouble posting her up, but she was better guarding her in the open floor."

"During practice, we said we were going to give (Fuehring) different looks,'' Louro said. "I know my coach trusted me for the hardest assignment. My defense is my stronger part, so I had to be real tough. I know she's going to score, so I can't get down on myself. It helps when we practice against our coach (assistant Raheem Carter) because he's tough and he doesn't go easy on us.''

Lodi Immaculate ended the third quarter on a 5-0 run to get within 40-31 as Fuehring, who finished with a team-high 22 points on 8-for-19 shooting, started to heat up. St. Rose ended that mini-run when freshman guard Makayla Markham nailed a 3-pointer to start the fourth quarter, followed by a lay-up by Jess Louro off a steal that pushed the lead back to 45-31 with 5:31 left in the game.

The closest the Bluewolves got from there was at 47-40 inside two minutes, but Phipps and Louro hit four free throws to extend the lead back to nine with 55 seconds left and seal St. Rose's second straight title. Forward Elizabeth Marsicano added nine rebounds and Stoll had four assists in the win, while Phipps and Jess Louro also had three steals each.

In advancing to the TOC, the Purple Roses may potentially get a third crack at the state's No. 1 team, Manasquan, which beat them in the Shore Conference Tournament final after losing to St. Rose in the regular season. Manasquan plays Westwood on Sunday at 6 p.m. in a bid to repeat as Group II champions.

"We want to be in the Tournament of Champions final and hopefully get to Manasquan and get our revenge,'' Jess Louro said.

Box score

St. Rose 56, Lodi Immaculate 49

Lodi Immaculate (49): Fuehring 8 2-5 22, McLemore 2 1-2 6, Bellerand 4 0-0 9, Latimer 1 2-4 4, Gee 4 0-0 8, Toppin 0 0-0 0, Webster 0 0-0 0, Melie 0 0-0 0. Totals: 19 8-14 49.

St. Rose (56): Jess Louro 4 6-8 15, Stoll 1 0-0 2, Marsicano 1 2-2 4, Jen Louro 3 1-1 7, Phipps 8 6-6 25, Coakley 0 0-0 0, Markham 1 0-0 3. Totals: 18 15-19 56.

Lodi Imm. (23-8)  15  5   11  18 - 49

St. Rose (31-1)   16  16   8  16 - 56

Three-pointers: (L) Fuehring, McLemore, Bellerand

 

 

 

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