St. John Vianney girls drop their
rematch with Red Bank Catholic
BY WARREN RAPPLEYEA
Staff Writer
The St. John Vianney High School girls basketball team was looking forward to meeting rival Red Bank Catholic Tuesday night to determine the NJSIAA Parochial A South championship.
The longtime rivals last met when RBC topped SJV at Brookdale Community College, Lincroft section of Middletown. That was just the fourth loss the Lady Lancers suffered this year, and left a bad taste in their mouths.
But Tuesday, that taste got worse as the Caseys topped the Lancers again, 44-35, to win the Parochial A South title, and earn a trip to the Parochial A championship game on Saturday in Toms River.
The senior-laden Caseys won it with their discipline, playing tenacious defense and controlling the tempo, off-setting SJV’s athleticism.
Vianney, which was led by Shantel Brown’s 12 points, had a 13-10 lead after the first quarter, but was held to just one Brown free thrown in the second, and entered the half down 18-14. The drought continued in the third quarter, when the Lancers didn’t get another field goal until Alisa Apo’s (eight points) basket with 5:08 left.
The Lancers kept it close from there, and trailed by just four entering the fourth, but it was RBC that hit the big shots down the stretch, and ended the Lancers’ season.
St. John Vianney gained the trip to the title tilt as a result of its thrilling 55-53 triumph over Camden Catholic in the Parochial A South semifinal, in what Charles Dickens might have called, "a tale of two games."
The Lady Lancers roared out of the gate early on to take a 16-4 edge, before the visitors got back into the contest, but SJV was still in control. With time dwindling in the third quarter, the lead was 15 points and the result seemingly inevitable — except that Camden Catholic suddenly came to life and put together a frantic 24-11 run down the stretch that forced SJV to hold on for dear life.
Guard Kelly Killion scorched the nets for 18 points in the second half, including a three-pointer with just 12 ticks remaining to make the score, 54-53. Kristine Perez’s offensive rebound and ensuing free throw gave SJV its final margin of victory.
"It was very exciting and it was a nail-biter, but I’ll take it because of the result," SJV coach Bob Ward said.
The coach credited his team’s defense with holding 6-foot-4 Camden Catholic center Rashidat Junaid to just 12 points, and noted that Killion was kept off the board in the first half.
"One of the keys was limiting the amount of touches Junaid had," he explained. "The girls kept forcing her into positions where, when she got the ball, she was not comfortable. And even though Killion had 18 points, she had to work for every one of them."
Perez, who sprained an ankle in last week’s win, showed no ill effects, spearheading a solid defensive effort, with help from Shantel Brown, Colleen Light and Courtney Calderon. Brown led the offense with 19 points, while Calderon added 12 and Apo netted 11.
Though the loss to RBC was disappointing, it has been another stellar season for the Lancers (21-5). The young Vianney team won another Shore Conference Tournament title, and gained some more valuable experience in big games, something that will certainly work to their advantage next season, when they should be among the top teams in the state once again.