Colts Neck meets SJV in state title game

By Tim Morris

Colts Neck meets SJV
in state title game

By Tim Morris

The next stop for the Colts Neck High School girls basketball team will be the championship game of the NJSIAA Tournament of Champions on March 23 at the Izod Center in East Rutherford.
With guards Lauren Clarke (23 points) and Brooke Hampton (16 points) combining for 39 points, the Cougars  stunned No. 1 seeded and defending NJSIAA champion Malcolm X Shabazz High School of Newark, 58-48, on March 19 at the Ritacco Center in Toms River.
A 12-4 run at the start of the fourth quarter, sparked by Clarke’s three-point play, broke open a tight game and gave the Cougars a 10-point cushion, 50-40, that they never relinquished.
Clarke was 9-13 from the field and led the Cougars in rebounds (6) and blocked shots (2).
Hampton scored 12 of her 16 points in the second half as she consistently drove the ball to the basket against the taller Bulldogs.
Colts Neck forwards Emily Laurence, Brittany Howes and LeeAnn Lanza controlled the Bulldogs’ play in the paint and combined for 12 points. Howes contributed a team-high three assists.
The No. 4 seed Cougars improved to 29-3 while Shabazz ended its season at 29-2.
The March 23 Tournament of Champions final will be an All-Shore Conference affair as St. John Vianney High School of Holmdel, the No. 2 seed, disposed of No. 6 Paterson Catholic, 72-52, in the other semifinal on March 19.
Freshman Michaela Mabrey came through with a game-high 23 points for St. John Vianney.
The Lancers (30-2) outscored Paterson Catholic (29-3), 39-19 in the second half.
Colts Neck and St. John Vianney have not met during the 2008-09 season and their meeting on March 23 will determine New Jersey’s overall state champion.
Tip-off time for the March 23 Tournament of Champions final will be 6:30 p.m. at the Izod Center.