With the high school basketball season now in full swing, some local girls teams are looking strong early on in their respective holiday tournaments.
As expected, it appears we are in line for another exciting season, with some of the more talented teams in the Shore Conference hailing from our local towns.
The Rumson Fair-Haven Bulldogs are no strangers to championship chases, as head coach George Sourlis’ team is always a threat in any venue. It’s no surprise that RFH is the top seed in the WOBM Christmas Classic at the Ritacco Center in Toms River, as the Bulldogs have won six of the last eight WOBM tournaments.
On Dec. 24, RFH looked every bit like the team to beat, knocking off Lacey, 58-17, as Ashley Cooper and Victoria Lesko each scored 11 points to lead the Bulldogs (3-0), past the Lions (0-2). Rumson then followed that up with a 54-30 win over Toms River South on Sunday, as Cooper led the way with 17 points, propelling the Bulldogs to the semifinals.
Cooper’s emergence as a star is paramount to RFH maintaining its status as a top team this year, as Sourlis’ team must overcome the loss of one of the best players in Shore Conference history in Kate Miller. Miller was the unquestionable leader of the team a year ago, and her departure created avoid that will be very difficult to fill. However, Cooper, a junior guard, was an outstanding complementary player to Miller in recent years, and has all of the tools to take the reins as the team leader. In addition, RFH returns junior point guard Ellie Wilburm and senior forwards Brielle O’Brien and Amanda Yaccarino, as well as junior forward Victoria Lesko, who missed last season with a foot injury.
While RFH may not be the clear-cut favorite to win an 11th consecutive sectional title now that Shabazz has moved to Central Jersey Group II, one would be foolish to count the Bulldogs out of any fight.
RFH was set to play in Tuesday’s WOBM semifinals against another local team looking to make some early noise in Shore Regional. The Blue Devils knocked off Point Borough, 50-46, on Sunday in a spirited effort that put Shore’s potential on display.
Forward Julia Duffy led Shore with 18 points, while center Liz West chipped in with 15. Shore jumped out to an early lead, and built that lead to as much as 16 in the third quarter. But to its credit, Point Borough never gave up, mounting a furious comeback to get within two in the final seconds.
However, senior guard Chelsea Watts went 4-for-4 from the foul line in the final 15 seconds to seal the win for Blue Devils and give them their shot at RFH in Tuesday night’s semifinals.
Shore is an intriguing team this winter. While it remains to be seen whether they have enough firepower to compete with the A Central division’s big three (RFH, Red Bank Catholic and St. John Vianney), they can certainly state their case as a top 10 team in the Shore. West is one of the best low-post players in the conference, and if some other players (like Watts and Duffy) can continue to step up and contribute, perhaps West will see less double teams and be even more of a threat.
Tuesday night’s game with RFH was to be an early indication if Shore can play with the division’s elite.
As for Red Bank Catholic, the Caseys are playing in the Diamond State Classic at St. Elizabeth in Delaware this week (along with SJV, the defending Tournament of Champions winner), where they are sure to be tested. The Caseys lost their leading scorer (Chyna Golden transferred to Neptune), but return junior guard Kasey Hobbie, junior center Sam Guastella, and senior guard Mary Kate Byrnes. All three are legitimate scoring threats, while a pair of sophomores — Jackie Cajigal and Morgan Arnott — should be improved this year after seeing significant varsity time as freshmen a year ago. RBC always plays a deep rotation, meaning that sophomore Cydney Mooney as well as several freshmen should also be in the mix. Upon returning from Delaware, RBC will be at St. John Vianney on Saturday in a game that will likely determine the A Central favorite early on. The Lancers won their opener at the Diamond State Classic on Sunday, beating Ursiline (Del.), 60-30, behind 16 points from junior forward Missy Rispoli. The key for RBC this year will be to find the outside scoring threats to keep defenses honest, and allow Guastella to dominate in the low blocks.
While the addition of Golden makes Neptune the obvious favorite in the B North race (and possibly the TOC), there are a host of local girls teams that hope to put together solid seasons in Neptune’s wake.
The Ocean Township Spartans lost quite a bit to graduation, but return senior forward Annie Farrow, who can dominate down low. First-year head coach Michael Samples will have to rely on some inexperienced players to pick up the slack, including senior guards K.C. Parham and Toni Ragucci.
Ocean dropped a hard-fought 45-41 affair to Manchester on Dec. 23 in the WOBM tournament, despite a game-high 23-point effort from Farrow. With the loss, Ocean fell to 0-3 on the young season, meaning the Spartans desperately need a win on Saturday. It won’t be easy (which is a massive understatement) as top-ranked Neptune comes to town for an 11:30 a.m. tip-off.
The Monmouth Regional Golden Falcons lost top scorer Jessica Ford to graduation, but return a host of talented sophomores, including Jazmine Davis, Nicole Parker, Georgina Hook, Jackie Gage and Cassie Acerra.
Monmouth was a young team last year that took its lumps, but head coach Audra Corson has an excellent track record of developing young teams, so you can expect the Golden Falcons to exceed their win total (four) of a year ago.
Monmouth will be back in action on Saturday when it hosts Wall at 11 a.m.
Red Bank Regional has a new coach in James Young, and also features a number of inexperienced players. Top scorer Michelle Pebole graduated, leaving junior Liz DeMaria and Lauren Bowler as the top returnees for a Bucs team that is participating in the Winter Wave Tournament at Long Branch this week.
The host Green Wave is another young team that is hoping to rebound from a tough season last winter. Senior Brittany Piatkowksi is the veteran presence, while sophomores Maya Johnson and Felicia Clark also have some varsity experience.