Rumson-Fair Haven High School’s Janae Mayfield (21) takes it to the basket as she tries to elude St. John Vianney defender Kaleigh Ganter during the game. Rumson-Fair Haven High School’s girls basketball team had all the momentum at halftime.
Guard Jessica Harvey had just knocked down a three from just inside the mid-court stripe to extend the Bulldogs’ lead to 27-22 in a defensive battle. Plus, RFH was home, and Harvey’s heave had the crowd buzzing last Thursday (Jan. 5).
However, Harvey’s three had not phased the Lancers.
“We had to forget about it,” said senior point guard Angelica Esposito. “It was a really nice shot. “We knew that we had to come out [in the second half] and keep playing well and not let up,” she added. “The first few minutes of the third quarter are the most important in a game.”
The first few minutes of the third quarter would prove to be decisive in this Shore Conference A Central Division clash between two of the Shore’s marquee programs, and it would be the visiting Lancers who played with a sense of urgency and rallied for a big 57-47 victory.
Rumson-Fair Haven High School guard Jessica Harvey (l) brings the ball up court against St. John Vianney defender Angelica Espositio during the Jan. 5 Shore Conference A Central Division game played in Rumson. Harvey hit two buzzer-beating shots from half court, but it wasn’t enough to derail the Lancers, who used a second-half rally to win the important division game, 57-47. PHOTOS BY ERIC SUCAR staff The Lancers stepped it up on defense, their trademark, using a half-court trap, and Esposito caught fire on the offensive end, scoring 10 consecutive points for the Lancers, including a pair of threes. Her outburst was the highlight of a 16-1 run that took the Lancers from a five-point deficit to a 10-point lead, 38-28.
“I was open,” Esposito said of her scoring spree. “I wanted to take advantage of it.”
She did, and the Lancers were now playing with a 10-point lead. They held the Bulldogs without a basket for the first 6:26 of the third quarter.
Bulldog head coach George Sourlis said the first few possessions of the third quarter were the difference in the game because not only did his team come up empty, they were turning the ball over.
“That was the key point of the game,” he said. “We didn’t even get a shot off. “They [SJV] were a little more desperate than we were,” he added. “Give Vianney credit, they cranked it up.”
Sourlis’ young Bulldogs (they have only one senior) showed their resiliency by bouncing back at the end of the quarter, thanks to another half-court shot ala Jerry West by Harvey that beat the buzzer and cut the Lancer lead to 44-40 heading into the fourth quarter.
“We actually practice that [half-court shot at the end of a period of a game], and Jessica is our best shooter at it,” said Sourlis.
Again, what could have been a momentum swing wasn’t. The Lancers worked the ball inside to 6-0 sophomore Katie Beriont, who had been a factor all night, and she made a traditional three-point play. She was fouled while making the basket and sank the free throw that gave SJV a 47-40 lead.
A three-point play from Janae Mayfield closed the lead to 48-43 mid-way through the fourth quarter, but that would be as close as the Bulldogs would get as SJV extended the lead from the foul line.
Esposito led all scorers with 15. Lyndsay Rowe, who matched Esposito with three threes, had 14, and Beriont chipped in with 11 as the Lancers improved to 5-2.
Harvey (12) and Sam Sabino (10) hit double figures for the Bulldogs, who slipped to 6-2.
This was a big game for both, and not only for itsACentral implications. Both of these state powerhouses find themselves in the unaccustomed position of having to prove themselves.
SJV head coach Dawn Kapell lost her four magnificent seniors — Missy Repoli, Jackie Kates, Arron Zimmerman and Katie O’Reilly, who led the Lancers to the 2009 NJSIAA Tournament of Champions crown and four straight Non-Public A state titles — but she pointed out that she had 13 girls returning who had seen varsity playing time last year.
Still, there were some doubters, and Esposito pointed out that the Lancers feel they have to prove themselves.
“We still have good players,” she said, adding that beating a “really good team” like Rumson lets every know that yes, the Lancers still have good players.
At Rumson, Sourlis graduated five senior starters and has but one senior on the team and a load of freshmen, including starter Emma Miller.
With a 6-2 record thus far, it’s obvious that while the team is young and inexperienced, it has talent.
What has pleased Sourlis the most is the steady improvement made by his team in the first eight games.
“We’ve gotten so much better,” he said. “I’m encouraged by how hard we play.” While disappointed that his team, which has played solid defense all year, allowed Vianney to score 35 points in the second half, Sourlis said that overall, he was “still proud of the effort” against SJV. Say this for both St. John and Rumson: there’s a reason they’ve been at the top winning for so long. The faces change but the results remain the same, and when they play each other, it’s going to be an entertaining, high-level game.
Both St. John Vianney and Rumson-Fair Haven will be competing in the Boardwalk Hoop Group Showcase at Long Branch High School on Sunday. The Bulldogs will play Neptune at noon and the Lancers will tip off against Blair Academy at 1 p.m.