The Red Bank Catholic (RBC) High School’s girls basketball team continues to dominate the opposition with the Groundhog Day-type formula of balanced scoring and team defense that has limited the opposition to 35 or fewer points 12 times this season.
Undefeated in the Shore Conference’s Class A Central Division, RBC earned the No. 1 seed in the upcoming Shore Conference Tournament. The Caseys downed archrival St. John Vianney High School, seeded second in the Shore Conference, earlier in the season and were set to play the Lancers on Feb. 8, but the game was postponed by the snowstorm. The A Central matchup will be rescheduled.
The Caseys are 19-1 on the year, with the lone loss coming on Jan. 27 against Moore Catholic High School (Staten Island, N.Y.) by a 48-41 count. Despite the loss, coach Joe Montano’s team showed what it’s made of with a late comeback. Down by a seemingly insurmountable 10 points with less than two minutes to play, RBC scored eight straight points in a 25-second span to close the gap.
Forced to foul with time dwindling, though, the Caseys had to stand by as Moore Catholic converted its free throws and took the win. Grace Fallon topped RBC with 12 points and also pulled down eight rebounds, while Mary Kate Caverly added nine points.
The loss followed a trio of triumphs over Mater Dei High School, Raritan High School and Shore Regional High School that saw RBC hold each team to 25 points or less.
Montano’s team bounced right back after the loss with a 47-37 victory over division rival Holmdel High School (14-7) on Jan. 29. After a tight first period, the Caseys outscored the Hornets 16-8 in the second quarter and never looked back. Caverly and Caroline Corcoran scored 13 points apiece, while sophomore guard Alex Barazotti had 11 points for RBC.
On Jan. 31 the Caseys handled another division rival, Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School (14-7), 49-34. RBC raced out to a 16-7 first quarter edge that set the tone for the game. Caverly led the offense with 14 points, while Alex Alfano added 11, Corcoran had 10 and Barazotti contributed nine points. In its last game, RBC easily outscored Monmouth Regional High School, 38-14.
In most seasons, RBC has usually featured a big scorer. This time around, the Caseys defeat opponents by committee. Corcoran is the team’s leading scorer, averaging 15 points, but Alfano averages nearly 11 points, while Barazotti and Caverly average about nine points each. Then there’s the Fallon, a 5-foot-11 junior, who gives her team a strong presence under the basket. Fallon can also score and she averages about seven points per game.
“We have a lot of seniors and they know this is their last time through,” the coach said. “They’re more focused on winning than on individual goals and that rubs off on the whole team. We could easily have six or seven losses, but these girls have worked so well together they’ve found ways to win.”
Following the play-in games that were set for Feb. 12, the Shore Conference Tournament begins in earnest on Feb. 14 with the remaining 16 teams in action. RBC, which has a first round bye, will meet the winner of the Jackson Memorial High School vs. Jackson Liberty High School game at home on Feb. 14. The quarterfinals and semifinals will be held at Brookdale Community College on Feb. 16 and Feb. 20, respectively. The finals will be on Feb. 23 at Monmouth University.