Lancers, Warriors exchange wins in A Central duels

By MATTHEW ROCCO
Correspondent

The battle for the girls basketball Shore Conference A Central Division crown has followed a predictable path: a fight to the finish.

St. John Vianney High School and Manasquan High School, two of the top teams in the Shore Conference and the state, are in a seesaw battle for first place. The Lancers dealt the first blow, defeating their rival, 58-51, in a January matchup. But last week, Manasquan’s defense rose to the occasion, as the Warriors got their revenge with a 64-39 win.

The Lancers kept pace through the first three quarters, coming within six points of the Warriors heading into the final period. The momentum swung Manasquan’s way after the break. Manasquan quickly scored off two steals, and one more layup put the Warriors 12 points ahead. A 15-2 run in the fourth quarter put the game out of reach. Manasquan senior Marina Mabrey, the Shore’s leading scorer, recorded a gamehigh 24 points and added 15 rebounds to lead the Warriors. St. John Vianney sophomore Kimi Evans led her team with 13 points, and junior Kelly Campbell scored 11.

So the two teams each have one divisional loss, and Rumson Fair Haven Regional High School isn’t far behind in the A Central race. The Bulldogs lost twice to Manasquan (17-1) and once to St. John Vianney (15- 2) for a total of three losses within the competitive division. The Bulldogs last regular-season meeting with the Lancers came on Feb. 9 in a critical matchup for both sides. St. John Vianney won the first game between the clubs, 58-52.

Rumson-Fair Haven completed two big wins last week to stay close. The Bulldogs topped Holmdel High School, 75-50, before defeating Monmouth Regional High School by a score of 83-29.

St. John Vianney bounced back quickly after the loss to Manasquan. In a home game against Raritan High School, a dozen Lancers contributed to the scoring as St. John Vianney surged to an 80-6 rout. Campbell was the leading scorer with 13 points followed by junior Kellie Crouch with 11. Fellow junior Megan Furch added nine points, while sophomore Julia Ramos and junior Vanessa Pinho each scored eight.

As of last week, Campbell was tied for 12th among Shore Conference scorers, averaging 14.2 points. The point guard was also third in assists and leads the Shore in free-throw percentage. Evans placed in the top 20 in scoring, while Crouch was seventh in 3-pointers.

Before hosting Rumson-Fair Haven, St. John Vianney was scheduled to go on the road on Feb. 9 for a divisional game against Shore Regional High School. The Holmdel school will hit the road again on Feb. 12 to play Monmouth Regional, another A Central foe.

Manasquan has divisional matchups against Holmdel and Raritan this week. Rumson-Fair Haven and Raritan were slated to play each other on Feb. 10.

Regardless of how things shake out in A Central, a potential third meeting between Manasquan and St. John Vianney looms in the Shore Conference Tournament, which gets underway on Feb. 17.

The Warriors and Lancers will likely be the top two seeds.

The Shore Conference Tournament finals is scheduled for Feb. 27 at Monmouth University at 6:30 p.m.