Lancers, Colts are Shore’s elites once again
BY WARREN RAPPLEYEA
Staff Writer

On the heels of its impressive run to the Shore Conference championship, the St. John Vianney High School girls basketball team will visit Bishop Ahr today to open the NJSIAA Non-Public South A Tournament.

The Lancers, 18-5 overall, are coming off a 47-30 triumph over Monmouth Regional in the Shore Conference finale, which gave SJV its second straight Shore crown and its third in the past four seasons.

SJV posted an early 8-0 lead and never looked back. Shantel Brown, the Lancers’ senior point guard, led the way with 20 points, while Alisa Apo added 12 points. Perhaps most important, SJV controlled the glass throughout to dominate the same Monmouth Regional team that downed the Lancers during the regular season.

PHOTOS BY JEFFGRANIT staff (Clockwise from left) St. John Vianney’s Alisa Apo goes baseline to the basket during the Lancers’ win over Monmouth on Saturday in the girls SCT final, Above, CBA’s Dan Werner comes down with a tough rebound, while Craig Woehnker (below) soars to the basket during the boys final. Below left, SJV’s Shantel Brown heads upcourt to lead the Lancers.

“When our girls come out and play defense with intensity, we’re a hard team to beat,” coach Bob Ward said. “We try and let our defense create offense, and that’s worked for us all year.”

Against fourth-seeded Bishop Ahr, the fifth-seeded Lancers will look to maintain that defensive intensity, as well as a balanced scoring attack.

Brown runs the SJV offense and leads the team in scoring with a 15.5 point average, assists, with 3.5 per game; and steals, with 2.5 per game. She also averages four rebounds.

Apo, a sophomore, has established herself as an offensive mainstay, averaging 12 points, and junior forward Courtney Calderone averages 10 points and 5.5 boards. Fellow junior Kristine Perez averages 6.5 points and 5.5 rebounds, and senior Colleen Light averages 4.5 points. Seniors Kat Gooch and Jessica Nimbley, along with sophomore Laurie Sarni also play significant minutes for the Lancers.

“Right now we’re where we want to be,” Ward said. “If the girls play with the same intensity, we’ll be alright.” When Monsignor Donovan knocked off the top-seeded Raritan Rockets earlier in the Shore Conference Tournament, that left second-ranked CBA as the obvious favorite.

And that is a role the Colts are familiar with, and generally react well to.

Saturday night, they looked every bit like the best team in the Shore in downing Manasquan, 57-41, to win their 13th SCT title.

The Colts used a stifling defensive effort to dominate the Warriors, contesting every shot and limiting second-chance points. Meanwhile, on offense, CBA was its usual methodical self, executing its offense to near perfection and demonstrating the type of patience that leads to open looks at the basket.

The result was a generally noncompetitive final, as the Colts built up a 21-14 lead by the half, and never looked back.

Junior forward Dan Werner led the way once again for the Colts, scoring 15 points, while adding 14 rebounds, three blocks and a pair of steals. But he was not alone. This was a balanced CBA effort, with Brian Freiberger (14), Sean Stolzenthaler (12) and Kevin Sidoti (12) also reaching double figures.

The Colts will now turn their attention to the Non-Public South A state tournament, where they are the second seed behind St. Augustine (Atlantic County).

CBA will take on seventh-seeded Bishop Ahr (Edison) today in the quarterfinals, with the winner back in action on Saturday, where third-seeded Camden Catholic is likely to be waiting.

The Colts certainly have a tough road to a sectional title ahead of them.