Trio of local girls teams capture tourney titles
RBC, RFH prepare for showdown on Tuesday
BY DOUG McKENZIE
Staff Writer

It certainly was a festive holiday break for three of the area's top girls basketball teams.

The Red Bank Catholic, Rumson-Fair Haven and Monmouth Regional girls all entered tournaments over the holiday break, with all three teams claiming team titles, lending further credence to the belief that some of the top girls basketball teams in the state reside right here in eastern Monmouth County.

The top-ranked Red Bank Catholic Caseys took their perfect record to Boardwalk Classic in Wildwood last week, emerging with a team title against a talented field. After knocking off Council Rock North (of Newton, PA), 48-44, in the semifinals, behind 15 points from senior Jenna Strich (including a pair of clutch three-pointers down the stretch), the Caseys found themselves in a rematch of last year's NJSIAA Non-Public South A semifinal against Holy Spirit (of Absecon) in the finals.

Having lost to Holy Spirit, 60-52, in the state tournament last year, the Caseys were more than happy to see the Spartans in the final, and were relishing in the opportunity to enact some revenge while simultaneously claiming the team title.

Early on, RBC was struggling to score against the Spartan defense, falling behind 20-16 at the half. However, the Caseys upped the tempo a bit in the second half, creating several transition basket opportunities en route to outscoring Holy Spirit, 25-15 after the break to win the contest, 42-35.

Once again, Strich led the way with 15 points, with nine of her points coming in the fourth quarter.

Head coach Joe Montano was pleased with his team's performance throughout the tournament, though, as always, he said there's always room for improvement.

"That's a very competitive tournament against some very good teams," he said. "It certainly exposed some things that we need to work on. ... We've still got a way to go. We're not where we want to be."

Things won't get much easier for Montano's squad as they were scheduled to take on Raritan (Tuesday) and Holmdel (today), before hosting Bridgewater-Raritan on Saturday, and Rumson-Fair Haven on Tuesday.

The Bulldogs are the second-ranked team in the Shore, and looked every bit as good as advertised over the holiday break, winning the WOBM Tournament in Toms River.

"That's always been a battle between two very good teams that play extremely hard," Montano said. "They know what we do and we know what they do. A lot of the girls are friends and certainly look forward to facing each other."

Rumson entered the tournament as the team to beat, and played like it throughout, all the way through their 42-31 win over an up-and-coming Colts Neck team in the final.

The Cougars, who are drawing comparisons to the Marlboro team of a few seasons ago thanks to the play of three standout freshman - Brooke Hampton, Lauren Flarke and Tiffany DeTulio, also rolled through the tournament to earn their shot at the Bulldogs.

Once there, however, the RFH defense proved to be too much for the young Cougars, as sophomore Kate Miller led a spirited defensive effort for the Bulldogs, while also scoring a game-high 19 points, including 13 in the second half.

JEFFGRANIT staff Monmouth Regional's Jessica Ford makes her way past the Holmdel defense during the Golden Falcons' Bayshore Holiday Tournament win in Holmdel on Saturday.

Miller also found a way to hold Hampton, who entered the game having already scored a tournament-record 73 points in three games, to just two points in the final.

And her efforts were contagious, as the Bulldogs frustrated the young Cougars en route to building a 13-point lead by the fourth quarter.

With the win, RFH improved to 7-0 on the young season. They too have some tough games this week before taking on the Caseys on Tuesday in a game that will likely have the attention of the entire Shore Conference.

Montano expects the Bulldogs to give the Caseys all they can handle.

"Kate Miller is a very good player and I've really been impressed with (point guard Candice Green)," he said. "We'll need to keep them under control and make them take difficult shots. They always make you work hard for every shot, so we'll need to hit the ones we get."

Another local team that has already captured a team title is the Monmouth Regional Falcons, who were crowned the Bayshore Holiday Tournament champs after knocking off host Holmdel, 56-42, in the final.

The Golden Falcons entered the tournament reeling a bit after suffering a 81-59 loss to Neptune the previous week. Monmouth entered the season expecting to compete for the B North Division title, and the loss to the Scarlet Fliers seemed to serve as a wake-up call for the talented team from Tinton Falls.

Monmouth rolled to the tournament final, and used a 12-0 run in the second quarter to distance themselves from a solid Holmdel squad.

With seniors Brittany Powell (15 points), Caitlin Shaw (15 points, 13 rebounds) and junior Tia Curtis (22 points, 12 rebounds) leading the way, head coach Audra Corson's squad simply took the game over during that stretch and never looked back.

Holmdel, led by senior Dana Graziano (20 points) fought until the end, but Monmouth (5-1) continued to pour it on to secure its fourth straight Bayshore Tournament title.