GMC Hoops Highlights–March 21, 2016–#2 Manasquan vs. #1. St. John Vianney–TOC Girls Final

Here are highlights from the last 19:50 of regulation and both overtimes in top seeded St. John Vianney of Holmdel’s win over second seeded Manasquan in the 2016 NJSIAA Tournament of Champions Final. It was the 7th time that Vianney won the T of C Championship. Manasquan, which won the title last year over Vianney, gave a valiant battle before falling in double-overtime. The Lady Lancers jumped out to a 27-18 lead with 3:50 remaining in the first half before Manasquan scored 6 of the last 11 points to trim the deficit to 32-24 at the intermission despite a three from SJV’s Julia Ramos.

The third quarter was a relatively low scoring quarter with no rhythm as both teams shot themselves in the foot with miscues, but Vianney did manage to increase its lead to 36-26 after scoring 4 of the first 6 points of the second half including a steal for a layup by Vanessa Pinho. Manasquan, led by Dara Mabrey, Stella Clark, and Faith Masonius, rallied back with 23 of the last 36 points of regulation including a basket with 4.6 seconds left in regulation to tie the game up at 49-49. In the first overtime, Vianney appeared to be on the ropes as they missed a couple key free throws in the extra session, but did manage to tie the game again at 53-53, and force a second overtime.

In the second extra session, Vianney took the opening tip, and came down the court for a score on a jumper from the left wing by Gigi Caponegro for her only points of the game, and a 55-53 lead with three minutes to play. Then, Kelly Campbell took over. The senior, who along with teammate Caponegro was selected to play in the NJSCA North-South Girls All-Star Game at Rider University on Sunday, helped her team pull away from there by going 9 of 10 from the foul line while Tina Lebron sank a pair of free throws with 9.2 seconds left to wrap up the 65-58 victory. It was the fourth time that SJV defeated Manasquan this year. It was the second time that the two teams went to overtime before Vianney won. The first meeting between the two schools went to overtime. The third meeting was for the Shore Conference Tournament Championship, which Vianney won 59-48 to secure their first county/conference title since 2006.

Campbell finished with 23 points along with 11 rebounds, 6 assists, and 2 steals according to NJ.com. Kimi Evans chipped in with 11 points while Pinho added 10 points. Seven different players scored for Vianney while only five scored for Manasquan. Faith Masonius put the Lady Warriors on her back, especially when sophomore Dara Mabrey fouled out in the first overtime. Masonius finished with a game high 27 points along with 9 rebounds. Stella Clark added 10 while Mabrey finished with 13. Vianney enjoyed a 12-9 edge in points scored from beyond the arc while also enjoying a 21-9 edge in points scored from the charity stripe thanks in large part to Campbell, who scored 14 of her 23 from the foul line. With the victory, St. John Vianney completed its season at 31-1 while Manasquan concluded its campaign at 28-7.