Shore Conference Tournament girls' basketball: St. John Vianney survives, tops RBC 58-52
WEST LONG BRANCH – With no area opponent having been within 27 points this season, and a host of the nation’s top teams all fallen short, Sunday’s Shore Conference Tournament championship game appeared little more than a coronation for defending champion St. John Vianney.
But with North Carolina State commit Zoe Brooks sidelined with an ankle injury she aggravated in the semifinals, the door appeared to open slightly for once-beaten Red Bank Catholic, featuring a lineup stocked with young talent.
The second-seeded Caseys appeared poised to step through, building a 31-24 halftime lead. But the Lady Lancers turned up the pressure in the second half, with a trio of 3-pointers by freshman Madison Kocis helping fuel a 17-10 rally in the third quarter, tying the game at 41-all heading into the final quarter.
Then center Ashley Sofilkanich scored their first five points of the fourth quarter, with a 3-point-play giving the Lady Lancers a 46-44 lead they would never relinquish, scoring a dramatic 58-52 victory at Ocean First Bank Center.
"It was a special performance." said St. John Vianney coach Dawn Karpell. "We hadn’t even had a game without Zoe. You come into a championship game and the kids have to adjust to not having our best player all year, and I said going in, you all have to step up in your own individual way."
A corner 3-pointer by junior Julia Karpell coming out of a timeout with 3:08 left gave St. John Vianney a 51-47 lead. Then a long 3-pointer by RBC’s Casey Prior with 1:46 to play made it a 52-50 game was answered with a triple by Bre Delaney.
Kocis, who finished with 19 points, eventually put the game away with a 3-point play with 17.8 seconds left, pushing the lead to 59-52.
"At first I was a little nervous but just went out and played," said Kocis.
The Lady Lancers used a balanced attack to overcome the loss of Brooks, who had a 26-point performance against St. Rose in the semifinals, and is averaging 23 points, 6.3 rebounds and 4.1 assists this season. In addition to Kocis, the Lady Lancers got 17 points from Sofilkanich.
It was the 16th SCT title for St. John Vianney (27-0), while Red Bank Catholic has won six. For Karpell, it was her 502nd career win, having topped the 500-mark in their quarterfinal win over Holmdel.
“We made a couple of adjustments defensively and we just got into a flow on offense once we figured out how to attack them," Dawn Karpell said.
The Lancers are chasing the 2000 Red Bank Catholic team that is the last Shore Conference team to go undefeated, finishing 31-0. Unlike previous years, there is no season-ending Tournament of Champions, with the Lancers winning the final one last year before the NJSIAA eliminated the season-ending event.
The Lancers beat Long Island Lutheran, then the No. 1 team in the country, on Jan. 13, and are currently ranked third nationally in MaxPreps, No. 5 by ESPN. Last year’s team, which finished 32-1, ended the year ranked fourth.
Now the Lancers go after an 18th NJSIAA Non-Public A title, and the eighth under Karpell.
The only previous loss for the Caseys (24-2) was a 71-46 defeat at the hands of Long Island Lutheran.
More:St. John Vianney's Zoe Brooks named to 2023 McDonald's All-American Game
More:Girls basketball 2023 Shore Conference Tournament schedule, scores
This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Shore Conference Tournament girls' basketball: St. John Vianney beats RBC
