St. Rose Flies Past Mater Dei Prep

Behind an impressive defensive performance, the Lady Roses were able to jump out early against Mater Dei Prep, and never look back.

St. Rose (20-0) used a 5-0 run in the first quarter and an 11-0 advantage to open the second quarter to pull away from the Lady Seraphs, winning convincingly, 52-27, at Mater Dei Prep High School Tuesday night.

Senior Samantha Clark lead St. Rose with 17 points, adding eight rebounds to her stat-line, and freshman Kat Phipps added 15 points, aiding the Lady Roses in their blowout victory.

St. Rose held the Seraphs to just one field goal in the second quarter, taking a 29-11 lead into halftime.

"Our defense is what drives us and kind of gets us going," St. Rose head coach Joe Roman said. "I was pretty pleased with what we were able to do on the defensive end, being able to force some turnovers and push the ball up the court."

The Lady Roses looked to utilize Clark as much as possible in the low block, but the Lady Seraphs did a nice job containing her for a good portion of the game.

St. Rose got good contributions from a number of players, including Phipps and Morgan Barry, who added seven points including a three-pointer.

Point guard Diana Malagna added three points as well, but sat out the second half, nursing a knee injury.

"Sammy does so many things for us. She lead us in scoring and probably lead us in assists because she's so good with the basketball. She's a great basketball player," Roman said.

St. Rose out-scored Mater Dei Prep, 11-3 in the second quarter, and put up 18 points in the first quarter and 15 points in the fourth quarter to pull away with the win.

With a 20-0 record, St. Rose will next face with Manasquan in a showdown between two undefeated squads at 1 p.m. Saturday at home.

"We kind of preach to take it game-by-game, and practice-by-practice to prepare for games," Roman said. "We have Manasquan on Saturday so we can look forward to that but it's important to go game-by-game."