St. Rose Wins First SCT Title in 19 Years

Watching from the bench as Manasquan pulled to within a basket, St. Rose's Diana Malanga could do nothing but cheer on her teammates and keep her fingers crossed.

St. Rose had led the entire game, pushing the tempo and keeping the Warriors on their heels, fighting to come back. It appeared Manasquan was about to make that comeback a reality, and the Roses' defensive leader was on the bench after fouling out.

Her replacement, Catherine Phipps, wasn't about to let the victory slip away. And while Manasquan tested Phipps, fouling her on three straight trips down the floor, the freshman passed each test easily.

Phipps hit six straight free throws to help St. Rose fend off the comeback in a 65-56 victory over Manasquan in the Shore Conference Girls Basketball championship game at Monmouth University on Friday night.

"Those two and a half minutes were like two and a half hours," Malanga, a senior, said. "I was more nervous on the bench than I was playing." 

St. Rose (25-1) won its first Shore Conference championship since 1993, the last time the Purple Roses appeared in the title game. But the title game had so much more riding on it, not the least of which was the highly anticipated rematch of the two teams. Manasquan (24-2), ranked No. 2 in the state by the Star-Ledger, and St. Rose, ranked No. 3, dueled just 13 days earlier as unbeaten teams, with Manasquan winning 43-39 in St. Rose's home gym. The rematch drew media from around the region, including MSG's Varsity HD and ESPN The Magazine.

MSG's Varsity HD will air a replay of the game Sunday, Feb. 26 at 7:30 p.m.

Much like the previous meeting, St. Rose pushed out to the lead early, forcing Manasquan to try to play catch-up. Manasquan struggled, turning the ball over 12 times in the first half as the Purple Roses played aggressive defense. On the offensive end, St. Rose was able to spring Samantha Clark free under the basket often. By halftime she had 10 of her game-high 28 points and 6 of her 10 rebounds.

"I haven't been playing well in the Shore Conference Tournament," said Clark, who was 7 for 10 from the field and hit 12 of 13 free throws. "To come out and have a big game and help my team helped my confidence."

Avenging the Feb. 11 loss was important to the team, she said, a sentiment echoed by Malanga. They knew it was going to take a stronger effort to win the second meeting.

"We knew we had to come out and play better in the second half," Malanga said.

"We concentrated on playing at a high level, doing things like getting to loose balls," St. Rose coach Joe Roman said. "We didn't change anything significant. You want to keep things simple."

And it was the simple act of playing aggressively that helped the Purple Roses push out to a 29-23 lead by halftime. St. Rose controlled Manasquan's star, , harassing her on every shot. At halftime she had just five points.

In the second half, the Roses kept up the pressure and the aggressiveness, keeping Manasquan from gaining any ground. Then Morgan Barry hit a 3-pointer to close the third quarter, pushing St. Rose's lead to 11.

For the Warriors, it was a game where nothing went right. Free throws rimmed out, seemingly good shots refused to fall and passes went awry. But Manasquan continued to fight, looking for whatever it could get.

Mabrey, the McDonald's All-America selection, came into the game needing 29 points to reach 2,000 for her career, but it became evident early on that it was unlikely she would reach that mark in this game, even as she tried to will the Warriors to victory.

And for a moment it appeared she might. With Manasquan trailing trailing 53-44 with four minutes remaining, Mabrey drove to the basket and scored, firing up her teammates and starting a run that drew Manasquan to within a basket at 53-51.

On St. Rose's next trip down the floor, Barry was fouled hard by Manasquan's Samantha Sullivan. After being evaluated for a few minutes, Barry was helped to her feet and hit two free throws awarded for an intentional foul.

"That was huge when she hit those free throws," he said. To fight off Manasquan's run, the team had to stay calm, he said. "We had to maintain our composure."

No one was more composed than Phipps, however, who took the floor to replace Malanga. Sent to the line, she calmly sank the free throws.

"I knew I had to hit them," the freshman said. "It made me feel like the hard work had paid off."

"I remember when I was a freshman," Malanga said. "That's a lot of pressure. We know she is a good player and we knew she could handle it."

"Nothing fazes the kid," Roman said.

And her calm heroics helped St. Rose achieve a milestone it hasn't seen in 19 years.

"Teams are going to make runs," Roman said. "The key is weathering that storm and attacking them.

"Now they know how to close out a game when that run comes," he said.

Michaela Mabrey finished with 12 points, while teammate Katelynn Flaherty led the Warriors with 18. Michaela's sister, freshman Marina Mabrey, added 10 points.