Eagles proving to be better than anticipated
South girls still in hunt for A North title
BY TIM MORRIS
Staff Writer

The youthful Middletown High School South girls basketball team is making its mark with a 9-3 record — good enough for second place in the Shore Conference’s Class A North division.

The Eagles are 6-1 in conference play, with the only loss coming against first-place Howell (7-0). The two teams meet again on Feb. 4 at Middletown South.

“We’re very deep talent-wise and that’s starting to play out in our favor,” coach Tom Brennan said of his Eagles. “It’s really helped when someone has an off night. In our 12 games we’ve had six different leading scorers.”

Junior Michelle Whalen is Middletown South’s leading scorer with a 10-point average, but fellow guards Brittany Hoffman and Lauren Sorrentino can also put the ball in the hoop. Sorrentino, a junior, stepped up early in the season when Hoffman, a sophomore, was out with an injury, and when both players are on the floor the Eagles offense has more options.

“We’ve stressed aggressive defense all year, and that’s been a key for us,” Brennan said. “Our goal is to hold opponents under 40 percent shooting from the floor. We’ve had a lot of our success because of that.”

Sophomore forwards Shealyn Taggart and Courtney Herring have made their presence known. Taggart is a defensive force and has scored in double figures several times, with a high game of 15 points. Herring, who has been seeing more action of late, is averaging eight points and nine rebounds over the last five games.

Freshman Shawna Hagen has been solid underneath, including a 12-point, 17-rebound showing in a win over Freehold Township, and senior Kara Cancillieri has provided additional defensive strength and scoring down low.

Sophomore Christine Longo has specialized of late in guarding the opposition’s top shooters, and Brennan noted she has done well in that role.

While his team is looking ahead to the rematch with Howell, Brennan cautioned that his players really need to take it one game at a time, starting last night with a divisional contest against Freehold Township.

The Eagles, who have qualified for the NJSIAA Central Jersey Group IV playoffs, then travel to Old Bridge on Saturday for a nondivisional encounter with a Knights team they could very well see later in the postseason.

Notes... While the Eagles can complete their regular season safe in the knowledge that they’ve earned their place in the postseason, several area teams remain “on the bubble” with the Feb. 5 state playoff deadline rapidly approaching.

Across town, the Middletown North Lions are in a similar position at 5-6 following Friday’s 50-40 win over Marlboro. North entered the season with some high expectations of their own, but now find they need a strong finish over the next two weeks to extend their season.

This week’s schedule was about the last thing the Lions needed in their push, as they were set to host seventh-ranked Toms River North on Monday before traveling to fourth-ranked Howell tomorrow.

On Saturday, they face a less-imposing opponent in Ocean Township (3-9).

The Keyport Red Raiders are also in dire need of a couple of wins down the stretch as they enter the week at 7-6, while the Mater Dei Seraphs have an identical 7-6 mark,

The list of local girls teams virtually assured of postseason berths includes top-ranked St. John Vianney and 10th-ranked Holmdel.

The Lancers are in for a stern test on Saturday when they travel to Tinton Falls to take on the second-ranked Monmouth Regional Falcons.

This has become the most highly anticipated game of the regular season, as both teams have proved to be among the top teams in the state.

Monmouth Regional, at 11-1, has had this game circled on its calendar from the season’s start, anxious to prove it has taken the next step to join the likes of SJV, Red Bank Catholic and Rumson-Fair Haven as one of the Shore’s elite programs.

Game time is 2:30 p.m.

In boys action...

There are a trio of local boys teams anxiously awaiting the postseason, while only Middletown North appears to be on the bubble.

The Lions enter the week at 7-6 following a 72-66 loss to Marlboro on Friday. That loss essentially knocked the Lions out of the A North race, and made the next two weeks pressure-filled for head coach Will Meyer’s group.

North has a tough stretch of games during that time, starting with Monday’s match-up with Toms River North (2-9) and last night’s game with Howell (4-8).

They were hoping to earn a pair of wins in these two to make the next two a bit less important.

On Friday, they take on A North-leading Ocean Township (10-3) before facing second-ranked CBA on Tuesday.

CBA is one of the three teams that has assured itself a postseason berth. The Colts are 12-2 overall and are in cruise control until the postseason.

The Colts have been ranked second in the Shore all season, right behind Raritan, who improved to 12-2 with its 56-37 win over Red Bank Catholic on Friday.

The Rockets have been led this season by Boston University-bound point guard Marques Johnson, who notched his 1,000th career point in a win over St. John Vianney last Tuesday

Raritan and CBA will enter the postseason with some lofty expectations, and it would not surprise many people if they end up battling it out for the Shore Conference Tournament crown.

The other local that has sown up its postseason berth is the Mater Dei Seraphs, who own a 9-3 mark following Friday’s 63-27 win over Point Beach. The Seraphs are led by senior guard Jeff Wedick’s 15 points per game, and has played like a team that could be dangerous come tourney time.