SJV girls win two games in Shore Conf. tourney
Lancers defeat Freehold, Shore Regional
BY WARREN RAPPLEYEA Staff Writer
The St. John VianneyHigh School girls basketball team began its quest for a Shore Conference championship with convincing victories over Freehold and Shore Regional.

On Sunday, the Lancers downed Freehold, 56-47, in a quarterfinal game. That victory came on the heels of SJV's opening roundwin over, 72-22.Katelyn Linney paced the Lancers attack in both game scoring 16 and 20 points, respectively.

SJV will met Red Bank Catholic in the semi-finals yesterday.

SJV has been rolling since getting off to a 2-2 start, with those two losses coming against Red Bank Catholic andManasquan, respectively. The loss to the Caseys proved a bit costly though, as the two teams ended up tied for the Shore's ClassACentral crown.

The Lancers'19-1 run included triumphs against RBC, Rumson-Fair Haven and Christ the King. In the latter game, Linney went the length of the court to score a gametying lay-up that set up an overtime where SJV prevailed, 55-53.

"That was a terrific win for our program and it highlights how well the girls have been playing," coachDawnKarpell said. "As the seasonwent along,we just got better and better defensively at the man-to-man, and our press has been excellent."

While SJV is solid on D, it also boasts a potent offense led by Linney, who averages 16 points. The junior guard leads the teamin three-pointers as well with 28.

Missy Repoli has done a strong job up front. The 5-10 freshman has displayed a good shooting touch that has helped her average 12 points and pull down some big rebounds. Another freshman, Jackie Keats, has been outstanding at the point,where she averages six points and 5.5 assists. Keats has picked up her scoring recently, Karpell pointed out, which will certainly help at tournament time.

SJV's other starters are Christyn Tempura and JenMulvey. Tempura, is a force at center, averaging 4.5 points and pulling down four rebounds-per-game.As the team's lone senior, Tempura has been a teamleader too.Mulvey, meanwhile, is the Lancers best defender, usually guarding the opposition's top scoring threat.

The junior has also contributed to the offense, as evidenced by 5.5-point average.

Karpell's bench is strong, enabling the coach to employ a nine-player rotation- and the players coming in havemade their presence felt.

TheresaManigrasso, a feisty sophomore guard, averages 6.5 points while playing an aggressive style of defense. Three freshmen round out the rotation, Arron Zimmerman, Katie O'Reilly and Kate Wilderding. The 5- 11 Zimmerman averages six points and leads the Lancers in rebounding with fiveper game. O'Reilly and Wilderding provide additional presence inside.

"Our younger players have stepped up quite a bit and that allows us to use a bigger rotation," Karpell said. "It's been fun to watch them mature and handle situations differently as the season progresses."

Speaking of progress, the Lancers have earned the top seed in theNJSIAAParochial A South tourney, with rival RBC right behind. That tournament beginsMarch 1.