Girls Basketball Duo Will Represent Holmdel in All-Star Games on Friday

The resurgence of Holmdel girls basketball continued this year with another successful season that included the Hornets’ first trip to an NJSIAA sectional final since 2003, and the present and future of the program will be on display on Friday.

 Senior guard Ally Mnich will be suiting up for the North All-Stars at 6 p.m. on March 25 at Brookdale Community College for the annual Shore Basketball Coaches Association Senior All-Star Game.

Before the seniors take the court, a group of eighth-grade standouts will play in the inaugural Futures Game at 4 p.m., and included on the North All-Star roster is Morgan Graziano, a current Holmdel eighth-grader who is the younger sister of former Hornets standout Dana Graziano.

 Mnich was one of Holmdel’s top scorers this season along with sophomore Tara Inman on a team that finished 19-10. That campaign came one season after Holmdel won 18 games in the Hornets’ first season under head coach Bob Ward, who is a Holmdel graduate.

 “I think that’s great for (Mnich) that she was selected because she’s a hard worker who really put her heart and soul into it,’’ Ward said. “It’s nice that she can represent Holmdel in a game like this.’’

Mnich’s selection is especially impressive given the fact that this year’s girls Senior All-Star Game is the most loaded with talent that it’s ever been. A Shore Conference-record 16 Division I players will be participating. A large portion of them will be from Holmdel’s division, Class A Central, as four St. John Vianney seniors and five Rumson-Fair Haven seniors will be playing on the North squad.

“It’s a good opportunity for (Mnich) because she played AAU with a lot of these kids, so it’s one last time to play with some of the other top players outside of Holmdel,’’ Ward said.

Mnich was one of three seniors who were important contributors for Holmdel this season in its march to the Central Jersey Group III final, where it lost to Tournament of Champions finalist Neptune. Shannon Nelson was a three-year starter at point guard, while Priscilla Wong was “the unsung hero of the senior class who did a lot of the dirty work,’’ as Ward put it.

Mnich has drawn Division III interest from the likes of Ithaca, Ramapo and McDaniel College, so she will be continuing her basketball career at the next level. Nelson will be moving on to run cross country at Lehigh University.

Holmdel returns three of five starters in Inman, junior forward Amanda Hall and freshman Victoria Cardaci, the last of whom moved into the starting lineup in the latter part of the season. Sophomore Lauren Kelly also saw time off the bench in the frontcourt and showed improvement as the season progressed.

The other good news is that Class A Central will lose a ton of firepower to graduation. The St. John Vianney team that has ruled the division for the past three seasons will graduate four Division I starters in Arron Zimmerman (American University); Jackie Kates (University of Pennsylvania); Missy Repoli (Colgate) and Katie O’Reilly (Lehigh), who have accounted for more than 100 wins and numerous titles during their four-year varsity careers. Also, Rumson-Fair Haven, another perennial power, graduates its entire starting lineup, including four Division I players as well.

 “It will be nice,’’ Ward said. “We’re not going to see the five seniors from Rumson and the four kids from Vianney in our division alone, plus girls like Sam Guastella and Kasey Hobbie from RBC and the girls from Neptune.’’

Neptune has been a formidable obstacle for everyone in Central Jersey Group III, winning four straight titles in that bracket, but graduates Rutgers-bound guards Shakena Richardson and Syessence Davis and Pittsburgh-bound center Chyna Golden, who formed the core of one of the best Shore Conference girls teams in history.

Holmdel, which had four freshmen see varsity action this season, also welcomes the younger Graziano, who is already 5-foot-11 as an eighth-grader. The good news for the Hornets is that she is attending Holmdel rather than being snapped up by one of the parochial powers, like St. John Vianney or RBC. Ward has been on both sides of it, as he previously coached championship teams at St. John Vianney before becoming an assistant for championship teams at Colts Neck and then taking the head job at his alma mater.

“(Graziano) should help us down the road, especially with that type of height,’’ Ward said. “We have a good group of kids coming back and more on the way, so it’s going to give us a good future.’’