Trinity Hall Inches Closer To First Basketball Division Title

Action photos courtesy of Melissa Whelan

TINTON FALLS - After Tuesday’s convincing 42-21 win over division rival Mater Dei on senior night, Trinity Hall is now in control of its own destiny in the B Central and can capture the basketball programs first ever division title with a win and a Mater Dei loss or two wins in their final two divisional games of the season.

The Monarchs (13-6, 11-1) and Seraphs (13-7, 11-2) came into the game in a virtual tie for first with Mater Dei having one divisional game in hand.

Trinity Hall hosts Keansburg (3-10, 6-12) on Friday while on the same day Mater Dei welcomes Ranney (2-15, 2-11). The Monarchs easily took care of the Titans in their first meeting, 61-14, while the Seraphs knocked off Ranney by 27 points, 52-25, earlier this season.

So, if you go on past performances, Trinity Hall will most likely have to wait until February 16 to clinch the title when they travel to Henry Hudson, a team they beat by 37 points, 51-14, a little over a week ago.

Shooting guard Colleen Cusat – one of two seniors who were celebrated Tuesday – led all scorers with 13 points along with four steals and three assists. Cusat, a four-year starter who has help build the program from the ground floor up, would love to go out with a B Central championship under her belt.

“It would be huge,” Cusat said of winning the division title. “We’re ready to go and it would be great to do it. I’ve been working so hard since my freshman year and to win the division title my senior year would be huge.”

Trinity Hall took a 15-8 lead early in the second quarter after freshman guard Cameryn Keane scored but Mater Dei’s leading scorer, Katherine Zoda, pulled the Seraphs to within two points, 15-13, on a three-pointer followed by a driving layup at the 2:30 mark of the second quarter.

Junior forward Colleen Kelly gave the Monarchs a little breathing room right before the half scoring on a give-and-go from Grace Kenney underneath to push Trinity Halls lead to four, 17-13, at the half.

Trinity Halls 6-foot-2 junior forward, Caitlin Wingertzahn, who finished with nine points, a game-high 11 boards and two blocked shots, got into foul trouble in the first half and was forced to sit most of the second quarter.

“Caitlin picked up a couple early fouls and she had to sit the whole second quarter on the bench,” said first-year head coach Matt McCarthy. “Our plan at halftime was to get the ball to Caitlin down low and try to get to the foul line so we could set up in our press and it worked. She kind of took over. I think she was frustrated having to sit on the bench for so long and she took it out on those guys – it was great to see.”

Trinity Hall kept feeding the ball to Wingertzahn who would then go hard to the basket drawing one foul after another and making one foul shot after another. Wingertzahn scored seven of the Monarchs nine third-quarter points going a lights out 7-for-8 from the free-throw line.

Sandwiched in between Wingertzahn’s free throws was a Cusat steal and full court drive to the basket for two points that really got the home-team crowd going.

“I told her (Wingertzahn) right when she got to the free-throw line that first time, ‘This is your quarter, and we’re going to win this game and win the division,’” said Cusat. “She came out here ready to play and she got two quick fouls but that wasn’t stopping her from dominating the game.”

While Wingertzahn and Cusat were doing their thing on the offensive end they were also part of a Trinity Hall defensive effort that held Mater Dei to two points in the third quarter and eight for the entire second half.

“We knew if we forced Mater Dei to the left side of the court they were going to have a hard time getting into their offense and they (Trinity Hall) all bought into it, every single one,” said McCarthy of his team’s defensive effort. “Our guards were rebounding; our forwards were blocking out - things that don’t show up in the box score. Colleen Kelly and Emma Bradley were clearing people out underneath the basket so our guards could get in there and get rebounds.”

Kelly (nine rebounds) and Bradley (seven rebounds), along with Wingertzahn spearheaded the defensive effort but it was a total team effort that got the job done.

“Yea we do,” said Cusat when asked it the team works hard on defense. “We come out and think defense wins games. If we work harder on defense then any other team we’re going to win even if our shots aren’t falling.”

The fourth quarter was all Trinity Hall as the Monarchs outscored Mater Dei 16-6 to put the game away. Freshman point guard Haven Dora opened the quarter scoring off an assist from Cusat then went coast-to-coast after grabbing a defensive rebound on consecutive plays.

Dora, who finished with six points, a team-high six steals, four assists and six rebounds, has blossomed into an elite point guard that excels in all facets of the game.

“She’s started every single game for us and has played against some really, really good guards who are going on to play D1 basketball,” McCarthy said of his talented freshman point guard.

“Every game she’s learned and picked things up. She steals, rebounds, points, assists, whatever it is, she’s going to do it for us. We’re really excited to have her here for another three years and to help her reach her unlimited potential.”

Only fittingly, Cusat scored off an assist from Wingertzahn in the final minute to close out the game, 42-21. Junior guard Maggie Ward chipped in with two points, two assists, two steals and two rebounds.

“Colleen means everything to this team,” said McCarthy. “She not only leads in the game but leads in every single drill in practice and that’s been since the beginning. The girls follow her and look up to her. Her and Grace (Kenney) are the only seniors but its been great having them because they taught me what was going on here at Trinity Hall and they’ve been here since the beginning. It’s invaluable when you have to good seniors like that, especially Colleen who leads the way.”

With only two seniors on the team, McCarthy really didn’t know what he had entering the season.

“Every single week they’ve gotten better,” said McCarthy. “We lost our first two games to Marlboro and Pt. Beach and started out 1-4, but we played a lot of really good teams, Trenton Catholic, Marlboro, Middletown South and it made us a better team. It taught us to play hard for four quarters and it all starts at the defensive end, that’s what they’ve bought into. It’s been great coaching these girls, they really learn quickly. It would be gigantic if we can win the first division in program history, especially after nobody expected it in the beginning of the year. I like the spot we’re in right now.”

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