Mabrey's Defensive Effort and Dominant Rebounding the Difference
By Mike Ready
LONG BRANCH – The fifth-seeded Manasquan Warriors (18-5) shook off a slow first half and rode Marina Mabrey’s dominant performance in the paint to a 45-31 win over sixth-seeded Neptune (19-4), forging their way into Tuesday’s Shore Conference Tournament semifinal round.
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Playing in only her ninth game of the season with the Warriors after transferring back from Point Beach, it was Mabrey’s - an all-state selection last season after averaging 25 points/game - defense and rebounding that made the difference in the Warriors quarterfinal win.
Pitted against Neptune’s 6-foot-3 inch Lorena Hubbard and 6-foot Lyonna Crenshaw, Marbrey pulled down a game-high 17 rebounds, including six off the offensive glass, in helping the Warriors gain a 40-31 advantage off the glass. She also blocked three shots, and scored a game-high 21 points.
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“I was really going after it and trying to possess the ball,” Mabrey said. “I was trying to keep Hubbard and Crenshaw from hurting us. I felt if we could stop them we could win the game.”
“We really rebounded hard today,” Manasquan coach Lisa Kukoda said. “We did a good job getting our offensive boards and crashing on the defensive boards; Marina was outstanding.”
Seniors Bridget Ford chipped in with seven boards (four offensive), and forward Sam Sullivan added five rebounds (three offensive); junior guard Courtney Hagaman pulled down four (three offensive). Eighteen of Manasquan’s 40 rebounds came off the offensive glass handing the Warriors a number of second chance baskets.
Manasquan led 7-6 after the one quarter, as neither team could get anything going in a feeling out process that failed to break the tightness the two teams were exhibiting.
5-foot-3 freshman guard Stella Clark grabbed an offensive rebound underneath and scored on a putback, and Mabrey had six boards and five points to highlight the quarter.
Clark added six points and junior guard Courtney Hageman added four points in the second quarter as both teams continued to struggle from the field with the Warriors shooting a dismal 30.8 percent (8-for-26) from the field while the Fliers were even worse at 16.7 percent (4-for-24).
Manasquan led at the half 21-14, and although it might’ve been their ugliest half shooting the entire season, they had to take solace in the fact that Neptune was shooting even worse and they did have a seven point lead.
“I knew my shots would eventually come,” Mabrey said. “But today I felt it was my presence and leadership on the court that was important. I Know I took some questionable shots but I knew it was going to come to me at some point, so I kept shooting.”
Mabrey’s shots began to drop in the third quarter as she scored nine of the final 11 points of the quarter, including a big 3-pointer to put the Warriors up 32-21 with 1:36 remaining in the third. Clark found Mabrey underneath with a brilliant no-look pass to go up 34-22, but Neptune’s multi-talented guard Marajiah Bacon hit a 3-pointer to pull the Fliers to within nine, 34-25 after the third quarter.
Manasquan held the Fliers scoreless the first 3:30 of the fourth quarter and to only six total points as the Warriors built a 14-point lead and went on to win 45-31.
Bacon led the Fliers with 12 points in the losing effort.
“We did a much better Job moving the ball and finding the open girl in the second half,” Kukoda said. “That helped in breaking the press and moving down court. The more we play together in stressful situations the better our chemistry has gotten. Marina has worked herself into the program and the girls have embraced and accepted that; we’re a better team than we were because of it.”
Manasquan will now face Class A Central division foe and longtime nemesis Saint John Vianney in game one of Tuesday’s SCT semifinals at Brick Memorial High School; tipoff is slated for 6:00 p.m.
The Warriors lost twice to the Lancers this season, the first without Mabrey and the other in Mabrey’s second game with the team. Manasquan is a much stronger team now that Mabrey and her teammates have had a chance to get know each other while getting acclimated to their individual style of play. The Warriors will give St John Vianney all they can handle in the semifinals, and although they will be considered underdogs, an upset is a definite possibility.
“Saint John Vianney is aggressive, they try to control tempo and force you into doing things you wouldn’t normally do,” Kukoda added. “They like to put you on your heels and take you out of your game. We’ve blended quite a bit since we last met and we’ll do a better job at doing the things we need to do to win Tuesday.”
