Red Bank Catholic Girls Basketball Advances to State Finals

Against a senior-heavy Holy Spirit starting lineup in the State South Jersey Non-Public A girls basketball playoffs semifinals, number two seed Red Bank Catholic dominated the second half as the underclassmen stepped up for the Caseys to secure the win Saturday afternoon.

Red Bank Catholic advanced to the championship game with a 59-40 win. Though the final score was lopsided, the game was hotly contested throughout.

The Caseys, 21-6 on the seaosn, worked their way to a 19-14 first quarter lead only to see it drop to one by the end of the first half, 28-27. Holy Spirit took charged in the final seconds of both the first and second quarters, but couldn’t sustain its momentum entering the second half.

Holy Spirit came out with a strong press and aggressive perimeter defense, scoring first at 7:23 in the opening quarter to take a 3-0 lead but Casey senior guard Kasey Hobbie quickly responded with a three of her own to tie the game at 3-3. 

Holy Spirit drove the land and aggressively ran the floor hitting another 2 for a 5-3 lead. Despite being relaxed, focused and pumped during the warm-ups and shoot around, Red Bank Catholic seemed off its game early in the first quarter. Holy Spirit’s success at running the floor and driving the lane appeared to throw the Lady Caseys off tempo.

After a timeout at 4:50, Red Bank Catholic Coach Joe Montano could be heard telling his players to relax and be patient. He counseled his players about what to expect in the paint and what to do when Holy Spirit drove the lane.

Montano said after the game that he didn’t expect Holy Spirit would be able to sustain the momentum they showed early in the game.

 “This team played great tonight,” he said, adding that Grace Fallon and Morgan Arnott were very good and Mary Kate Caverly and Caroline Corcoran gave the Caseys big minutes in the third quarter.

The third was where Red Bank Catholic put it all together.

 Casey senior center Sam Guastella opened the second half with a quick three points by drawing a foul on a tip-in under the basket. The team was much more settled in the second half and steadily expanded the lead and played tough defense for the 59-40 win.

Arnott, a guard, made a hard block at mid-court late in the fourth quarter to stop a Holy Spirit drive and sophomore Rachel Krauss was tough on defense as usual.

Fallon, a freshman, took two hard fouls that sent her to the floor in the third quarter and was able to score some points from the foul line. Fallon looked like a freshman at the beginning of the game, her passes were soft and a little high, but by the third quarter she looked like a well-seasoned player dishing passes with ease to both the senior starters and rising underclassman alike.

 Fallon finished with nine points, seniors Hobbie and Mary Kate Byrnes put in 10 and two points, respectively. Arnott and her sophomore teammate Caverly put in five points each. Sophomore guard Alex Alfano put in three points. Guastella led the team with 25.

Next up is the championship game with defending State Champion St. John Vianney – and number one seed – Tuesday at 3:30pm at Jackson Liberty. It’s a chance for seniors Byrnes, Guastella and Hobbie to win the state title that has eluded them in their four-year career at Red Bank Catholic.

 Game Notes

 “Awesome” was how Senior Center Sam Guastella described the win after the game.  It was the senior’s final home game but her joy at going to the finals overshadowed the finality of the last game at home. It’s a bit bittersweet she admitted.

Sister Regina and Sister Joan Marie have been teacher at Red Bank Catholic for more than 30 years and have been supporting its sports teams for just as long. Saturday was no exception as the two showed up to cheer on the girls basketball team. Their picture is on the Red Bank Catholic Spirit Mural inside the entrance of the field house.