Toms River Girls Reach AAU National Championships

While other kids were swimming or hanging out with friends, members of the Toms River Starz have been hoopin’ it up.

The AAU girls basketball team of seventh-graders, all of whom are from Toms River, reached the 7th grade national championships in Chattanooga, Tenn., in mid-July. There, they beat the previously undefeated DG Warriors from Ohio, 51-37 in pool play, and advanced to the Classic bracket, where they reached the Elite Eight, beating the Georgia Metros Gold 47-35 before falling to the McMinn Fire of Tennessee, 47-43. McMinn went on to finish third in the bracket.

Their strong showing at the national tournament followed a season where the girls went undefeated while winning the Holiday Classic, the Hoop Group Winter League, the War at the Shore, and Hoop Splash. They also played in the the Pine Beach Boys League and won the title, with just one loss all season.

The girls also won the title of Mid-Atlantic champions at a national qualifier tournament in Easton, Pa., over Mother’s Day weekend.

Coached by Joe Bisogno and his sister, Sandy Madigan, former Toms River high school athletes who started the league several years ago to be a feeder program for the local high schools, the seventh-grade team has been together since the girls were in fourth grade, and all of the girls come from Toms River, team supporters are quick to point out.

For more information on the league, contact Bisogno at tomsriverstarz@aol.com or visit the league’s website at eteamz.com/tomsriver.

The members of the Toms River Starz seventh-grade team: Brielle Bisogno, Kamryn Lister, Jenna Paul, Noelle Bisogno, Jess Morgado, Jessica Broad, Caitlyn Carroll, Madison Benyola, Victoria Gelosi, Adrianna Scianna.

(PHOTO: Toms River Starz at National Championships. Courtesy of Nissa Paul)