Knights Fall To Lady Warriors

The Manasquan Lady Warriors had four starters finish in double digits Tuesday night against the girls varsity squad from Wall High School, holding onto a commanding, 40-point lead through the last quarter to beat Wall 75-47.

Freshman Marina Mabrey, sophomore Katelynn Flaherty and senior Michaela Mabrey each finished with 18 points to lead the lady Warriors, who remained undefeated after beating Wall on the Crimson Knights' court.

Michaela Mabrey — the only starting senior on Manasquan (18-0) — added 11 rebounds as the only Warriors player to finish with a double-double.

From the outset, the Warriors were looking to push the ball, jumping out to a 4-0 run in the first quarter, forcing the Knights to call a timeout.

Manasquan used that gameplan throughout the night, taking a 26-9 first-quarter lead and turning it into a 19-point cushion at the half.

"The last few games, we've been walking the ball up the court," Manasquan head coach Felix Romero said. "We were trying to get more transition baskets and make it easy for ourselves."

The Knights (8-7) hung tough for the opening minutes, due in large part to junior Kelsey Thompson, who scored all 12 of her points in the first half.

Thompson drained three three-pointers over the first two quarters, accounting for 7 of Wall's first nine points, and 12 of their first 19.

Freshman Courtney Hagaman finished with 13 points and 3 rebounds for the lady Warriors, who scored one point in the fourth quarter after taking a 74-34 lead in the third quarter.

Manasquan was able to blanket the Knights, defensively, using a combination of pressure defense and man-to-man.

"We wanted to go with a man-to-man defense, but we had to make sure everyone got back," Romero said. "There were a couple plays where they had basket-hangers go free. We were a little agressive but we picked it up as the game went on."

Flaherty added six rebounds on the night.

Senior Emily Cilinski finished with 10 points, one of three Wall players to compile double-figures in the loss. Freshman Christina Tricarico added 10 points, as well.

Wall jumped out to a 10-0 run to open the fourth quarter with all five Manasquan starters on the bench.

Manasquan outscored Wall, 26-7, in the third quarter, opening the quarter on a 10-0 run and continiously turning up their defensive pressure, resulting in unconstested lay-ups.

"When we make it an up-and-down game, we're able to force the turnovers. Whether it's turning a girl side-to-side, or sending traps to the weak-side, we do a good job putting pressure on the ball," Romero said.

Senior Haley Fried lead the Knights on the glass, recording seven rebounds on the night and freshman Jessica Louro contributed eight points to the losing effort.

Manasquan remains unbeaten with the win, despite starting one senior and seeing considerable playing time from underclassmen.

"We're young, yes, but we're talented too. There's some negatives and positives there, but when you have a talented group like that, you can do a lot of things," Romero said.