Brookdale Community College hosted the 2024 Hoop Group Boardwalk Showcase for girls basketball yesterday with five games being played. The teams were St. Rose, Ocean Township, Trinity Hall, St. Thomas Aquinas, SJV, Blair, Red Bank Catholic, Morris Catholic, Gill St Bernard and Manasquan. These are the top high schools in shore right now and they showed why in this showcase. All of these games were intense, crazy endings, big moments from each team and coaches being passionate which was expected. Let's find out which teams won and players who got awarded at the end.
What is Hoop Group Boardwalk Showcase ?
Each year, the Hoop Group hosts numerous High School Showcase events that feature some of the top high school programs in the country. Of the four winter showcase events hosted by the Hoop Group during the regular season, the Boardwalk Showcase highlights top talent from around the Jersey Shore. Held each year at Brookdale Community College in Lincroft, NJ, the Boardwalk Showcase is one of the premier high school events of the season (Kaitlyn Fedor https://hoopgroup.com/news/2018/10/23/211777177). It also draws large student sections and is why it has become a staple of Shore hoops.
First game was Ocean Township and St. Rose.
Ocean Township ended up winning a close one 35-30 as St. Rose tried to make a late run but wasn't enough still. Both teams were 7-2 coming into this matchup and looking to continue the momentum. Kayden Clark who was MVP for Ocean did a great job in this game, finished with 11 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals. Jada Lynch who was named MVP for St. Rose had fantastic game even though they lost as she got 14 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 steal. Ocean Township improves to 8-2 this season with this big win.
Photo Credit 📹 Mike Franco Ocean Township
Game two was Trinity Hall and St. Thomas Aquinas.
This game was close, hard fought and close in first half. Both teams set the tone on defense early making it tough on offense. Then the second half it was all Trinity Hall as their tempo picked up in third quarter finding open looks at the basket, playing great defense, forcing turnovers and drawing fouls. The fourth quarter was defense but still wasn't enough for St. Thomas Aquinas as Trinity Hall improves to 5-4 this season with a 49-35 victory. Nina Emnace who got MVP for Trinity Hall finished with 16 points, 4 assists and 8 steals while Jordan Barnes getting MVP for St. Thomas Aquinas had 12 points.
Photo Credit 📹 Mike Franco Trinity Hall
Game Three had Blair against SJV
This game was also close in first half as both teams coming into this matchup only had 1 loss each. These two teams are the most complete when it comes to length, size, depth, shooting and defense. SJV had a 25-22 lead going into halftime with some momentum. Blair's adjustments changed this game real quick in second half as they started to shoot the ball well, play much better defense and only gave up 13 points combined in third and fourth quarter. SJV struggled big time and couldn't get anything going for some reason as Blair improves to 10-1 this season with a 49-38 victory.
Kennedy Henry got MVP for Blair, finishing with 16 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 steals.
Stella Lockhart had MVP for SJV who finished with 10 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists and 3 steals.
Photo Credit 📹 Mike Franco Blair
Game four Morris Catholic and Red Bank Catholic.
This matchup was the most intense, exciting and nail bitter games I covered. Both teams kept it close the whole time with so many runs, lead changes and fast pace. Morris Catholic is well coached who was looking to stay undefeated while Red Bank were looking to continue their strong start to season also. Morris Catholic survived a thriller at the end winning 49-46 and improving to 10-0 this season. Red Bank did a great job of matching them but wasn't enough.
Mya Pauldo ended up getting MVP for Morris Catholic with 20 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist and 5 steals.
Addy Nyemchek 11 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 block and 5 steals got MVP for Red Bank Catholic.
Photo Credit 📹 Mike Franco Morris Catholic
Last game of the day Manasquan and Gill St. Bernard.
Gill St. Bernard started off strong in first quarter against Manasquan as had a 12-9 heading into second quarter. The defense for Manasquan played better in second quarter as it was close heading into halftime. Gill St. Bernard had a 20-18 lead going to the break. Then in third quarter Manasquan took over with great shot making, better all around defense and taking the lead. Fourth quarter went down to the wire as Manasquan was able to get the key victory 41-38 improving to 9-1 this season.
Katie Collins who was MVP had 7 points, 4 steals, 3 blocks and 2 rebounds for Manasquan
Gandy Maloumamel had MVP for Gill St Bernard 15 points and 9 rebounds.
Photo Credit 📹 Mike Franco Manasquan
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