Mar 23 min read

"Manasquan Warriors Girls Basketball Wins The Central Jersey Group 2 Sectional Title Over New Providence"

Manasquan Warriors girls basketball and New Providence Pioneers matched up in a huge showdown yesterday for the Central Jersey Group 2 Sectional Title. Both teams were focused, locked in and ready to go in front of a packed house. Pioneers head coach Cap Pazdera has kept New Providence on the map for a while now as they continue to bring in talented players that is led by senior guard Grace Kinum. Lisa Kukoda who is coming off a milestone with 300 career wins as head coach last game, she was looking for Manasquan to continue their momentum going against a tough team in New Providence. Lets find out who gets the title at the end of this huge game.

Olivia Shaughnessy got things going for Manasquan by drawing a foul against the Pioneers right away. But both teams did struggle finding shots for a while when it was 1-0 with each defense determined and focused. New Providence did a great job of getting Hope Masonius into foul trouble as she got two in first quarter and had to sit on the bench for a little bit. Grace Kinum started to heat up for the Pioneers as the scoring picked up more towards end of first quarter. The Warriors had a 8-5 lead going into the second quarter with Shaughnessy stepping up in key situations.

Manasquan did a great job of extending their lead in second quarter as New Providence did struggle with scoring a little. While Kinum was going off for the Pioneers, Warriors had big contributions from Jordyn Hollawell, Katie Collins, Shea Donnelly and McKenna Karlson. The Pioneers has a tough time on defense while giving up some turnovers to the Warriors. Manasquan went on a huge run in second quarter as they outscored the Pioneers 15-8. Warriors had a 20-16 lead going into halftime and New Providence looking to make some key adjustments in order to stay in this game.

New Providence still was a little out of sync to start the third quarter as Manasquan went on a 6-0 run and Hope Masonius started to heat up. Then midway thru third quarter the scoring picked up again between these two teams as they went back and forth. Shaughnessy was still hitting her shots for the Warriors while Kinum couldn't be stopped from Pioneers. Katie Collins did a good job of getting to the free throw line and creating points in different ways for Manasquan. The Warriors were up 36-32 heading into the fourth quarter with Pioneers having confidence that they can win this game down by four.

Manasquan Warriors had different plans as they extended their lead even more in fourth quarter outscoring New Providence 19-12. They put this game away with the Pioneers missing some key shots even though Grace Kinum finished this game with 26 points. Manasquan ended up getting a 11 point victory by a score of 55-44, improving to 24-5 underneath coach Lisa Kukoda and winning the Central Jersey Group 2 Sectional Title against New Providence. They finished this game strong with fantastic defense at the end.

Manasquan Warriors next game will be against Middle Township on Tuesday March 5th at 4:30 Pm Eastern in the NJSIAA Tournament Semifinal Round Group 2.

Leading scorers for Manasquan

Olivia Shaughnessy 16 points, 1 rebound, 2 assists, 2 blocks

Katie Collins 13 points, 9 rebounds, 6 assists, 3 blocks

Jordyn Hollawell 10 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 5 steals

Hope Masonius 9 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists

Shea Donnelly 4 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal