Another epic matchup was in store as St John Vianney Lady Lancers and Trinity Hall battled against each other after the Manasquan/RBC game. They are also considered the top two teams along with Manasquan and RBC in girls highschool basketball. Dawn Karpell and Matt McCarthy are coaches that have great track records of winning teams underneath them. SJV and Trinity Hall also match up well but the Lady Lancers do have the advantage at center position with sophomore forward/center Taylor Sofilkanich. Trinity Hall was 17-6 coming into this big game while SJV were 18-7.
Some key players to watch in this huge showdown were Nina Emnace for Trinity Hall, Julia Karpell, Madison Kocis, Daniella Matus, Taylor Sofilkanich and Stella Lockhart with St John Vianney. SJV got off to a fast start in this game from junior guard Daniella Matus who had 5 points early. Trinity Hall got some good looks but couldn't really convert on them as SJV's defense was locked in from the beginning. Trinity Hall only scored 7 points in the first quarter while SJV were able to have success against Trinity's defense. They had a 16-7 lead going into the second floor where Trinity Hall switched it up a little.
Trinity Hall made it tough on SJV's offense a little in second quarter while Nina Emnace started to heat up. The biggest key was SJV's success with rebounding as Taylor Sofilkanich was a beast down low having height advantage. Trinity had a tough time boxing out and preventing her from getting those rebounds. Stella Lockhart, Madison Kocis, Julia Karpell and Charlotte Bradley started to get into that action scoring the basketball. SJV had a 25-17 lead going into halftime and Trinity had to make adjustments which ended working out for them.
The ball handling skills for Daniella Matus from St John Vianney Lady Lancers is off the charts as she was having a field day against Trinity Hall's defense. Her ability to do multiple things with the basketball, along with speed and explosiveness is unbeatable. Trinity had trouble again in third quarter with their defense as SJV's offense started to heat up against extending the lead to double digits. They did a great job of drawing fouls, getting to the free throw line and converting on some of them. Trinity Hall never gave up in this game and believed that they could eventually come back.
SJV had a 44-30 lead heading into the fourth quarter where everything changed in a heartbeat and made things really interesting. Trinity Hall outscored SJV 18-4 in fourth quarter which tied the game at 48-48 in a dramatic comeback for them and going into overtime. Trinity had everything going and SJV looked out of sorts as a team. But that didn't stop them as they made some key adjustments and SJV ended up having a successful overtime. The Lady Lancers get a thrilling 57-53 victory after a scare from Trinity Hall improving to 19-7.
St. John Vianney Lady Lancers will now face Manasquan on Sunday February 18th at 12:00 Pm Eastern in the Shore Conference Tournament, Final Round which should be another great game.
Leading scorers for St. John Vianney
Stella Lockhart 14 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal
Daniella Matus 12 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal
Madison Kocis 9 points, 1 rebound, 1 block, 1 steal
Taylor Sofilkanich 8 points, 12 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 blocks
Julia Karpell 8 points, 1 rebound, 2 assists, 1 steal
Nina Emnace had 16 points for Trinity Hall.
Photo Credit 📹 Mike Franco
Photo credit 📸 Mike Franco/Franco Photography follow link below to view more photos from the game and support our photographer
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