Young Caseys will be a force in near future

BY VIN RAPOLLA
Staff Writer

PHOTOS BY CHRIS KELLY staff Clockwise from top— RBC’s Kristina Coppolino finds herself surrounded by Christ the King defenders during the Caseys’ loss to the Royals in Asbury Park on Sunday. Rumson’s Caitlin Hyduke drives to the basket during the Bulldogs’ loss to Shabazz on Sunday in Asbury Park. RFH’s Carly Golden works the ball up court. RBC’s Mia DePalo tries to get by Christ the King’s Lorin Dixon on her way up court. After graduating nine seniors in the last two years, this was to be a rebuilding year for the Red Bank Catholic girls basketball team.

With only one starter back from last season’s 24-5 squad, and a team that is made up of predominately sophomores and freshmen, the Caseys have “somehow” managed to remain one of the Shore Conference’s powerhouses, racing out to an 8-3 start despite facing a grueling early-season schedule.

However, their success has not taken anybody by surprise.

“People really don’t expect RBC to have a rebuilding year,” said head coach Joe Montano, now in his 15th year. “It’s been a learning experience all around, but right now I’m very pleased with the team’s efforts.”

The Caseys’ latest learning experience came on Sunday, when they faced the top-ranked team in the nation, Christ the King. RBC actually hung tough through the first quarter, trailing just 10-7 early on, before the Royals’ size began to pay dividends.

RBC was unable to get good looks at the basket, as Christ the King’s 6-4 center Tina Charles (23 points, four rebounds and eight blocks) and teammate Carrem Gay (17 points, five rebounds and two blocked shots), who is also well over 6 feet tall, continually swatted away RBC shots, leading to easy fast-break opportunities for the Royals.

By the half, it was 34-15, and the game was basically over.

However, the experience is certain to pay dividends as the Caseys mature on the court.

The RBC starting lineup is led by senior forward Kristen Linderoth. Linderoth is one of two seniors on the team, along with Jennifer Werner, who has taken on the role of a leader this season.

“They’ve both had a taste of tournament experience. With 10 freshmen and sophomores, they’re doing a great job leading and setting examples,” said Montano.

At the center spot is freshman Kristina Danella, the team’s leading scorer and rebounder, and one of the Shore’s top young players, according to Montano.

“We knew she was going to be a good player. She’s a hard worker and we’re really excited for the future,” said the coach.

The two guard for the Caseys is sophomore Jenna Strich, who has seen varsity time in the past and has emerged as the team’s outside threat. Strich led the Caseys with 14 points on Sunday.

Controlling the ball from the point is freshman Kim Talbot, and rounding out the starting lineup at forward is sophomore Mia DePalo.

Off the bench the team sees significant contributions from sophomores Megan Hall, Christina Rogers and Brooke Stevenson, and freshman Kristina Coppolino. Montano plans to give all of his bench players plenty of playing time as the season continues, yet another reason to expect big things from RBC over the next few seasons.

At 8-3, Montano and his team are happy to be where they are at this point in the season. With the second half of division play beginning, Montano is confident in his team’s ability and knows that as the season plays on, his team will only to continue to improve.

“At this point, with our tough schedule, we’ve done well. The team is doing a great job with their learning curve,” said the coach.

“I’m not real concerned about where we get seeded in the postseason, we just want to get better. If we continue to play hard, we’ll be tough to beat.”

History has shown that to be a sure bet.

Rumson girls also fall

at Battle of the Boardwalk

The Rumson-Fair Haven Bulldogs gave a valiant effort on Sunday, but couldn’t hold off defending Tournament of Champions titlists Shabazz.

The Bulldogs were clicking on cylinders early on, and had built up a seven-point lead in the first half, led by Caitlin Hyduke’s efforts.

But Shabazz’s Al-Nisa Harris got hot just before the half, nailing a pair of three-pointers, and carried her hot shooting over into the third period to lead a 13-5 spurt that gave Shabazz the 34-33 lead.

Rumson’s Ali Folker then hit a jumper off a feed from Hyduke to give the Bulldogs the lead once again, but unfortunately, it also marked the final points of the game for RFH.

Shabazz turned up the defensive intensity, and got 10 second-half points from Iasia Hemingway as they pulled away en route to the 44-35 victory.

With the loss, Rumson fell to 6-4 on the season, but proved its mettle against one of the state’s elite programs.