Falcons make it two in a row in CJ Group III

BY DOUG McKENZIE
Staff Writer

Above, Monmouth's Brittany Powell goes up for a shot during the Falcons' sectional title-winning game on Monday in West Windsor. At left, Christina Fernandes makes a steal and looks upcourt. There certainly seems to be something about the Central Jersey Group III tournament that brings out the best in the Monmouth Regional girls basketball team.

The Falcons successfully defended their sectional title with an impressive 62-44 win over West Windsor-Plainsboro North on Monday night, after racing out to an early lead and never looking back against a Northern Knights team that was coming in off a 42-29 upset of top-seeded Middletown South. WWPN also beat a good Colts Neck team, 54-51, in the quarterfinal round.

With Tia Curtis (20 points) and Kristen Dalton (15 points, 13 rebounds) leading the way, the third-seeded Falcons came out firing, shooting 7-for-13 from the floor in the first quarter, including 4-for-4 from three-point land.

"It was just like last year's final [a 69-52 win over Willingboro,]" head coach Audra Corson said. "We came out on fire."

PHOTOS BY DENNIS SYMONS Their hot shooting led to a 16-0 run which gave the Falcons a 19-4 edge after the first period.

From there, the lead only grew, as the Falcons outscored the Northern Knights (20-9) in every quarter en route to their second consecutive sectional crown.

Monmouth's run to the title, which also included wins over Hamilton West (71-53) and Willingboro (62-57), was an impressive one, as the Falcons quickly erased any lingering effects of a disappointing showing in the Shore Conference Tournament.

"We were disappointed in how we played in the SCT, and our team has really executed well since then.

"We're definitely playing our best basketball of the season right now."

Monmouth entered the season amid some high expectations, but didn't always play up to those prognostications. However, Corson is happy to say that the girls are finally reaching their potential.

"It has a lot to do with our four returning players," the coach said. "They are very talented, and they've finally figured out that if they play together they are pretty much unstoppable. And the support staff has done a great job as well."

With Monday's win, the Falcons moved on to last night's Group III semifinal against Woodrow Wilson of Camden, a team that beat Monmouth last year, 73-44, in the same spot en route to winning the Tournament of Champions.

This time around, Corson was confident that the outcome would be different.

"They lost five seniors and we lost two, so if you look at it on paper, we seem to have a much better chance," she said, prior to the game. "I expect a close game. They're very athletic, we're very athletic, They're very physical, we're very physical. We're hoping it's not the same outcome as last year.'

One advantage the Falcons may have is the revenge factor, which can be a dangerous thing when facing a talented underdog like the Falcons.

"We're looking at it like we have nothing to lose," Corson said. "Nobody expected us to get this far. Except for ourselves."

RFH girls chase crown, RBC knocked out in semis

The Rumson-Fair Haven girls were hoping to be celebrating a sectional title themselves last night.

The Bulldogs, the top seed in CJ Group II, took on second-seeded Abraham Clark last night at Bridgewater-Raritan after advancing to the sectional final with a 58-44 win over A.L. Johnson on Friday in Rumson. Harvard-bound Caitlin Hyduke led the way once again for Rumson, pouring in 20 points, freshman Katie Miller added 18.

Rumson has apparently recovered from its disappointing loss to Red Bank Catholic in the Shore Conference Tournament finals.

As for the Caseys, they will not be adding another trophy to their collection this week having been eliminated from the South A tournament on Saturday by second-seeded Holy Spirit, 60-52.

RBC, which advanced to the semis with a spirited 54-34 win over Notre Dame on Friday, got off to fast start against Holy Spirit, jumping out to a 12-8 lead after the first quarter. But Spirit's Jordan Sykes led her team t0 an inspired second-quarter effort, in which the Spartans scored 14 of the final 17 points in the half to take a four-point lead into the break.

RBC kept things close through the third, trailing by eight heading into the final quarter, and cut the lead to just four (54-50) in the final minute with brilliant four-point play from junior guard Jenna Strich.

But with Sykes hitting her free throws down the stretch (8-for-10), the Spartans were able to hold on to the lead, and advance to last night's final against top seed Camden Catholic.

The Caseys finished the season at 21-6, and were led by Strich's 22 points (including six three-pointers), while Kristina Danella added 17. But don't feel bad for head coach Joe Montano's squad.

They return all five starters next year, and with some valuable tournament experience under their belts will be one of the state's top teams once again.