KWCC Girls Semifinal Notebook: A stunning upset and two nailbiters

The girls’ semifinal rounds at the Kevin Williams Christmas Classic did not disappoint the large crowd that descended upon RWJ Barnabas Health Arena on Sunday. Here is a review of the four semifinal matchups in both the Snyder Bracket and Cervino Bracket.

Snyder Bracket

In the first game of the day, eleventh-seeded Point Boro defeated tenth-seeded Toms River South 39-28. Point Boro led from the start and survived a couple of runs by the Indians. Panthers’ sophomore guard Georgia D’Angelo once again led the team in scoring, dropping 13 points, including six in the final quarter to seal the victory. Point Boro did a solid job defending Indians’ leading scorer, junior Linsey Cribbin. Cribbin came into the game averaging 23 points per game, but the Panthers managed to hold her to 15. Leading the charge on the defensive end was freshman Julia Collins. Collins scored 10 points, but it was her 8 rebounds and 8 blocked shots that propelled the Panthers. Boro moves on to face twelfth-seeded Donovan Catholic in the Snyder Bracket championship this Tuesday at 11 a.m.

Donovan Catholic earned their place in the final by way of a stunning comeback to defeat ninth-seeded Wall.  The Griffins were down 25-2 to start the game, and 25-7 at the half. Wall looked like they were going to cruise to the final as the top seed in the bracket, but someone forgot to tell the Griffins that news, as they outscored Wall 33-12 after halftime. Junior Kaylen Wright caught fire in the third quarter, scoring nine of her team-high 15 points. Senior guard Anais Friedman scored all 12 of her points in the second half, including a deep three that bounced high off the rim and dropped in, giving the Griffins their first lead of the game, 38-37, with just under a minute left. Wright would add two free throws to close out the amazing comeback. Erin McBarron led Wall 18 points, as she was the only Crimson Knight to score in double figures. Donovan Catholic will take on Point Boro in the final of the Snyder Bracket this Tuesday at 11 a.m.

Cervino Bracket

Chalk prevailed heading into the semifinals of the Cervino Bracket, as the top four seeds each made it to Sunday’s action. The first game of the Cervino semifinals pitted second-seeded Howell against third-seeded Brick. The first quarter went back-and-forth, as the top scorer on each team paced their club. Sophomore guard Ariana Wissen scored eight in the quarter for the Dragons, while junior forward Kylee Beam had five for the Rebels. Brick’s last lead of the game would come with the Dragons leading 10-9 late in the first quarter. The Rebels would take a 22-19 lead into the half behind nine points and eight rebounds from Beam. Brick sophomore guard Kendall Fredrickson did her best to help the Dragons keep pace, scoring six of her 12 points in the second half, to go along with four rebounds and four steals. The Rebels were able to contain Wissen in the second half, holding her to five points behind stellar defense from senior BellaRose Marino, whose length gave Wissen fits. With five seconds left in the game, Brick got the ball into Wissen’s hands. Wissen drove down the left side of the court, drew a double team, and found fellow sophomore Chase Stansbury open in the corner. Stansbury’s three came up just short, allowing the Rebels to survive and advance to Tuesday’s final, where they will take on top seeded Rumson Fair-Haven at 1 p.m.

Rumson-Fair Haven made it to the final once again, but it was not easy for the top-seeded Bulldogs. Fourth-seeded Toms River East, a young team, gave the Bulldogs all they could handle for the better part of four quarters before eventually falling, 50-41. Junior Kacey Briles led the Raiders with 14 points, but every time the Raiders started to get going, Rumson senior and Brown commit, Erin Reid, had an answer. Reid was all over the court, scoring a game-high 27 points to go along with 15 boards, but it was her numerous hustle-plays on both ends that catapulted the Bulldogs to victory.  Toms River East’s sophomore tandem of Ciley Francis and Brooke Gathman kept the Raiders close.  Francis scored 10 points to go along with seven rebounds, and Gathman did a great job defending the paint, swatting away six shots while grabbing nine boards. Grace Smith came up with big baskets throughout the game for Rumson, as she finished with 13 points. “The important thing, obviously, is to win the game,” said Rumson coach Dave Callahan. “It doesn’t matter by how many, we just needed to make enough plays to win, and our kids did that. Erin was outstanding today, as she has been all season so far.” The win by the Bulldogs sets up a 1 vs 2 matchup on Tuesday when they take on Howell at 1 p.m. in the Cervino Bracket championship.