OIB Ortho Girls Basketball Team of the Week: St. Rose

2025 OIB Ortho/Shore Sports Insider Girls Basketball Team of the Week Series

St. Rose has played one of the most challenging schedules in the Shore Conference, which has led to an excellent postseason run. They fell short in their first meeting against St. John Vianney and to state power Gill St. Bernard’s, but came out on top against Rutgers Prep and Red Bank Catholic. 

 The Purple Roses had a bye in the opening round of the Shore Conference Tournament and faced off against Shore Regional in the second round. In a 66-29 victory, St. Rose drained 15 3-pointers with Cassidy Kruesi knocking down 7 of them to finish with a game-high 23 points. Junior Jada Lynch posted a double-double with 15 points and 14 rebounds.

In the quarterfinal round St. Rose faced off the No. 6 seed Howell, who they defeated two times in close games. Once again the Roses closed out the game with strong defense and outscored Howell 14-2 in the fourth quarter. Lynch scored a game-high 27 points and had 7 steals. 

In the semifinal round the Roses had their rematch with St. John Vianney, who was the No. 2 seed. After a slow start for St. Rose, trailing 8-0 then 14-5 in the first quarter, the defense woke up and they battled back to tie the game at 14 before the quarter ended. Every time the Lancers went on a run, Kruesi responded with a 3-pointer. She knocked down four in the game and finished with 17 points. 

Everyone stepped up and played an important role for St. Rose in the 51-46 victory. Senior Gianna Rodriguez came off the bench in the first quarter to provide a spark on both ends of the floor. She finished with 4 points and 4 rebounds. Junior Belle Alvarado showed her importance when she went down with a minor injury and St. Rose turned the ball over two consecutive times. 

The victory over SJV sends St. Rose back into the Shore Conference Tournament championship game for the first time since 2017. The Purple Roses defeated SJV that year 56-31.