Panther Pride: Young Point Boro team sets the stage for the season, defeats Donovan Catholic 42-34 to win the KWCC Snyder Bracket

TOMS RIVER – It is always tough starting a new basketball season, but for the 2025-2026 Point Boro Panthers, this year was supposed to be a total rebuild.  After losing all five starters from a 20-win season a year ago, head coach Dave Drew thought it would take awhile for this young Panther group to gel and come together. With a mix of grizzled seniors and enthusiastic freshmen, the team decided to speed the learning curve up quite a bit.

Sophomore Georgia D’Angelo scored a team-high 15 points, leading the upstart Panthers to a 42-34 win over Donovan Catholic in the 41st Annual Kevin Williams Christmas Classic at RWJ Barnabas Health Arena. D’Angelo, who led her team in scoring in all three games, was named the Most Valuable Player of the Kathy Snyder Bracket.

“Georgia has been great all season,” said Drew, who won his second Christmas Classic title, the first coming in 2012. “For a young player to come in and lead like that, it’s been a pleasure to watch.”

Point Boro played the most consistent quality basketball of any team in the Snyder Bracket, winning their first-round game 57-41 over Toms River North before defeating Toms River South 39-28 in the semifinal. “We ran the gamut against Toms River teams this tournament,” said Drew. D’Angelo averaged 15 points-per-game in the tournament, but she was not the only contributor for the Panthers.

Freshman Julia Collins had a coming out party this weekend, as she did a lot of damage on the defensive end of the floor. Collins averaged nine points-per-game to go along with 10 boards and four blocks per game.

“This whole freshman class is very talented,” said Drew. “The thing about them is they love the game of basketball. When our practice ends, or any time they can, they find a gym to work in. They are very dedicated to getting better, and it has shown so far. Julia may lead them on the court, but they are a close-knit group that sticks together.”

Two players that do not get a lot of credit and may not lead the Panthers in the box score, seniors Angela Forese and Olivia Cantanese, have set the foundation for this young group, and Coach Drew could not be prouder of how they have stepped up.

“You can’t discredit the job these girls have done taking leadership of this team,” said Drew.  They may not get the accolades or the press, but Angela and Olivia are out front leading practices and setting a great example for the younger girls as they come up in the program.”

Donovan Catholic did their best to stage another comeback against Boro. After coming back from a 25-2 deficit in the semifinal game against top seed Wall, the Griffins took a 31-28 lead late in the third behind junior Sarah Franks, who scored a game-high 20 points to go along with 13 rebounds. Donovan senior Anais Friedman, who hit the big three to give the Griffins the lead in the semifinal, contributed nine points and four assists, but the Panthers scored the final six points of the third and never looked back.

“I am looking forward to how we can build on this win,” said Drew. “Although I knew we could, with it being early in the season, I wasn’t sure if we would win the tournament. The girls keep working hard, and I think we have the pieces to have a nice season.”