RBC, St. Rose have Dominant Night at the Kevin Williams Christmas Classic Showcase
TOMS RIVER – The Shore Conference teams did not disappoint Monday night at RWJ Barnabas Health Arena in Toms River. For the first time ever, the Kevin Williams Christmas Classic held a showcase with No. 1 Red Bank Catholic and No. 10 St. Rose facing off against Rutgers Prep and Teaneck. Both Shore Conference teams picked-up convincing victories against their out-of-conference opponents.
In the second game of the double-header, RBC battled back from being down 12 points in the third quarter to defeat Rutgers Prep 59-42. Indiana commit Addy Nyemchek scored 15 of her game-high 25 points in the second half for the Caseys.
Red Bank Catholic’s Addy Nyemchek (Photo by Patrick Olivero)
“Her [Nyemchek] ability to play with fouls was good because she has not had to do that this year,” RBC coach Joe Montano said. “She has worked so hard and she has such confidence in what she does because when all the other kids are out doing other stuff, Addy is in the gym working. At some point when you have the best kid you have to put the ball in her hands and let her play.”
It was a tail of two halves for the Caseys. In the first half they were caught up playing Rutgers Prep half-court style and in the second half RBC was able to pick up the pace and get out in transition with their defense.
“They are really good at holding each other accountable and I always say a player-coached team is better than a coach-coached team,” Montano said. “They were saying to each other that our effort was not where it needs to be. We are not playing hard enough and it was not in a negative way. They were just holding each other accountable.”
This group of RBC seniors have come full circle as they begin their final high school basketball season. Four years ago, they started their careers on the same court in the WOBM Christmas Classic. In the championship game, the Caseys defeated Manasquan 59-42 to win the tournament. Nyemchek led the team in scoring in that game as well with 11 points.
“It’s crazy and I cannot believe we are already seniors,” Nyemchek said. “I was just saying when we played Manasquan, I missed those same four free throws like I just did. It is cool we are finishing our career together being in these gyms at home around the shore with people who have been watching us for a while. Getting that W and getting that win the way we did was pretty cool.”
St. Rose vs Teaneck
What a difference 48 hours makes. After only scoring 17 points against Rutgers Prep on Saturday in a 58-17 defeat, St. Rose poured it on Teaneck for a 76-45 win to start off the showcase games Monday night.
St. Rose wasted no time jumping all over Teaneck, building a 24-11 lead in the first quarter. The Purple Roses knocked down five three-pointers in the quarter and were playing with higher energy on the defensive side of the floor compared to Saturday night.
“They had to learn to play for each other and want to win for each other,” St. Rose coach Christine Hatfield said. “Not me, not themselves, but for each other. There was no movement the other night and everyone was standing around and staring at each other and tonight they came out and actually looked like a team that was playing for each other.”
Senior Brooke Missry, who missed the Rutgers Prep game due to illness, scored a career-high 27 points and drained five 3-pointers to lead the Roses to their first victory of the season. She was not only on fire from outside, she was driving to the basket drawing fouls and finding open teammates.
Brooke Missry knocked down five 3-pointers against Teaneck in the KWCC Showcase. 12/29/25 Photo by Patrick Olivero
“I wasn’t sure how she [Missry] would respond,” said Hatfield about the spotlight being on Missry. “The last couple of years we could all default to Jada (Lynch) and for Belle and Brooke, getting them to understand that it is okay for you to shoot the ball. In the beginning, I think they were struggling with the role a little bit, but after a couple of losses it kicks you in the butt a little bit. It wakes you up and says this team needs me to be that and I think both of them showed up today.”
Bella Alvarado pushing the offense against Teaneck at the KWCC. 12/29/25 Photo by Patrick Oliviera
St. Rose started the season off losing their first four games, two in heartbreaking fashion. They lost to No. 3 Trinity Hall after leading for the majority of the game to start the season and then fell to Bayonne after leading by 17 points. Their schedule does not get any easier coming out of the holiday break. They open up at rival No. 5 Manasquan and then host No. 1 RBC.
