Same Cats, New Jungle: Jackson Beats Toms River East, Clinches A South Title

JACKSON — The more things change, the more they stay the same. Changes in the dynamics of Jackson over the past few years forced the closure of Jackson Memorial High School creating a level of uncertainty. For Jackson girls basketball head coach Rachel Goodale, who spent 29 years at Jackson Memorial [four as a student-athlete], it was about far more than moving boxes from her classroom of 25 years roughly 5.9 mile across town to a different building. Goodale had to figure out how to move a basketball culture built over the years from Joe Perry Gymnasium on Don Connor Boulevard to the newly christened Jackson Township High School on North Hope Chapel Road.

It took a lot of work meshing two programs together, especially from a coach and group of seniors surrounded by new faces. Despite the adversity, Goodale and her players found a way to accomplish one of their core missions. With Goodale’s number one fan, her mother Karen, watching from her new digs, the Jaguars, led by senior forward Isabella Finer’s game-high 23 points, defeated Toms River East 62-34, clinching the Class A South title, and hanging the first girls basketball banner in the newly unified school’s history.

Finer, a Susquehanna commit, had the hot hand right out of the gate, burying four triples as part of her 16-point first quarter. Finer finished with a season-high five three-pointers.

“Our team is really good at getting the ball to the player with the hot hand,” said Finer. “I trust my teammates to put me in a good position. I just felt confident shooting the ball tonight.”

Jackson, as a team, hit eleven three pointers and collected 48 rebounds. Part of that can be attributed to the return of seniors Kaylee Ambos and Avery Brooks, both coming back from injuries. The pair contributed a combined five three-pointers in the victory.

“It’s really emotional getting Avery back. We played AAU together and came into high school together,” said Finer. “Now that she is back, she is going to help us a lot.”

Jackson authored a 44-point turnaround from the 16-point loss they suffered against Toms River East earlier in the season. The Jags came out with energy and intensity on the defensive end, holding the Raiders to 16 first-half points.

“One thing you will always get out of us is intensity and effort on the defensive end,” said Goodale.  “During our not so good stretch a few weeks ago, we were less than mediocre, which is not the standard for our program. I wasn’t happy with the energy and focus during practice and told them they needed to figure it out. We decided, as a staff, to throw out our practice plans and just get back to basics and focus on fundamentals. I think that refocused us as a group, and it has shown over our past few games.”

The Jaguars blew the game open in the third quarter, outscoring the Raiders 14-2. Jackson turned up the defensive intensity, forcing Toms River East into tough shots and not allowing the Raiders second chances.

“That’s the way we play,” said Goodale. “It may look like ugly basketball, but that’s the way we win.”

“Considering everything that has gone on in the past year or so, and with the transition being tough and emotional, I’m really at a loss for words,” said Goodale. “This [winning the division] was a goal of ours, so to accomplish that was awesome.  We really had to lock into what we were doing here, and we did that. Having Kaylee and Avery back changes the whole dynamic of our team.”

Jackson is getting everyone healthy and peaking at the right time, a hallmark of the Goodale coached teams back at Jackson Memorial.

“It all starts in the summer. Our kids grind and they met the changes head on. We got the Liberty kids and the Memorial kids together, they really get along, they embraced this beautiful facility, and we just said let’s enjoy this and make our mark here. I give a lot of credit to our seniors. They brought that winning mentality over with them from Memorial, so it’s really cool to start new traditions here.”

“At the end of the day, it’s still Jackson,” said Goodale. “No matter which building we are in. You and I grew up here, so for me it’s emotional, and I don’t think the kids get that. We are one school, we are one town, we are one heart, and now we are going to start winning titles. It isn’t going to happen overnight, but this is just the start of it.”

Jackson will travel to Manchester on Friday in their last regular season game before the Shore Conference Tournament.

Toms River East will look to bounce back on Friday when they host Barnegat.