Shore Sports Insider Week 1 Girls Basketball 2025-26 Top 10
2025-2026 Shore Sports Insider Girls Basketball Week 1 Top 10
1. Red Bank Catholic (4-0) Last Week: 1 – The Caseys cruised through their first four games winning by an average of 17 points per game. Indiana commit Addy Nyemchek is averaging 25 PPG to start the season and has received scoring support from Katie Liggio, Tessa Liggio, Sophia Smith and Scarlet LeVake. RBC will play two state ranked teams in the Kevin Williams Christmas Classic over the holiday break in Toms River. On Saturday, the Caseys play Teaneck at 4:15 p.m. and on Monday they play Rutgers Prep at 6 p.m.
Red Bank Catholic junior Addy Nyemchek goes up for her game-tying shot in the final seconds at St. Rose. (Photo: Tom Smith | tspimages.com)
2. St. John Vianney (2-0) Last Week: 2 – The Lancers dominated in their first two games, winning by an average of 30.5 points. Seniors Madison Kocis and Stella Lockhart are leading the way to start the season for SJV, averaging 18 PPG. SJV heads down to Florida for the holiday break to play Bayside (FL) on Sunday and then move on to play on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Madison Kocis against Blair in the Boardwalk Classic at Georgian Court on 1/12/25. Photo by Tom Smith
3. Trinity Hall (4-0) Last Week: 3 – Trinity Hall started the season with four quality wins, including a come-from-behind victory at St. Rose to open up the season. Senior Grace Feeney picked up where she left off last season scoring double-digits in all four games. Freshman Ella Krayl has shown the Shore Conference her shooting ability with 11 three-pointers to start the season. Trinity Hall will play in the Score at the Shore showcase at Southern Regional High School over winter break. The Monarchs will play Lenape on Monday and Our Lady of Mercy on Tuesday. After the holiday break, Trinity Hall will travel to No. 5 Manasquan on Saturday, January 3rd.
4. Red Bank Regional (3-0) Last Week: 4 – Red Bank opened the season with a win against No. 8 Brick Township. Coach Adam Merklinger earned his first win of his career, but it did not come easy. Leading 20-5 at halftime, Brick battled back, but the Bucs held on. Senior Synai Blychanton has led Red Bank in scoring in all three wins this season. Red Bank will play in the Blue Devil Holiday Showcase at Shore Regional. They will play Shore on Saturday and Long Branch on Sunday. They finish the tournament on Wednesday against Raritan.
Synai Blychanton scored 17 points in the WOBM Final and was named MVP. (Photo by Tom Smith)
5. Manasquan (3-0) Last Week: 7 – The new-look Warriors wasted no time getting into midseason form, winning their first three games. Manasquan’s biggest victory came against Teaneck, who is currently ranked No. 9 in New Jersey according to NJ.com. Senior Jordyn Hollawell and sophomore Calista Vowteras have led the way on offense, averaging 16 and 14 PPG respectively to start the season. Manasquan has a busy week over the holiday break, playing four games. The Warriors play Somerville on Monday and Hudson Catholic on Tuesday in the Holmdel Holiday Invitational. Manasquan travels to Point Boro on New Year’s Eve to finish the game that was postponed due to court conditions last week. In the biggest Shore Conference match-up of the week, Manasquan hosts No. 3 Trinity Hall on Saturday, January 3rd.
Manasquan junior Jordyn Hollawell drives against Red Bank Catholic junior Lola Giordano. (Photo: Tom Smith | tspimages.com)
6. Rumson-Fair Haven (3-0) Last Week: Not Ranked – The biggest mover of the week is Rumson-Fair Haven, climbing from outside the top ten. They opened the season with a non-conference victory over Chatham and ended the week with a win over formerly fifth-ranked Colts Neck. Junior Chloe Kelly scored a career-high 16 points in a 47-44 win over Colts Neck. Brown commit Erin Reid starts the season averaging a double-double, 18.6 PPG and 10.6 RPG. Rumson-Fair Haven will be the top seed at the Kevin Williams Christmas Classic in Toms River over the holiday break. They open the tournament against Manchester on Friday.
Junior Erin Reid in the WOBM Christmas Classic Final. Photo by Tom Smith
7. Brick Township (2-1) Last Week: 8 – Brick fell to No. 4 Red Bank in their opener 32-24. After a slow start in the first-half that saw them trailing 20-5 at halftime, the Dragons battled back in the second-half, but could not close the game out. Brick followed that with two convincing wins over Toms River East and Manchester. Sophomore Ariana Wissen knocked down six 3-pointers and scored a career-high 35 points against Manchester. Brick will be the third seed in the Kevin Williams Christmas Classic and will play Middletown North in the opening round on Friday.
8. Howell (3-0) Last Week: 9 – Howell is off to a quick start, winning their first three games of the season by an average of 18 points per game. Returning All-Shore center Kylee Beam is averaging 21.3 PPG in that span and BellaRose Marino is adding 12 PPG for the Rebels. Howell will be playing in the Kevin Williams Christmas Classic for the first time over the holiday break where they are the two-seed. They will face Central in the first round on Friday in Toms River. A win by Howell can set up a potential match-up against No. 7 Brick Township in the semifinal round on Sunday.
Kylee Beam driving to the basket against Manasquan on 2/4/25. Photo by Tom Smith
9. Colts Neck (2-2) Last Week : 5 – Colts Neck has had an up-and-down start to the season causing them to drop four spots in the rankings. After a lopsided victory over Manalapan to open the season, the Cougars fell to Demarest. Colts Neck was not at full strength that game with several players out due to illness. After earning a win against Georgetown (MD), Colts Neck fell to Rumson-Fair Haven on Monday night as they entered the holiday break. Reigning Freshman of the Year Julianna Jasina picked up where she left off last season averaging 17.25 PPG in her first four games. The Cougars will be playing in the Holmdel Holiday Invitational on Sunday against Piscataway and Somerville on Tuesday.
10. St. Rose (0-3) Last Week: 6 – Normally, dropping the first three games of the season will get a team kicked out of the rankings, but not when all three defeats came to teams ranked in the top 20 of the state. St. Rose fell to No. 3 Trinity Hall to open the season in a game that they led for over three quarters. The Purple Roses followed that up with a two-point loss to Bayonne and an 11-point loss to Paul VI, who is ranked No. 6 in New Jersey. After being held to just four points in the home opener, Brooke Missry has drained seven 3-pointers and averaged 14 PPG over the last two games for St. Rose. St. Rose will play in the showcase division at the Kevin Williams Christmas Classic over the holiday break. On Saturday they face Rutgers Prep at 6 p.m. and on Monday they play Teaneck at 4:15 p.m.
Bubble: Neptune, Marlboro, Jackson
