St. John Vianney girls basketball looks to cap off near-perfect season with TOC title

TOMS RIVER – St. John Vianney will get its shot at immortality.

It took all four years of the senior class to reach this point, mostly to no fault of their own. The Lancers will finally get a chance to be the last team standing in New Jersey.

In another dominant performance that left very little doubt, St. John Vianney rolled to a 75-54 victory against Group 3 champion in the Tournament of Champions semifinals Friday night.

In the final TOC in New Jersey (the format is being discontinued), St. John Vianney gets one last shot at a title and perhaps also a claim as the best team in program history.

“Our history is our history, and it’s super exciting, but for these kids, it’s their first time,” St. John Vianney head coach Dawn Karpell said. “For them, this is a special opportunity.”

What it means

It will be St. John Vianney’s 11th appearance in the TOC final. The last time the Lancers made it to the title game was when they won it in 2016.

St. John Vianney (31-1) will take on Rutgers Prep - a team they blew out 87-48 last month - Sunday at 4 p.m. at Jersey Mike’s Arena on the campus of Rutgers University.

St. John Vianney owns a record seven TOC titles.

Because a full state tournament hasn’t been held since 2019, when St. John Vianney fell to St. Rose in the sectional final, the Lancers’ core group of seniors haven’t played in a TOC, yet alone a final. They’ll get that chance Sunday, and a win can cement the team’s place in the pantheon of vaunted Lancer teams.

“Us seniors are just excited to get a chance to play in the TOC,” St. John Vianney senior Madison St. Rose said. “No matter what the outcome is, we’re going to say we enjoyed our last ride with SJV. We’re simply going to appreciate every single second we have with each other.”

Key plays

It was yet another strong game by St. Rose and junior Zoe Brooks. The duo combined for 48 points with Brooks leading the way with 27 points and St. Rose adding 21.

When starters, like St. Rose, got into foul trouble, St. John Vianney's bench players came up clutch. In particular, junior Bre Delaney provided clutch minutes off the bench by hitting timely buckets and guarding Sparta star Ally Sweeney, giving Lancer senior defensive ace Ashley O'Connor a break.

“(The bench) gave us really good energy and that was pretty much – I don’t want to say what separated us – but allowed us to really extend that lead,” Karpell said. “By the second half, Maddie and Zoe were able to come out and really do their thing in that third quarter.”

Manasquan’s season comes to an end

While Manasquan’s senior class didn’t quite reach the peaks of previous program dynasties, but their run will forever be etched into the history book.

A 64-48 loss to Rutgers Prep in the TOC semifinals didn’t diminish what Manasquan (30-5) already accomplished this year. The Warriors won their eighth consecutive sectional title before winning their eighth overall state championship and first since 2018. They also advanced to the Shore Conference Tournament final, ultimately falling to St. John Vianney.

It was a terrific run for a team that played in the shadows of giants like the Mabrey sisters, Faith Masonius and Lola Mullaney.

“That’s one of the tough parts of coming into the program, the expectations that kind of are through upon you,” Manasquan head coach Lisa Kukoda said. “I’m just so proud of them and of where they are, how they are as a team.”

The senior core of Mary Donnelly, Georgia Heine, Brooke Hollawell and Dorothy Loffredo kept Manasquan’s winning tradition alive instead of falling into obscurity.

Rutgers Prep held a comfortable lead almost the entire way. Manasquan did get its deficit down to single digits in the fourth quarter, but near-perfect execution led the Argonauts to the win.

Tears filled the eyes of every Manasquan player after the final horn and long after they left the locker room. It hurts now, but this team will go down as one of the greatest in program history.

“It doesn’t take away from what they achieved together as a group,” Kukoda said. “This feeling will go away, but their accomplishments will linger on.”

Danny LoGiudice has covered local sports across New Jersey since 2014. Contact him at dlogiudice@gannettnj.com or @danny_logiudice on Twitter.

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Shore Conference girls basketball: St. John Vianney advances to TOC final