St. Rose & RBC continue their Shore Conference dominance
In this article:
There was no high school athletics conference in New Jersey more competitive than the Shore Conference was in 2021 as it featured several of the best teams in the state. St. John Vianney took the crown as the conference’s best,…
Access all of Prep Girls Hoops
Continue reading this article and more.
Continue ReadingThere was no high school athletics conference in New Jersey more competitive than the Shore Conference was in 2021 as it featured several of the best teams in the state.
St. John Vianney took the crown as the conference’s best, but there were several teams not that far behind that were as dominant as they come.
Two of those teams in the Shore were Red Bank Catholic and St. Rose, who won a combined 21 games this season.
They even faced off in the semifinals of the Shore Conference tournament, and the Caseys emerged victorious, winning 60-44 over St. Rose.
Let’s take a closer look at both teams to see what clicked this season that allowed both to be so successful on the court, starting with RBC.
The Caseys were as dominant as ever, finishing this season with a 10-2 record, the two losses coming at the expense of the aforementioned St. John Vianney, who were a perfect 14-0 this season.
It was a defensive showcase this season as RBC allowed just 37.1 PPG to opponents while averaging 60.5 PPG on offense in the process.
An offense masterclass came from juniors Ally Carman Ally Carman 6'5" | C Red Bank Catholic | 2022 State NJ and Justine Pissott Justine Pissott 6'3" | SG Red Bank Catholic | 2022 State NJ . Carman averaged 13.9 PPG, manning the middle and becoming a formidable wall for opponents.
Pissott was her equal, but from beyond the arc, averaging 15.9 PPG and 3.1 made three-pointers a game. She was not just effective from the perimeter, but was a very efficient shooter, which set her apart from the pack.
They will be returning next season along with a trio of future junior guards: Emma Carman, Molly Kelly and Casey Prior.
Carman, Ally’s sister, and Kelly were key contributors off the bench, and Prior was an important starting guard for the Caseys and will reprise that role next season.
For as high-scoring of an offense as Red Bank Catholic had, St. Rose was even moreso, averaging 62.4 PPG and giving up 44.4 PPG to opponents.
St. Rose scored 70 or more points in six games this season, including a season-high 83 points on February 24 in a 50-point win.
It saw four scorers reach triple-digits in total scoring this season, starting with Abby Antognoli, who averaged 20.2 PPG, 5.1 APG and 2.5 SPG.
The senior led a senior-heavy team and was as dominant as any player in the conference in 2021. There was virtually no stopping Antognoli with the ball as she accounted for nearly 1/3rd of St. Rose’s scoring during the season.
Niasya Ervin and Layla Laws were the other two impact seniors for St. Rose, averaging 10.5 PPG and 8.7 PPG respectively. Ervin, while playing in three less games, also averaged 4.7 RPG, 2.8 APG and 1.3 SPG.
Laws, like her senior counterparts, was active on the boards, averaging 3.1 RPG, and a strong, impact defender, averaging 1.4 SPG. Those three will be missed in a big way going into next season, but St. Rose returns several top scorers and playmakers.
Rosie Scognamigio is the main piece to return as the sophomore guard balled out this season, averaging 11.1 PPG, 1.9 made three-pointers a game, 4.2 RPG and 2.3 SPG.
She was a complete player on both sides of the floor and showed a strong level of growth and maturity, finishing as the team’s second-best scorer.
Fellow sophomore guard Maggie Cavanaugh and junior guards Tori Crovo and Darby Sherman will be relied upon heavily going into next season.
You’re going to see a lot of development from them and a lot of positive progress as those four will be forming the backbone of St. Rose moving forward.
Regardless of what next season holds, this season was one to remember for both programs and is a continued building block for success.