Lady Braves End Regular Season in Disappointment

Needing a victory to earn a postseason berth in the Shore Conference Tournament, the Manalapan Lady Braves fell short in their quest Friday night in Manchester.

The Braves jumped out to an early advantage, outscoring Manchester 13 to 11 in the first quarter.  It proved to be the only frame in which Manalapan possessed the lead.

The Lady Hawks took a 24-21 advantage into the half.  Manalapan's Jasmine McCall had 15 of her game high 27 points at the break.

Manchester continued to distance themselves from the Braves in the third, stretching the lead to six by the end of the quarter.

In the fourth, Sarah Elzayat of Manchester connected on three pointers on consecutive possessions to give her team a 44-32 edge.  With 1:22 remaining, Manalapan cut the deficit to six following a Samantha Meier rebound and outlet pass to Jasmine McCall, who dribbled the length of the court for a lay in.  Hawks guard Gabby Valmon converted on 3 of 6 free throws in the game's final minute before launching a cross court assist to Elzayat to seal the victory with 20 seconds left.

Gabby Valmon led the Lady Hawks effort with 21 points as Manchester (11-9) finished their season on a winning note.  Sarah Elzayat contributed 16 points to the victory.  Manalapan coach Scott Horton was impressed by Manchester's senior guard Gabby Valmon.

"She's excellent.  We knew she was a good player.  Sara Perkins was defending well, but then she'd pick up a foul at the end because she's so quick.  She's really hard to stop.  She has nice range too.  I think her game is similiar to Jasmine's, though Jasmine's game may be a little more refined," said Horton.

Manchester had few answers for Manalapan's junior guard.  McCall consistently slashed through the paint on her way to a 27 point night.  Coach Horton has seen his guard do it before.

"She looked like herself.  Very good offensively, explosive.  I was surprised she looked this good this quick.  I thought it might take a little longer coming off the injury," stated the coach.

Manalapan finishes the regular season with a 10-12 record.  Because they did not qualify for the Shore Conference Tournament, the Lady Braves will have an extended lay off to prepare for the NJSIAA Tournament.  Horton knows his team needs to improve to be ready for the state playoffs.

"We have a lot to fix.  I'm glad we have two weeks to get ready, because we're going to need them," Horton said.  "It's nothing new.  We have to defend better, box out, push the ball, and run our sets cleaner.  If you get consistent stops you can win games, and we haven't done that enough."

The Lady Braves earned the 12th seed in the Group IV Central bracket and will visit the 5th seeded Class A South champion Jackson Memorial Jaguars (17-4) at 4 P.M. on Monday, February 28.

The good news for Manalapan is that the team will be at full strength for their matchup in Jackson.  Jasmine McCall proved she is back at full strength after missing six straight games prior to coming back for the season's final two contests.  And senior point guard Christina Minneci, who missed the Lady Braves' last two games, will be back leading the Manalapan offense.  Scott Horton knows what his team needs to do to make noise in the state tournament.

"We need five kids defending, every possession.  That's what you need to win a playoff game."