Manasquan too strong for Middle Township in state semifinal

Posted: March 6th 2024

By BRIAN CUNNIFF

CapeAtlanticLive.com

MONROE TOWNSHIP – The deeper you go in the state tournament, the greater the chance you’re going to run into an elite opponent.

That’s what happened to the Middle Township High School girls basketball team on Tuesday.

Competing against a team with formidable size, length and skill, Middle went through some long scoring droughts at different points of the game and suffered a 52-24 defeat to Manasquan in a state Group II semifinal at Monroe Township High School.

“Not only are they good, but they’re also big, long and physical,” Middle coach John Leahy said. “Physically, they just eat up so much space. It’s definitely not what we’d see on a normal basis.”

Middle got off to a slow start, failing to score a field goal in the opening quarter and trailing 15-2 after the period. The Lady Panthers did manage to surge in the second quarter, however. They scored on three straight possessions as Hannah Cappelletti and Abbey Cappelletti each hit three-pointers and Hannah Cappelletti converted a layup to cut Middle’s deficit to eight points, but Manasquan scored the final five points of the half to take a 28-15 lead at the break.

“I’m super proud of the way we competed,” Leahy said. “The girls played hard and they tried to be as physical as they could. I thought we had a decent second quarter. We hung there and got it down to eight or nine but then we couldn’t get over the hump.”

Manasquan then went on to hold Middle without a field goal for the first 11 minutes of the second half to pull away.

Hope Masonius scored 12 points to lead a balanced scoring attack for Manasquan (25-5), which entered the state tournament ranked sixth in the state. The Warriors will play Madison in the state title game this weekend. Madison was a 38-26 winner over Jefferson in the other semifinal.

“At the end of the day, Manasquan are a really good team,” Leahy said. “They’re one of the best teams, if not the best team, in the state and they deserve a lot of credit. I wish them luck in the final.”

Hannah Cappelletti and Reagen Powell each scored eight points for Middle (23-9).

“I’m super proud of our program,” Leahy said. “Two years in a row, we found a way to win our group (in South Jersey). To get this group to 23 wins and a South Jersey title, we have to be proud of that. You always feel for your seniors, but at the same time, they’ll be graduating as back-to-back South Jersey champions so they have a lot to be proud of. We’re disappointed by what happened tonight but overall I couldn’t be prouder of what we accomplished.”

Hannah Cappelletti, Iyanna Bennett, Gabby Cruz and the injured Madison Palek are the team’s seniors who will move on after this season. There will be a good group of young players returning.

“I’m very proud of what we did,” Bennett said. “We all worked really hard to make it this far and we accomplished everything we planned to do. It’s something very special we can all look back on. Not many teams can say they were back-to-back champions.”