Girls hoops teams enter season with high hopes

BY WAYNE WITKOWSKI
Staff Writer

Annie McCarthy, a catalyst for Brick Memorial’s girls soccer team, now will look to help lead the Mustangs’ hoops team as one of three returning starters when they open their season on Friday night at Toms River East. Tip-off is at 6:30 p.m.

“I think we’re a lot better than last year,” said McCarthy, one of 12 juniors on the team that has no seniors on the roster. “It’s a young team, but you can tell it’s a lot better. I think we work better together. We’re all used to each other.”

Christina DeMarco’s Brick Township team, on the other hand, will have its share of new faces as top scorers Ali DeTata and Michele Harder, and tough rebounding forwards Sasha Fabrizio and Jamie Park, graduate from last year’s 12-13 team that made the NJSIAA and Shore Conference tournaments. Vicki DeTata — younger sister of Ali (who has gone on to play college soccer at Monmouth University) — is back with a year’s experience from playing point guard, although she’ll have a new lineup around here on Friday night when the team opens at home against Southern in a 7 p.m. tip-off. The only other experienced starter, junior Amy Nelson, moves from forward to guard.

Although Brick Memorial won only two games last season, the players went to a team camp at the University of North Carolina in June, trained in the fall at Velocity Sports Training Camp in Wall, and attended a team-building meeting on Wednesday this week.

“Last year, we never made our shots, but in our last scrimmage we made 10 of 11 three-point shots,” said McCarthy. “And we’re playing better team defense, talking a lot more.”

And the team has better adapted to the system introduced last season by new coach Rayna Petach.

“The returning players are better prepared than last year; they’ve worked harder than last year,” said Petach, who has on her staff Crystal Petraccoro as

junior varsity coach and Judy De Francisci as freshman coach. “They’re willing to learn and to do what it takes.”

“Last year we did not play as a team at all,” said McCarthy.

Petach felt the team sorely needed bona fide post players, although the physically largest ones are freshmen.

“Even though we have more forwards this year, we’re still guard-oriented and we’re looking to be faster and fast break,” said Petach. “People will be surprised by the depth of quality players we have. We can drive to the basket, shoot from the outside, and our forwards can rebound and put the ball back up — and last year we did not have post play.”

Sam Mannen and Courtney Kroeze, both juniors, also have starting experience in the backcourt alongside McCarthy. Sophomore Katherine LaMastra also expects to play a key role.

Some of the other juniors are Michelle Esten, a junior who comes off another solid cross country season, and Lauren Pickowitz at forward, as well as guards Emily Egbert, Nikki Nelson, Dana Lenneper and Courtney Frank, a transfer from St. Rose.

But the most imposing players are freshmen Bethany Butka, the tallest player on varsity at 5 feet 10 inches, Jessica Ball and Stephanie Fish.

The team on Saturday plays Barnegat in a 2 p.m. game, which will be part of a hectic weekend for Petach. She is having her bachelorette party later on Saturday but said she will not be taking time off for her wedding that will take place during the season. She’ll have a honeymoon sometime in the spring.

She also is planning the second annual Brick Mustang Invitational that will be held Dec. 23, 26 and 29. The Mustangs play Steinert next Saturday at 3 p.m. The other six teams in the tournament include Neptune, Hamilton West, Lakewood, Point Pleasant Beach, Barnegat and Manalapan.

DeMarco, who welcomes back on her staff at Brick Township Kristi McCullough as junior varsity coach and Vern Hankins as freshman coach, will rely on a nucleus of DeTata, Nelson and junior 6-foot forward Jana McCabe.

DeMarco said McCabe “worked hard and improved a lot. She has what it takes to be a varsity player. We’ll look for her outside shooting and inside play.”

Katharine Ernst, the only senior on the team, will play a guard spot, but DeMarco said she will widen the rotation beyond the seven players she used last season.

“This year, we’ll probably play a lot of young sophomores and juniors because we have the numbers and athleticism,” she said. “They’re quick and we’ll push the ball up the floor and get transition layups. Our defense is not there yet.”

As a result, DeMarco still has a lot of questions about her roster in the closing days of the preseason.