St. John Vianney’s Ashley O’Connor lets go a three against Sparta in the TOC semifinals on March 18, 2022 in Toms River, NJ (Photo: Mike Pavlichko)
Senior Madison St. Rose and junior Zoe Brooks did what they’ve been doing all year long – scoring a lot of points – and top-seed St. John Vianney – the No. 1 seed in the Tournament of Champions and the No. 1 team in the state – beat fourth-seed Sparta 75-54 to advance to the TOC Finals fir the first time since 2016.
St. Rose scored 23 and Brooks led the way with 24 for the the Lady Lancers, who now will face Rutgers Prep in the title game.
The two met on Super Bowl Sunday as part of a doubleheader at Kean University in Union, where SJV won 87-48, a result that left the Lady Argonauts wanting another crack at the top team in the state.
The Lady Lancers have been dominant. Now 31-1, their lone loss this season came on February 20th, to Sidwell Friends (DC), the top-ranked team in the country.
Like Rutgers Prep, both teams were undefeated last year, 14-0. And in 2020, Vianney was 28-1and had just beaten St. Rose of Belmar 67-54 in the Non-Public South A Final before the NJSIAA cancelled the remainder of the state tournament due to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Vianney’s last loss to a New Jersey opponent came in the 2019 Non-Public South A title game, where they fell 61-54 to St. Rose. That’s 62 straight against New Jersey competition, including 11-0 in Shore Conference Tournament/Pod play, and 8-0 in NJSIAA state tournament action.
Click below for postgame reaction from St. John VIanney head coach Dawn Karpell: