Here is the story by Luis Torres of NJ.com
The devastation set in quickly for New Providence coach Cap Pazdera and his team as they walked off Manasquan’s court last season.
They felt like they let a golden opportunity slip away in the sectional final last season. New Providence hung around Manasquan for a half before Manasquan pulled away en route to winning another sectional championship.
So Pazdera and his team got to work after pulling themselves up from that loss.
New Providence wanted another shot at Manasquan and a shot of redemption. Pazdera built a schedule that featured some of the top teams in the state to get his team ready for the challenge Manasquan would feature in the same section.
A year later, New Providence flipped the script.
Behind suffocating defense and a patient offense, top-seeded New Providence — the No. 9 team in the NJ.com Top 20 — defeated second-seeded Manasquan, 52-30, on Monday to win the Central Jersey, Group 2 sectional championship.
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2/27 – 6:00 PM Girls Basketball Final Manasquan 30 New Providence 52
New Providence (26-3) moves onto the Group semifinals, where it will play Middle Township on Wednesday at Central Regional High School.
The championship is also New Providence’s first since the 2018-19 season, and the feeling of this one was indescribable to Pazdera.
“Oh my gosh, this has been a year in the making,” Pazdera said. “After we lost last year, our goal was to get back to this game. Our goal all season was to play a tough schedule to get us ready for this game. To get enough power points so we could play this game at home. All of those things kind of just lined up for us, and it worked.
“This is special. This is a special moment.”
New Providence’s win also ended Manasquan’s run of sectional championships.
Manasquan, the No. 10 team in the NJ.com Top 20, had won eight consecutive titles and its season ends with a 22-7 record.
New Providence had an eerily similar start on Monday to its semifinal win over Rumson-Fair Haven.
The Pioneers started fast, jumping out to a 16-3 lead in yet another wire-to-wire victory. New Providence forced a handful of turnovers in the early going and constantly communicated on defense by switching whenever they had to.
Pazdera’s squad also packed in the paint, forcing Manasquan to try and hit jump shots and making them work on each of their offensive possessions.
The defensive game plan worked, helping New Providence roll to the win and exact some revenge after last year’s loss.
“It feels amazing,” said senior Meghan Lamanna, who scored a game-high 17 points. “I’m just so proud of this team. We worked so hard for this moment, and I’m so happy we just played this way and came out on top.”
New Providence led 21-9 at halftime, as both teams’ offenses struggled to put the ball in the basket. The Pioneers came out in the third quarter with an emphasis on running their offensive sets, taking their time, and letting the clock run.
They made the extra passes to get the best look while keeping Manasquan’s defense on its toes.
New Providence drained three 3-pointers in the third quarter, outscoring Manasquan 15-4 in the period and extending the lead 36-13, essentially ending all hopes of a comeback for Manasquan.
“Especially last year since we lost to Manasquan, we really wanted this year, so I think we really worked together, and all of our hard work the past year really paid off,” said senior Grace Kelly, who had five points.
Jasmine Miller had 13 points for New Providence, while Grace Kinum chipped in with nine and Annie Conover had eight points.
Rylyn Orlando scored a team-high eight points for Manasquan and McKenna Karlson added seven and Katie Collins chipped in with five points.
It wasn’t Manasquan’s night but it was New Providence’s, who waited a year to raise the trophy.
“I couldn’t be more proud of these girls. I really couldn’t,” Pazdera said. “To have the weight on your back and on your shoulders for a year and to get back to this game and actually execute and do it, I give my team (credit).”
