Colts Neck, Howell share A North crown
Cougars and Rebels finish at 11-1 in basketball division
BY TIM MORRIS Staff Writer
They were fit to be tied. Colts Neck and Howell high schools ended up sharing the Shore Conference A North Division basketball championship in 2007-08 and that's the way it should be: the one division loss that the two 11-1 teams had was to each other.

Howell won at home in December and Colts Neck returned the favor at home in the rematch. Both coaches, John Truhan at Colts Neck and Bill Gallacher at Howell, agreed that the right team won each time. Truhan said the Rebels were the better team when they played at Howell, while Gallacher pointed out that Colts Neck outplayed Howell in the rematch and deserved the victory.

After the Cougars topped the Rebels all that remained was to see if either one would stumble before they finished the division schedule on Feb. 4. Neither team did and they ended up as deserving division co-champions.

ColtsNeck, however, nearly trippedwith the finish line in sight. The Cougars had to overcome an 11-point fourth-quarter deficit to edgeMiddletown South, 43-41.

The Cougars turned up the defensive intensity and outscored the Eagles 19-8 to avoid losing the title on the final day.

Brooke Hampton scored the game-winning basket on a driving layup with 1.4 seconds to play.

Lauren Clarke led the Cougars with 15 points and Hampton chipped in with 11.

Off the bench, Crystal Butler made the shot of the game, a three-pointer that tied that game at 41-41 with :30 left.

Howell, meanwhile, rolled in its division finale, beating Marlboro, 57-41. Marguax Pickell scored a game-high 20 points and Denise Crudup netted 15.

The Cougars and Rebels are actually pretty similar. They have outstanding guard play, size inside, they play good team defense and have senior leadership.

Hampton, Clarke and Tiffany De- Tulio, all sophomores, have more than fulfilled the promise they displayed last year as freshmen. Hampton can take it to the basket and break a defense down better than anyone in the Shore.

Clarke (41) and DeTulio (36) are as good as it gets from threepoint range, combining for 74 treys. WithHampton adding 27 for a total of 104, the three-point shot is a big part of the Cougars' offense.

Clarke (15.7 ppg.) and Hampton (13.5 ppg.) are averaging more than 29 points per game between them and just under 10 assists, with Hampton leading the Shore Conference with 5.9 assists per game.

Brittany Howes has been a big difference to the team. The 6-2 center is an inside presence that was missing last year. She is controlling the defensive glass and making teams defend the paint.

Defense, though, has been the Cougars' bread and butter. Butler provides an already intense defense with even more energy coming off the bench.

Nicole Vaccarella plays a key role up front defensively. She and Butler provide this still-young team with a steady anchor with their senior leadership.

Emily Laurence and LeeAnn Lanza have provided sparks off the bench and depth.

The Rebels have a strong backcourt themselves in Crudup and Jacqui Ward. Crudup, a senior, andWard, a sophomore, have worked well together. Crudup is a defensive standout and the player who runs the offense (five assists a game).

Ward is averaging 11.7 points per game, second on the team to Michelle Blum. She is an all-around player

who plays both ends of the floor

well.

Blum provides the leadership that only a four-year varsity

letter-winner can bring.

She leads the Rebels in scoring

11.9 ppg.). She and Crudup are three-year starters and give Howell senior leadership.

Pickell, another senior, is very important to Howell's success. When she adds double-figure points to her rebounding, teams have to honor her inside game, which opens things up for Blum,Ward and Crudup with their outside shooting. Blum has 22 three-point FG this year.

Junior Lauren Lucey was the only newcomer to the starting lineup. She's been looked to for rebounding and defense, but she has had some big offensive games as well and was the difference in the Rebels' win over Colts Neck.

Howell has a deep bench with Sabrina Jarmolinski, Sarah Olsen and Maggie Gilbertson, which provides Gallacher with flexibility. He can go big (Gilbertson), go for offense (Jarmolinski), or for a swing player (Olsen).

Both teams have long winning streaks. Howell opened the season with a loss to Raritan. Since then, the Rebels have gone 18-1, with the lone loss to the Cougars.

Colts Neck has not lost since its December game at Howell. The Cougars are riding a 17-game winning streak.

TheColtsNeck-Howell rivalry is far from over. The teams couldmeet in the ShoreConference Tournament that begins tonight and in the Central Jersey Group IV state sectional tournament that will get under way on Feb. 25. Colts Neck (20-1) is the top seed in Central Jersey Group IV with

Howell (18-2) at No. 3.

While the Rebels and Cougars were clinching their

co-championships. Coach Jen

Brzucki's Freehold Colonials

were finishing their B North championship season, also with an 11-1 mark. Freehold High

School won the division title outright, the program's first division crown since 1980.

Led by Shannon Mayrose and ShemonyehAllen, theColonials are 18-3 and are the No. 1 seed in Central Jersey Group III.

Before the Colonials think about the states, there's the conference tournament where they want to prove they belong in the same company as the area's elite.

Coach John Sciarappa's Freehold Township Patriots (14-7) have had a nice comeback season. They achieved their goals of making both postseason tournaments and would like to hang around in both for awhile.

The Patriots are the No. 8 seed in the Central Jersey Group IV sectional.