By Rich Chrampanis
The Shore Conference’s reputation as one of the best girls’ basketball leagues in the country is alive and well. Red Bank Catholic captured the crown with a thrilling come-from-behind win over Saint Rose. The RBC/Saint Rose rivalry was one of the highlights of the 2024-25 season. This year’s All-Area team has tremendous depth.
Player of the Year
Addy Nyemchek, Red Bank Catholic
Addy Nyemchek is an elite recruit, and she can still add to her legacy with one more year of great moments ahead. But her junior season solidified her as one of the all-time great Caseys and a Shore Conference great, as well, with two seminal moments, both against Saint Rose.
In the Shore Conference championship, Nyemcheck had the ball with the game tied at 48. As she drove baseline, she made a tricky pass to Tessa Carman, who delivered the game-winning basket to give the Caseys a 50-48 win and their first Shore Conference championship in 12 years.
A couple of weeks later, in the section semifinals in Belmar, Nyemchek had the ball in her hands once again with her team trailing 53-51. With just six seconds, the junior drove the length of the floor and sank an off-balanced baseline shot, drawing a foul with 1.1 seconds left. She made the free throw, delivering another epic victory for the Caseys. She is one of the highest-profile recruits in the state and head coach Joe Montano compares her to Larry Bird, high praise, to say the least.
Tessa Carman, Red Bank Catholic
Carman’s place in RBC history is secured thanks to her last-second shot at her future college home to win the Shore Conference Tournament. Carman’s layup with 10 seconds left gave the Caseys a two-point win over Saint Rose to secure the first SCT title for RBC since 2013. The Monmouth University commit reached 1,000 career points in the opening round of the state playoffs. Carman had over 100 career blocked shots and 669 rebounds.
Madison Kocis, St. John Vianney
Kocis took a big step forward in her development playing for coach Dawn Karpell. She averaged 12.6 points per game and is one of the state’s top 3-point sharpshooters, connecting 47 times. Kocis had 24 points and six rebounds in a state playoff win against Bishop Eustace. She is on track to reach 1,000 points when she returns to Holmdel for her senior season.
Christina Liggio, Red Bank Catholic
Liggio is one of the most underrated players in the state. The Caseys’ second-leading scorer averaged 10.8 points per game, connecting 42 times from beyond the arc. Liggio meshed with her twin sisters Katie and Tessa to form a triple threat that brought plenty of great moments for the 27-5 Caseys. Christina is set to join the Patriot League and play for U.S. Naval Academy.
Stella Lockhart, St. John Vianney
Lockhart was the Lancers’ second-leading scorer with 12.3 points per game to go along with 6.7 rebounds a game. She scored in double digits in SJV’s final six games, with 24 points and nine rebounds in the season-ending loss to nationally ranked Paul VI. Lockhart’s season high was 25 points against both Bayonne and Red Bank Regional.
Haley Poser, Ranney
The Ranney senior solidified her spot as an all-time Panthers great with 1,558 career points. Poser averaged 16.9 points per game in her final season of high school basketball. She made 166 3-pointers in her career and finished with exactly 100 steals. Poser will continue her career in the Patriot League at Lafayette.
Second Team
Synai Blychanton, Red Bank Regional
Grace Feeney, Trinity Hall
Ashley Krieger, Ranney
Taylor Sofilkanich, St. John Vianney
Mackenzie Teevan, Holmdel
Third Team
Katie Liggio, Red Bank Catholic
Tessa Liggio, Red Bank Catholic
Caroline Polloway, Red Bank Regional
Erin Reid, Rumson-Fair Haven
Kimi Sayson, Shore Regional
Click here to view 2025 Two River Times All-Area Boys Basketball Team.
The article originally appeared in the March 27 – April 2, 2025 print edition of The Two River Times.
