By Chris Rotolo
HOLMDEL – In a battle of unbeaten conference powers, Madison St. Rose was the show stopper, notching 30 points in Saint John Vianney’s 73-42 victory over the Holmdel Hornets.
Following a timeout midway through the second quarter, Holmdel senior Olivia Palmer knocked down a deep 3-pointer to give the Hornets (4-1) a burst by cutting the Lancers’ (3-0) lead to nine.
On the next possession, St. Rose snuffed out any sort of comeback bid with a 3 of her own, one of her two field goals from beyond the arc.
“I do feel a responsibility, when we feel the game turning or about to turn, to take control and slow things down,” said St. Rose, a junior guard, who scored 11 of her game-high 30 in the second quarter. “If we need a basket and the opportunity presents itself, I’ll attack. But there are so many great teammates around me, that if the defense surrounds me, it’s an easy decision to find an open teammate.”
The Hornets came out swinging in the opening minutes of this contest, delivering seven unanswered points and what Lancers’ head coach Dawn Karpell described as a “wakeup call” to her club on the defensive side of the ball.
“Darren (Ault) is a great coach and his teams are always prepared to play. We expected nothing less coming in here tonight,” said Karpell, who called an early first quarter timeout to refocus her starting five. “The DNA of this program is its defense. Offense is a byproduct. We needed to get back to that mindset early on, slow things down and find a rhythm.”
The Lancers did just that, outscoring Holmdel 13-2 in the remaining minutes of the opening quarter and registering 21 steals over the course of the game.
Complimenting her offensive output, St. Rose also fronted the Lancers’ defensive efforts, leading her club with seven steals.
“She has a tremendous feel for the game,” Karpell said of St. Rose, a Princeton University commit. “She knows when we need to get back to basics; she knew tonight and led the way in the defensive end. She understands when she needs to press on the gas and get us going.”
In a season shaped and shifted by the COVID-19 health crisis, there will be a quick turnaround for these two clubs, who are due to square off again after press time Wednesday, Feb. 10 at 5:30 p.m. on the Line Road campus of Saint John Vianney.
With the second half of this back-to-back on the horizon, Hornets coach Darren Ault said his team needs to replicate and extend the grit and intensity it displayed in the opening minutes of Monday’s meeting.
“During that 7-0 run, we were playing with the intensity and focus we had talked about prior to the game. But two minutes in a 7-0 run is not enough. St. John’s is not going anywhere. They have the depth and talent and heart to come back from anything. They’re never going to panic,” Ault said of a stretch that saw two quick buckets by Katherine Martini and Olivia Palmer, and a three from Ryann Taylor.
“When they stepped up their intensity, we seemed to back away a little bit. We came out quick with a punch in the nose, but all we really did was poke the bear. We need to keep on punching,” Ault added.
Palmer led the Hornets in scoring with 14 points, 12 of which came from beyond the arc. Taylor also finished in double figures with 10 points, to go with three assists, two rebounds, two blocks and a steal. Martini grabbed a team-high seven rebounds.
Emma Bruen added 12 points for the Lancers, while Katie Hill, Megan Cahalan, Ashley Sofilkanich and Ashley O’Connor combined for 22 points and 22 rebounds. Julia Karpell delivered a team-leading four assists.
The article originally appeared in the February 11 – 17, 2021 print edition of The Two River Times.
