Falcon Girls Still Flying High; Down Neptune 67-50
By WALTER J. ONEILL JR.
After winning the Central Jersey Group III Championships last year, Monmouth Regional girls varsity basketball team is making a statement already this year. On Friday night the Falcons hosted the Scarlet Fliers of Neptune in a Class B North battle and came away with a 67-50 win.
Last year Monmouth Regional not only won a state championship, they finished the season with a very impressive 24-4 record. This year the Falcons are looking even better, and that goes for head coach Audra Corson, who is in her eighth season. This year she has dropped over 100 pounds and is full of energy.
Over the years, the girls basketball program at Monmouth Regional under the direction of Corson has been based on hard work and teamwork.
We lost Laura Forbes and Youngor Kehleay to graduation and they were a very big part of our success last year, said Corson. We have asked several players to step it up and take on new responsibilities this year.
Neptune has a new coach this year in Jim Weldon. Last year Neptune finished with an 11-12 record and are hoping for big changes this year.
Neptune took a 12-9 first quarter lead. Ashley Furman and Shareese Richardson each had 4 points for the Fliers. Quasonna Moore and Taleisa Brown each scored 2 points.
Monmouth Regional appeared a little nervous at the start the game. Kristen Dalton, one of the Flacons asked to step up big this season, had 5 first quarter points. Brittney Powell and Caitlin Shaw each scored a basket.
Kristen Dalton (25) is one of the senior leaders of the Monmouth Regional Golden Falcons. In the win over Neptune, Dalton scored 25 points.
The second quarter had Monmouth Regional exploding on offense outscoring Neptune 21-11. Dalton made 3 three point shots, 2 foul shots and added a two point basket. Powell went to the foul line 5 times and made all of her shots. Shaw had a basket and Tia Curtis had a foul shot for Monmouth Regional to complete their second quarter scoring.
Davis had 6 of the 11 second quarter points for Neptune. Brown and Raquel Richardson each had a basket and Moore made 1 of 2 foul shots. Going into the halftime break Monmouth Regional held a 30-23 advantage.
In the second half Monmouth Regional flexed their offensive muscle and scored 37 points, while holding Neptune to 27 second half points. Dalton ended the game with 25 points. She was near perfect from the foul line making 8 of 10 shots. Powell had 16 points and Shaw scored 11 for Monmouth Regional.
We played a shaky first quarter, said Corson. Our girls made the proper adjustments and as the game progressed we got better.
Davis was the top scorer for Neptune with 13 points, Brown had 8, and Richardson and Moore each scored 7 points for the Fliers.
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