This Sunday SJV will try to close the door on another SCT title. They will hope to add another banner in a gym stacked with championship banners. This one will be different than most. That’s because this could be the greatest girls basketball team in Shore history. This could be the team that is the measuring stick for all future great teams. It’s also a team that is special because of the makeup of the team. This is that rare team where stars have had to make sacrifices for each other. This is a team where egos and selfishness has had to take a back seat.
Madison St. Rose is going to be the first 3 time Shore and State player of the year. She also will be hoping come Sunday to be the first 3 time SCT MVP as well. When you have this type success, in most cases you are surrounded by haters and those jealous of your greatness. But in the case of Madison St. Rose everyone roots for her. Teammates, coaches, fans and opponents. That’s because she has something that is is going out of style these days. It’s called goodness and kindness, some call it it being humble. I call it being respectful to all those around her. It’s this goodness that makes SJV special. It’s this goodness that allows her teammates to be happy for all her success. It this goodness that sets the tone for the best team we may ever see. It’s this goodness that makes her want to share all that has come her way with her teammates and family..
Megan Cahalan is the best post player in New Jersey. In fact she is the best post player in the tri state area. All she does is win her match up every night. In fact she has never lost a matchup in her entire career. It could be because she is the hardest working forward in the state of New Jersey. It could be because she is the heart and soul of the SJV team. It’s her work ethic that makes her coaches and teammates love her so much. When she arrived at SJV she was barely known by those in basketball circles. It could be this reason that she is ego free and doesn’t care that she often gets overlooked when it comes time for the photo shoot. It is she who keeps her teammates and all around her smiling with her winning and wonderful personality. That personality that keeps this team a tight knit group. Megan makes it cool to be like and loved and still be a warrior for her teammates. It’s why SJV can be competitive and have a good time all at once.…and yes “I LOVE HER”
Ashley O’Connor is one of the best two way guards in New Jersey. She has played and practiced against the best of the best in her 4 years at SJV. She really doesn’t know anything else. Zoe Brooks and Madison St. Rose get the lion’s share of the team’s attention. Ashley O’Connor is perfectly fine with this, she understands that’s the way it is. It’s also the reason Zoe Brooks and Madison St. Rose respect her so much. It’s why they know they can count on Ashley O’Connor. They know she’ll do whatever it takes to win. It’s why Fordham University can’t believe their luck. Coach Karpell and her team know she is the best defensive guard in the state. They know she’ll never fold in a big spot. They also know she doesn’t care who gets the credit. Ashley O’Connor just loves being part of the greatest show in girls basketball… She is another reason why SJV is a great place to live!
Paige Knutsen has stuck around SJV for 4 years. She could be somewhere else dropping buckets and scoring lots of points. But she just wouldn’t be happy. That’s because SJV is her family and where she is at her best. She knows her role is to work hard and support her teammates. She would love to play more but she also prefers being part of something special. It’s players like Paige that make SJV special. Once you been part of the SJV culture it’s hard to leave, that because you learn to care so much about your teammates and friends. You see at SJV friendships are made for life….PAIGE KNUTSEN IS A LANCER FOR LIFE
Zoe Brooks was not supposed to fit into into the SJV program. There was not going to be enough basketballs. She would try to steal the spotlight from her teammates. What everyone forgot was that Zoe Brooks biggest skill set is her unselfishness, her willingness to be part of something not be something. It’s why Zoe Brooks has been something we have never seen before. It’s why all of Lancer nation…loves her. That’s because she loves her teammates and just wants them to be good as good and as happy as she is… it’s why SJV is a different place… because they keep getting different people…. people like Zoe Brooks and her family.
Mikaela Hubbard would be the best post player in the Shore if not for Megan Cahalan. But that’s perfectly find. That’s because at SJV everyone is on a different time schedule. Mikaela has a date with greatestness. She has learned the art of hard work, winning, sacrifice and development. That’s what happens when you play at SJV. You learn how to be part of something and grow at the same time. Mikaela has grown every year. Now the junior is part of something kids dream about. Next year she’ll be the best post player in the Shore and her teammates will celebrate her greatestness.
Janine Bachmann is one of the best players in the Shore Conference. She is one of the hardest matchups in the Shore Conference. She’ll have to wait a year to join her teammate Megan Cahalan at Holy Cross. That’s okay because she has been on a joyride for that last 3 years. She has to pinch herself to believe all this greatness is happening. She has great friends, great coaches, great teammates. SJV has been nothing short of Disneyland and dream come true for the future 1st Team All Shore guard… she just soaking it all in.
Bri Delaney would start for every team in the state not name SJV. But she is so good with that. That’s because no way she’s the player she is today if she didn’t attend SJV. She could have packed her bags and went to easy street. But she wouldn’t be working on another SCT and TOC chip. She wouldn’t have the friendships she has today. She wouldn’t smile the way she smiles. She wouldn’t love waking up and going to school quite like she does… and she wouldn’t be looking like a Division one player… it’s fun being part of SJV.
Ashley Sofikanich is going to Bucknell, she going to tear the Patriot league apart. That’s because every kid who plays at SJV goes to college and tears their league apart. That’s because they spend four years playing against the best players in the country. It because they are part of the best practices they may ever had in their career. That’s because at SJV you get ready for the next level. But before you do that. You spend 4 years getting support of your teammates and coaches. Everyone roots for you and everyone dreams for you. Ashley Sofikanich is making dreams comes true. …of course being one of the most talented 6’4″ players I have ever seem doesn’t hurt.
Ciera Cevallos it’s nice when you play for the best high school coach in the country. It’s nice when she creates a role for you every night. It doesn’t hurt when your teammates cheer so hard for you, that you just can’t let them down. Ciera Cevallos is what SJV is all about. Either challenge yourself and embraced the gift in front of you or take a stroll down easy street to nowhere. Ciera Cevallos has earned all our respect and most importantly the respect of Lancer nation…. not every kid could do what she has done.
Julia Karpell doesn’t care that a target is on her back. She has watched her mom walk around with that target since she was a little girl. But she has something that every kid wishes they had ..sisters… lots of sisters. Her SJV teammates are her sisters. They know it’s harder when you name is Karpell. It why her teammates love her and support her. Julia knows the standard for her is higher and never will be reasonable. But guess what? Her teammates know that too and have her back. She has rewarded them with her big shots, great passing and most importantly… her friendship
Marie Hallund must wake up everyday and go… how lucky can a player get. She must wonder what she did to have such wonderful luck. But she also knows that at SJV there is no free rides. She knows that everyone has to do their part. So it’s hard work and sacrificing her time to be part of this amazing ride. Marie Hallund is getting a full understanding of why SJV is not like any other place.
Charlotte Dooley has been around for two years. She has seen more winning than most kids will see in a lifetime. She is getting a front row seat on what working together really means. She is learning what bringing everyone under the tent can do for a a group, a program, a family and a team. She is is going to have some great stories to tell… SJV DOES THAT FOR YOU…
Aleena Dinker is one of the best freshman in the state of New Jersey. But like so many great SJV players before her. She will have to learn the SJV way. She will have to be in the most competitive practice environment in her life. She will have to shed a little sweat and give a little blood first before getting a chance to shine. She could be like other freshman playing and not developing… winning awards but not having a winning game. She is learning how to to be great… how to be a Lancer and there is know question she is feeling pretty good about that right now!
