Donovan Catholic vs Toms River North Top Standouts

Two teams searching for supremacy in the Shore Conference took to the court on Thursday night as Donovan Catholic took on Toms River North. As always when it comes to Shore Conference games this one came down to the wire with Donovan Catholic taking the win 54-45. A ton of players stood out in this one, these are the players that really separated themselves from the rest of the pack. <strong>1st Star: Gabriella Ross, Donovan Catholic:</strong> When Donovan Catholic needed a tough basket they immediately went to their rising star in sophomore Gabriella Ross. She was both a threat driving inside and making shots from deep, she ended the night with 13 points, 3 rebounds and 2 assists with two three pointers. They weren’t eye popping numbers but Ross showed what a reliable option she can be. Donovan Catholic has a really nice player to rely on for the next three years. <strong>2nd Star: Julia Grodzicki, Toms River North:</strong> Toms River North were able to keep things close for the most part in this game, and part of the reason was the play of Julia Grodzicki. The sophomore worked her tail off down low, ending the night with 12 points and 10 rebounds but also showing that she can succeed anywhere by making two three pointers. She’s not afraid to draw contact and in a rough and tumble Shore Conference which makes her a real threat as the season progresses. <strong>3rd Star: [player_tooltip player_id="134638" first="Kya" last="Joseph"], Donovan Catholic:</strong> The reason Donovan Catholic is so good is that they can rely on so many different players to step up at any given time. When all players are clicking they are one of the most dangerous teams in the state, tonight they showed that several players can succeed in the same game. [player_tooltip player_id="134638" first="Kya" last="Joseph"] put up a very nice stat line of 11 points and 8 rebounds, transitioning well from her inside game to becoming an outside threat. The junior doesn’t have to be the leading scorer every night to have a great performance, she showed as much in this one. <strong>4th Star: Jaclyn Benvenuto, Toms River North:</strong> One of the reasons why Toms River North was in this game late was because of the second chances that Jaclyn Benvenuto was giving them. On the night Benvenuto ended with 9 points and 14 rebounds, working incredibly hard down low to turn bad shots into more opportunities. She didn’t have to be the one scoring all the points because she trusted her teammates to come up big down the stretch, and while they didn’t win it was still a very encouraging performance. <strong>5th Star: Olivia Conroy, Donovan Catholic:</strong> Just like Benvenuto on the opposition, Olivia Conroy worked hard down low to give Donovan Catholic extra opportunities. The junior ended the game with 7 points and 12 rebounds, chipping in with 3 assists also. The big difference between Benvenuto and Conroy was that Conroy’s teammates did more with their extra chances. Conroy didn’t fill up the stat sheet with points but she did everything else that helps push a team over that hump to get a win.