Five Takeaways from the South v Shore Showcase Pt. 1

There’s so much to talk about from Saturday’s South v Shore Showcase even as we’re going into this weekend. We already got a chance to talk about some of the top players from the one-day event and now it’s time to talk about some takeaways from Saturday’s showcase. 1. <strong>Eastern operates much better when [player_tooltip player_id="319334" first="Mia" last="Robbins"] is at her best</strong> The Vikings struggled big time to start the season, going 0-5 before their first win, but in their past nine games, they’ve been 5-4 and are finding their stride. It’s come hand-in-hand with the return to form of [player_tooltip player_id="319334" first="Mia" last="Robbins"], their senior forward standout, who struggled to begin the season. Robbins has averaged 13.1 PPG in that span with seven double-digit scoring games. Despite the loss to Red Bank Catholic, Robbins scored 16 points on the day and that scoring is going to help down the stretch. 2. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="134757" first="Gabby" last="Recinto"] is exactly the next superstar Cherokee needed</strong> Cherokee is fighting with Paul VI and Shawnee to be the best of the crop in the Olympic Conference. In a massive game against Donovan Catholic on Saturday, the Chiefs continued that chase thanks to a massive 17-point performance from junior forward [player_tooltip player_id="134757" first="Gabby" last="Recinto"]. She’s been as advertised and then some for Cherokee this season and in that 36-32 win, she helped make the big baskets down the stretch to lift Cherokee to victory. While their one game against Paul VI this season has already been played, Cherokee has one more game against Shawnee on Feb. 15 and hopefully, we’ll be there to cover it. 3. <strong>Bishop Eustace righted the ship temporarily against Shore Regional</strong> It was a tough game against a good opponent in Shore Regional, but Bishop Eustace, who dominated from the start, was able to maintain a double-digit lead for most of the game on its way to a 36-24 win. In such a low-scoring game, no Crusaders player, including Carly Serlenga, scored above double-figures on offense, but the defense was the star of the show in this game. Eustace has a tough schedule ahead of them with games against Haddon Heights and Shawnee, so we’ll see how well they continue to rebound after a two-game slide prior to Saturday’s win. 4. <strong>Haddon Heights finally met its match </strong> Haddon Heights faced off against an incredibly tough opponent in Holmdel late Saturday afternoon and the Garnets unfortunately suffered their first loss of the season in the process. It’s a learning loss though for the Garnets, who saw a lead quickly slip away from them in the third quarter due to excellent press defense from Homdel, who just swarmed and overwhelmed Haddon Heights. However, with Madison Clark and Marquae Richardson-Muse still scoring a combined 36 points in the 60-50 loss, that’s encouraging moving forward. 5. <strong>Rancocas Valley showed up big for its home crowd</strong> Rancocas Valley had the first game of the tournament in front of its home crowd and it showed up in a big way against Brick Township, dominating from start to finish with a 22-point victory. The win was one of their largest of the season and star [player_tooltip player_id="319340" first="Adriana" last="Agosto"] came up big for the Red Devils with a game-high 26 points in the win. Agosto is a superstar without a doubt and as she goes, Rancocas Valley goes. This should help re-inject confidence in her and the rest of the team, who represented well in the showcase.