Manchester Advances To State Group II Basketball Final

BERKELEY TOWNSHIP, NJ -- For the third straight year, Manchester was facing Manasquan in the NJSIAA Group II semifinals. Manasquan. The team that had won five straight Group II championships.

The team that had ended Manchester's season two years in a row.

Thursday night, Manchester put those memories to rest with a 64-48 victory over its Group II nemesis at Central Regional High School. Manchester (30-2) advances to the NJSIAA Group II championship, where it will face Lincoln at 2 p.m. on Sunday at RWJ Barnabas Health Arena in Toms River.

Unlike the previous two meetings, the Hawks came into the game against Manasquan as the favorite. Manchester is ranked No. 2 in the state by NJ.com, and Manasquan is No. 10.

"We came in confident that we could beat them," senior Kemari Reynolds said. Actually accomplishing that, however? "It's a feeling so surreal," she said.

"At this point in the season you can't take anyone for granted," Manchester coach Dave Beauchemin said. "Nothing is ever a given."

That was clear in the third quarter. Manchester came out of the locker room with a 7-point lead, but struggled to pull away. But when the Warriors pulled to within 4 points on a 3-pointer by Annie Mako, the Hawks turned up the heat.

On the next trip down the floor, Destiny Adams, who finished with 19 points, faked a drive to the basket then passed to her sister, Dakota, who then passed to Serenity Anderson, who hit a 3-pointer, her only basket of the night. Then it was Destiny Adams hitting from 3 to make it a 10-point lead. Lola Mullaney hit a 3-pointer to answer for Manasquan, but Leilani Correa, who had a huge night for Manchester with 25 points, 12 rebounds and 8 steals, had the reply. After a Manasquan turnover, Dakota Adams, who finished with 6 points, hit a runner on a third shot for Manchester on the Hawks' next possession.

Manchester put the exclamation point on the 12-2 run when Reynolds hit a 3-pointer with seconds left in the third following a furious scramble on the Manasquan end with Correa getting the ball, passing to Dakota Adams who then sent it to Reynolds. As it swished through the net, the Hawks' fans erupted.

The Warriors, who were without top scorer Faith Masonius for the last 11 minutes of the game after she suffered an apparent knee injury, could draw no closer.

For Reynolds, the victory was especially sweet: her father, Senior Chief Petty Officer Shavar Reynolds, was in the stands, home on leave from the Navy for the first time in three years.

He's only been able to watch Kemari play on video replays and the occasional livestream. He arrived home just before Manchester took on Middle Township in the South Jersey Group II title game on Tuesday, and surprised her at the game.

Manchester's fans paid tribute to Kemari's father by adding red-white-and-blue leis and donning red-white-and-blue clothing.

"The support of the town has been amazing," she said. And having her dad able to watch as Manchester continues its season is really special. "I feel like he's our good luck charm," she said.

Destiny Adams said beating Manasquan after losing to the Warriors for two straight years was "just a huge accomplishment."

"I was in the stands two years ago, and I was playing last year when we lost," she said. "This is special." But the Hawks still want much more, she acknowledged, starting with the Group II title, and hopefully a trip through the Tournament of Champions.

Beauchemin said nothing is a certainty, but the girls believe in themselves.

Defeating St. John Vianney to win the Shore Conference Tournament "solidified our internal belief in what we capable of," he said.

Their capabilities — relentlessness on defense, teamwork on offense — will be critical.

"No one feels like they have to do it all themselves," Destiny Adams said.

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