By WARREN RAPPLEYEA Correspondent

RED BANK CATHOLIC

R ed Bank Catholic (RBC) High

Schools girls basketball team heads into the Shore Conference Tournament as the seventh seed after losing three of its last four games.

The Caseys (15-6) fell to St. John Vianney High School, the top seed in the Shore Conference Tournament (SCT), twice recently. They fell to the Lancers, 55-32, on Feb. 8 and then again on Feb. 17 by a 55-26 score. They also fell to Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School, 52-30, on Feb. 6.

In the first contest against St. John Vianney, RBC found itself on the wrong end of a 20-4 tally when the buzzer sounded to end the first quarter. It was a hole that proved too steep to dig out of.

The Rumson-Fair Haven game was a far cry from the teams previous matchup, which was won by the Caseys, 37-33. This time around, the Bulldogs jumped out to a 13-7 first-quarter lead. It was 25- 11 at the half thanks to a stifling defense that held Alex Barazotti to just five points. Grace Fallon led the Caseys with eight points.

Prior to the loss against Rumson-Fair Haven, RBC won four straight games, downing Archbishop Malloy High School (New York), Shore Regional High School, Raritan High School and Holmdel High School.

Coach Joe Montanos team scored a win over Monmouth Regional High School (3- 19), 57-26, on Feb. 11. Caitlin Conroy led RBC with 11 points, as 12 Caseys players saw action during the rout.

We have a lot of young players, but our strength is that they play as a team, said Montano, whose team won the SCT last season. The girls have had some very strong games, and theyre learning from their mistakes.

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Area teams seeking success in girls conference tourney