Forrestdale Girls: Basketball Champs

You can call them champs.

The Girls Basketball Team of Rumson’s Forrestdale School has claimed the Coastal Intermediate Basketball League Championship with a win over Shrewsbury on Feb. 26.

The Forrestdale girls were undefeated in their division and finished with a record of 18-0 in league play.

“This year the team’s success went beyond my expectations,” Coach Mary Beth Coleman said. “I knew that we would be competitive with a lot of experience returning, but the girls accomplished something very special in not only winning the CIBL Championship but also going undefeated thus far in the season.”

Teams in the Coastal League are from: Eatontown, Fair Haven, Little Silver, Monmouth Beach, Oceanport, Shrewsbury, Tinton Falls, and West Long Branch.

The teams play against one another two times each during the regular season, with the top six teams advancing to the playoffs.

Forrestdale entered the playoffs as number one seed, with all of the games taking place on their home court. The girls earned a first round bye and won their semifinal game versus Knollwood School in Fair Haven by a score of 20-15, earning them their spot in the championship game against Shrewsbury.

The team is currently participating in the Run for the Roses Middle School Basketball Tournament at St. Rose High School in Belmar, where they are the number one seed out of 18 participating teams. At this point the girls remain undefeated, with a record of 21-0 overall.

“The effort of the entire team has been outstanding, and I could not be more proud of the girls’ work ethic and determination day in and day out,” Coleman said.

The coach had special praise for the more seasoned members of the team.

“The eighth graders have been a part of this program for three years and I’ve enjoyed watching them learn and grow, not only as basketball players but also as young ladies,” she said. “They have been instrumental and role models to the younger players.”

The Forrestdale Girls Basketball Roster features: eighth graders, Jordan Johnson, Sophia Passalaqua, Shaelyn Sabino, Ellen Daly, Eliana Swell, and Caitlin Wingertzahn; seventh graders, Kathleen Antonakakis, Kendall Cardinale, Braden Cheslock, Meadow Maguire, and Sophia Sabino; and sixth graders, Mary Kate Allingham, Samantha Cesario, Chapin Memmott, Charley Rosen, and Kaila Scarpa.

Sally Wingertzahn is the team manager.

— Edited press release from the Rumson School District