MONROE — It had been a little while since the Manasquan girls’ basketball team was challenged in a second half of a state tournament game, but the Warriors displayed their mettle when pushed by Middle Township in the Group 2 semifinals on Wednesday.
The Warriors surged past the Panthers 60-42 at Monroe High School to advance to the Group 2 state championship for the second year in a row.
Manasquan will play Madison, noon on Sunday at Jersey Mikes Arena on the campus of Rutgers University. The Warriors defeated Madison, 47-26 in the state final last season.
Middle Township had cut the Warriors lead to 30-27 with five minutes left in the third quarter, before Manasquan went on a 12-0 run to regain control of the game.
All the points during the 12-0 run were scored by either Shea Donnelly or Kayden Clark.
Donnelly led Manasquan with 20 points, while Clark had 13 for the Warriors in the win.
Tickets for the Manasquan and Madison girls state final are available online only at njsiaa.org/tickets.
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