Fiore Paved The Way For Shore Girls’ Basketball

By Walter J. O’Neill, Jr.

Going up for a shot is Michayla Bland (23) a sophomore guard on the Long Branch Green Wave squad. Playing defense is Ava Coyle (4) a junior at Shore Regional.

Saturday, December 21, the 6th Annual Blue Devil Holiday Tournament tipped off in West Long Branch.  The girls’ varsity teams participating are Freehold Borough, Howell Township, Jackson Liberty, Jackson Memorial, Long Branch, Manalapan, Matawan, Monmouth Regional, Neptune, Ocean Township, Raritan, Sayreville, Saint Joseph Hill of New York and host Shore Regional.

In the opening round, the Green Wave of Long Branch faced the Blue Devils of Shore Regional. Long Branch, which is coached by Shannon Coyle, entered the tournament with just one game under the belt. They started the 2024-2025 season on the 19th with a 44-36 win over Lacey.

Shore Regional, coached by William Wishart, had two games prior to the Long Branch match-up. They hosted and beat Toms River East to open the season on December 18, and then lost 52-32 to Hun on December 20.

The first quarter between the Green Wave and Blue Devils was tight. Both teams were running and hustling on defense. Shore was applying half-court pressure and the Long Branch was able to pass around it for most of the game. When the first quarter ended, Shore had a 12-9 advantage.

During the second quarter, the Blue Devils took advantage of their experience and teamwork as they played their best minutes of the game closing out the first half. They outscored Long Branch 20-12 and took a 32-21 lead into the break.

Paving the way for Shore Regional in the 53-41 win over Long Branch was senior co-captain Reese Fiore (1) who had 19 points. Playing defense for the Green Wave is Navaeh Wheeler (1) a sophomore.

Long Branch played their best quarter to start the second half. They held the Blue Devils to 16 points, while they scored 13. In the fourth quarter, both teams went to their bench, which had the Green Wave outscoring the Devils 7-5.

In the end Shore took the 53-41 victory. Paving the way for the Blue Devils was senior co-captain Reese Fiore. She was high scorer with 17 points, pulled down three rebounds and had three steals. Kimi Sayson, who transferred from Long Branch two years ago, had 15 points, eight rebounds, two assists and six steals for the Devils. Also scoring in double digits was Ava Coyle, cousin of Green Wave head coach, who had 10 points, six rebounds, one assist and three steals. Also having a great game for the Blue Devils was Angela Christopher, who scored seven points, had five rebounds, two assists and one steal.

Long Branch had one player who dominated the scorning. Leomary Diaz-Merino, senior co-captain, had a game-high 29 points. She made 9 of 10 foul shots, also had 15 rebounds, three assists, one block and one steal. Only three other Green Wave players scored. Layla Bland, sophomore guard, and senior Taniylah Brown, both had five points. Brown had seven rebounds and Bland had five. Jadayah Bowles, sophomore, had two points, six rebounds and one steal. Leading the Green Wave in steals was Nevaeh Wheeler, sophomore, who had five and five rebounds.

“The girls played really hard. They never gave up and they are playing together,” said Coyle. She also pointed out how special Diaz-Merino is. “Leomary is clearly a leader on the court and off. The girls are understanding individual roles and celebrating each other. They have improved so much even from the start of the season. They are a great group of ladies, making my job easier.”

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