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January 19, 2025
The State We’re In by Alison Mitchell, Executive Director, New Jersey Conservation Foundation
January 22, 2025By Walter J. O’Neill, Jr.

Coming off the bench and scoring 11 points for Shore Regional in the win over Raritan was sophomore Grace Ascolese, (22).
After the first quarter, it was obvious that the Lady Blue Devils of Shore Regional were going to easily beat the Rockets of Raritan High School in a nondivisional Shore Conference basketball game. Shore had an impressive 26-6 advantage when the opening quarter ended. The final score had Shore taking the 69-32 victory and improving to 8-4 overall and 2-2 in the A North division.
William Wishart, head coach of the Blue Devils, has his team firing on all cylinders as they reach the halfway point of the season. Shore is a three-peat NJSIAA Central Jersey, Group 1 champion, and are starting to look as if number four is on the horizon.
The Blue Devils have one of the best half-court pressure attacks in the conference. It starts with senior guard Reese Fiore, who applies the pressure in the center. On her wings are Kimi Sayson and Ava Coyle. Backing them up are Angela Christopher and Emma Madison as the starting five.
But what makes Shore Regional exceptional is that no matter who comes into the game off the bench –Jasmin Okuszka, Grace Ascolese, or Kayla Husar – the pressure has the same results, turnovers and points. In the win over Raritan, Fiore and Coyle each had six steals, Sayson had five, Madison and Ascolese each had three and Christopher had two while Okuszka finished with one.
All of the Blue Devil players have ball handling skills, speed and can shoot from the inside or way outside. In the victory over the Rockets, Fiore made six from outside the three-point area, Coyle made four, Ascolese had three, while Sayson and Christopher each made one.
Leading all Blue Devil players in scoring is Fiore. Last year, she became the tenth Shore Regional player to eclipse the 1,000-point scoring record. Saturday morning, she had 30 points, two rebounds and one assist. Over her four years on varsity, Fiore has 1,211 points, 464 rebounds, 107 assists and 215 steals.
Coyle, who is a junior guard, scored 14 points, pulled down two rebounds and had two assists in the win. Sophomore Grace Ascolese had a very good game for Shore Regional coming in off the bench. She finished with 11 points, four rebounds and one assist.
Sayson, who is co-captain with Fiore, finished with nine points. She is only 47 points away from the 1,000 mark. Her first two years of varsity basketball were on the Lady Green Wave of Long Branch High School where she had 469 points. Over the past two years at Shore Regional she has 484 points. She is averaging 16.25 points per-game and with 11 games left, she should finish with over 1,100 career points. In the win over Raritan, Sayson also had five rebounds and assists.
Rounding out the scoring was Christopher with three and Madison with two points. In the A North division, Shore Regional is currently sitting in fourth out of six teams. On top is Raney followed by Trinity Hall, Colts Neck and then the Blue Devils, followed by Marlboro and Ocean Township.
The next two opponents for the Blue Devils are at Trinity Hall on January 21, and then at Raney two days later. Shore has already played Ranney once this season. Back on January 6, they hosted Ranney and lost 66-41. They have not played Trinity Hall yet.
Additional photos can be viewed at www.Facebook.com/TheLinkSports
- Getting fouled during the win over Raritan is Shore Regional senior Kimi Sayson. She is 47 points away from getting her 1,000 career point.
- Shore Regional junior guard Ava Coyle (4) scored 14 points in the win over Raritan. Halfway through the 2025 season she has 181 points, 52 rebounds, 23 assists, and 41 steals.
- Leading all Blue Devils with 30 points in the 69-32 win over Raritan was Reese Fiore.