State Champions
TOMS RIVER — A historic group of seniors capped off their high school basketball careers with a state championship Sunday afternoon at the RWJBarnabas Health Arena.
The Mainland Regional High School girls team captured the Group III state championship with a 59-51 win over Chatham High School.
It was the Mustangs’ second state championship in girls basketball. The first title came in 2019, also against Chatham.
“Honestly it’s what we have been dreaming of since second or third grade, so we feel on top of the world right now,” said senior Kasey Bretones.
Bretones’ 16 points in the championship put her over 500 this season, which led the Mustangs.
Mainland jumped out to an early lead and never relinquished it. Each Mustang starter scored in the first quarter as they controlled the game from start to finish.
“We all worked together and gave each other the ball,” Mustang senior Sydney Stokes said. “We are so comfortable and we trust each other in the process.”
The Mustangs kept the lead thanks to their defense holding a powerful Chatham team to only two three-pointers. Chatham entered the game with three players who made more than 30 treys this season but were neutralized beyond the arc by the Mustang defense.
Mainland won a school record 31 games this season and suffered only one loss thanks to consistent performances by all the veteran starters.
“We’ve been playing together since second grade, so that chemistry is really strong,” senior Ava Mazur said. “It’s hard to beat us because there is not this one amazing scorer; we can all score and I think that is what is so unstoppable about this team.”
Her twin sister, Bella Mazur, led all scorers in the championship with 20 points, thanks in part to great passes from the rest of the team.
Bretones and Ava Mazur each had six assists in the game as they fed Bella Mazur, who constantly got open under the basket.
Led by head coach Scott Betson, the Mustangs’ senior class went a combined 97-9 over their four seasons at Mainland, which includes two South Jersey titles and this year’s state championship.
“We’ve grown up playing together,” Bretones said. “We really wanted this game and knew it was our last time playing together, so we just had to make it extra special. We didn’t care who scored the most points, we just wanted the state championship.”
Mainland reached the title game thanks to a 12-point comeback victory over Central Jersey champion Ewing High School in the semifinals. In that game, the Mustangs entered the fourth quarter down 33-21. With the season on the line, Mainland roared back and Ava Mazur tied the game at 43-43 with six straight points.
There was only 6 seconds remaining when Stokes hauled in an offensive rebound and got one last shot off at the buzzer to avoid overtime and win the game 45-43.
Against Chatham on Sunday, the Mustangs started fast and jumped out to a 17-8 first-quarter lead. The lone junior in the starting lineup, Ava Sheeran, got the ball rolling for the Mustangs as she forced a turnover and made a layup for the game’s first points.
“Winning with all the seniors — and I’m the junior — feels so good,” Sheeran said. “They’re all great athletes and I love them all.”
Mainland added onto its offensive pressure with multiple full-court passes that turned into points before the defense could get set in the half-court.
Stokes led the team with eight points at halftime and was followed by Bella Mazur and Bretones with seven and six, respectively. Solid performances by all five players gave Mainland a 29-21 lead at the break. Stokes finished with 11 points, eight rebounds and four blocked shots.
Despite Mainland keeping Chatham scoreless from the three-point line, the North Jersey team was within striking distance the whole time.
Bella Mazur took over after halftime and scored eight points in the third quarter. She scored on back-to-back possessions in which both times she was wide open after Stokes passed her the ball under the basket.
In her aggressiveness, however, she also picked up her fourth personal foul and was forced to sit.
The sixth player off the bench for the senior-heavy Mustangs this season has been freshman Reilly Nagle. She entered in relief of Mazur and quickly racked up six rebounds and forced a turnover to start the fourth quarter.
“The seniors are so supportive and I just hustle and do my best,” Nagle said.
“It felt great,” she added about playing in a state championship game. “It’s the best experience that I’ve had. I just love this season.”
Betson said the team got “unbelievable minutes” out of Nagle.
“I’m super proud of her. She’s been in a tough role all year where she just has to be ready to go at a moment’s notice and she’s done a great job with it all year, like she’s done today,” he said.
The final quarter saw Chatham cut the lead to 44-39 with 6 minutes remaining, but Mainland went on an 8-1 run immediately after thanks to five more points from Bella Mazur.
Eventually Chatham hit its first three-pointer with only 2:46 left. After Mazur fouled out of the game, Chatham hit another three-pointer and the Mustangs’ lead was cut to 53-48 with 1:23 remaining.
Suddenly the Mustangs were down their leading point scorer, Ava Mazur and Sheeran had four fouls each and the opposition was in rhythm from deep, but the Mainland girls did not falter.
Sheeran noted the foul trouble “was really scary and it gets tense at the moment, but we know we’re going to get through it and we all have each other.”
With time running down, Bretones got the ball after a timeout and was fouled on back-to-back possessions as Chatham tried to narrow the gap and get the ball back. Bretones made all four of her free throws and extended the lead, killing those hopes.
Ava Mazur intercepted a desperation pass, got fouled and made both of her free throws to close the game and bring the state championship back to Linwood.
Next season will feature a new-look Mustang team, presumably led by Sheeran and Nagle. Two other freshmen, Sammy Funk and Jade O’Neil, also played a decent amount this season and will compete next year for Mainland.
The Mazur twins, Bretones and Stokes will be remembered as one of the most decorated groups of players in school history. The Mazurs are headed to West Chester University to play basketball, keeping that duo together.
“It feels amazing. Not many teams get the chance to play in a state championship game and to have my twin sister along with me by my side, it feels even more amazing and more surreal,” Ava Mazur said after the game as she posed with her sister and the trophy.
The girls lost to Sparta in the 2022 state title game and finished with a 28-3 record.
“We worked so hard for this and it definitely stung sophomore year when we lost the state championship, but we knew we could get back here our senior year,” Bella Mazur added.
“I’m having a hard time with my emotions right now because I’m so excited and happy about this,” Betson said. “But I’m also having a hard time coming to grips that it’s my last time with this wonderful group of kids. I just love them all so much.”
The coach said he didn’t even want to start thinking about next season.
“I can’t even get to next year at all,” Betson said. “I’m going to soak up today and everything that today is and all the hard work that it represents.”
Banner year for Mustang sports
It has been a banner school year so far for Mainland sports. Aside from the newest state title, the Mustang football team went undefeated and won a state title in the fall, the boys and girls basketball teams both won South Jersey titles, as did the boys swim team and the girls volleyball team. And that doesn’t count all the winning records and outstanding individual performances from other teams and athletes as well.
“I’m just really, really happy for the kids and the coaches,” Mainland Athletic Director Mike Gatley said after Sunday’s game about the success of Mustang sports.
“This is one of the most special groups of kids that have come through and I’m really proud of them and proud of the coaches,” he said. “Really, I’m proud of the culture that we develop because kids also do it the right way. That makes me the most happy.”
By WILLIAM TRUITT/For the Sentinel
and DAVID NAHAN/Sentinel staff
