Coach & Mom Share Jackson Memorial’s Success – Hometown View

It was 11am and an hour before Jackson Memorial would play North Hunterdon for the Girls Group 4 State Basketball Championship at the Pine Belt Arena in Toms River. I was standing inside the near empty gym when a nervous Karen Goodale and Irene Connor arrived. Being among the first Jackson fans at any Jaguar event is the norm for the two women, who bleed red and white. However this day was extra special as Goodale’s daughter Rachel would be coaching an underdog Jaguar team that was seeking an unlikely first-ever basketball group championship.

Championship events are nothing new to Mrs. Goodale, whose son Scott won a few while coaching wrestling at Jackson and is now the head coach at Rutgers. But I could tell this was a bit different…after all it’s her “baby girl.” I spoke for a while with the two and kidded them that there were 5 other fans in the 3,000 seat arena that already had their seats but they would find a good one. Irene’s late husband Don was the longtime and popular Jackson Athletic Director and despite his passing her love and commitment to Jaguar Nation remains.

A little more than 2 ½ hours after I chatted with the two came one of those great moments that sports sometimes gives us. A smiling, joyful and somewhat stunned Rachel Goodale waved her Mother out of stands so they could share a celebratory hug. It came just a few minutes after the Jags’ stirring 50-47 victory over North Hunterdon in the first and best of four public school finals that were played on the Toms River North campus Sunday. The story of this game was junior Hannah Missry who hit the last of her 8 three-pointers with 7 seconds left on the clock to win it in dramatic fashion. It capped a very good weekend for the personable Missry, who on Saturday made a verbal commitment to attend Fordham University in the fall of 2013. She and her Jackson teammates will return to the Pine Belt Arena tomorrow night to face Gill St. Bernard at 6pm in the quarterfinals of the Tournament of Champions. I’ll expect Mrs. Goodale and Mrs. Connor around 5.

Manasquan helped make it a memorable weekend for the shore by capturing the Group 3 title with a 70-63 win over Teaneck behind Katelynn Flaherty’s 25pts and 23 from Player-of-the-Year Michaela Mabry. They will play Cedar Creek in the TOC tomorrow at 8pm. St. Rose, who won the Non-Public A crown Saturday is the #2 seed and gets an opening round bye. Point Boro fell to powerhouse Shabazz

100-64 in the Group 2 championship game despite 30pts from Kelly Hughes.