Girls roundup: Sophomore-laden Schalick uses big second half to take down LEAP; Woodstown, Pennsville, Penns Grove all win with big second halves or fourth quarters
THURSDAY GIRLS SCORES
Salem County
Schalick 51, LEAP 28
Penns Grove 52, Cloucester Co. Christian 36
Pennsville 47, GCIT 35
Woodstown 57, Clearview 54
By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News
PITTSGROVE – John Whalen saw the future of Schalick girls basketball in the second half of Thursday night’s game and he had to admit it looked pretty good.
The Cougars have a young team, but they played like veterans on this night. They already led by five at halftime, but outscored LEAP Academy 33-15 in the second half to earn their first win of the season 51-28.
“That showed the potential this group has,” Whalen said. “They pretty much are all sophomores. They’re very young so I think that highlights the potential this team can have.”
Their 33 second-half points were more than the Cougars (1-2) had scored in their first two games of the season combined.
“The talk at halftime was just picking up some aggression and communication on defense and looking to get the ball inside on offense,” Whalen said. “We came out the second half and the girls did an excellent job jumping passing lanes, getting a lot of steals, some fast-break layups. We started to transition a lot more, get the ball up the floor, and find Ava (Scurry) and Cianna (Gaines) inside for some layups.”
Scully and Cali Fisler shared team scoring honors with 14 points each. Scully scored 10 of her points in the second half and Fisler had nine. Carly Vicente had 13.
“The future is bright,” Whalen said. “I think if the girls stick with it … the next couple years down the road could be where we are back to our competitive years where we have been in the past.”
SCHALICK 51, LEAP 28
SCHALICK (1-2) – Abigail Willoughby 3 0-0 6, Cali Fisler 3 4-8 14, Ava Scurry 7 0-6 14, Cianna Gaines 3 0-0 6, Victoria Basich 0 0-0 0, Carly Vincente 6 0-0 13, Katie Little 1 0-0 2, Madison Brown 0 0-0 0. Totals 23 4-14 51.
LEAP (0-3) – Ashriel Young 1 4-10 6, Wiliana Diaz 3 1-4 10, Mahogany Gardner 4 0-0 10, Jaleah Davis 1 0-0 2, Jayla Moormann 0 0-0 0. Totals 9 5-14 28.
| Schalick | 8 | 10 | 16 | 17 – | 51 |
| LEAP | 4 | 9 | 7 | 8 – | 28 |
WOODSTOWN 57, CLEARVIEW 54: Talia Battavio hit two free throws with less than five seconds left on the clock to seal the Wolverines’ second straight victory in a game that had more ups and downs than an elevator.
The Wolverines trailed by 10 at halftime, but opened the third quarter with a 16-0 run and took a nine-point lead into the fourth. The Pioneers rallied to tie the game at 50, but the Wolverines made the last push.
Leading scorers Battavio (26 points) and Megan Donelson (20) both hit field goals to move the Red Devils out front and then they hit three of four free throws to lock it down.
Shannon Pierman kept the ball alive with an offensive rebound on the missed free throw with five seconds left and the Wolverines up by a point. The ball got to Battavio, who was fouled and went to the line for the free throws that sealed the game.
WOODSTOWN 57, CLEARVIEW 54
CLEARVIEW (1-1) – Alexis Jones 2-2-8, Gianna Bauer 0-1-1, Brett Foster 1-2-4
Ana Pellecchia 10-0-25, Juliette Mirigliani 3-1-7, Alyson Carter 4-1-9. Totals 20-7-54
WOODSTOWN (2-1) – Talia Battavio 10-2-26, Megan Donelson 7-6-20, Alyssa Baber 1-2-4, Gianna Maiorini 0-2-2, Shannon Pierman 2-1-5, Lauren Hengel 0-0-0, Emma Perry 0-0-0. Totals 20-13-57.
| Clearview | 19 | 10 | 6 | 22 – | 54 |
| Woodstown | 15 | 4 | 25 | 13 – | 57 |
PENNS GROVE 52, GLOUCESTER CHRISTIAN 36: The teams were locked in a tight battle for three quarters, but the Red Devils pulled away by outscoring the Conquerors 21-2 in the fourth quarter for their fourth straight win to remain undefeated.
The Red Devils got 45 points from their three big weapons. RaNiyah Wilson led the way with 17 points, Brianna Robbins had 16 and Meely Horace had 12 (all in the second half). They combined for 17 points in the fourth quarter.
PENNS GROVE 52, GLOUCESTER CO. CHRISTIAN 36
GLOUCESTER CO. CHR. (3-2) – Carolina Shreids 4 0-3 8, Maddey Ewin 2 0-0 4, Angela Karamisakis 4 4-6 14, Nira Mason 4 2-2 10, Hannah Gesin 0 0-0 0 Alanna Esposito 0 0-0 0. Totals 14 6-11 36.
PENNS GROVE (4-0) – RaNiyah Wilson 7 1-3 17, Meely Horace 4 4-6 12, Brianna Robbins 6 3-6 16, Amani Taylor 0 0-0 0Zoey Caesar 0 0-0 0, Syanna Robbins 0 0-0 0, JaNiyah Cummings 3 1-1 7. Totals 20 9-16 52.
| Gloucester Co. Chr. | 8 | 11 | 15 | 2 – | 36 |
| Penns Grove | 11 | 10 | 10 | 21 – | 52 |
PENNSVILLE 47, GCIT 35: The Eagles got off to a fast start, then survived a scare in the third quarter before pulling away.
Nora Ausland led three Pennsville scorers in double figures with 17 points. Marley Wood had 15 and Bella Farina, scoring for the first time this season, had 10. Ausland had eight of her points in the fourth quarter.
PENNSVILLE 47, GCIT 35
PENNSVILLE (2-1) – Nora Ausland 6 4-4 17, Taylor Bass 1 1-1 3, Bella Farina 4 2-4 10, Kylie Harris 0 0-0 0, Anikka Macalino 0 0-0 0, Isabelle Saulin 1 0-0 2, Marley Wood 5 3-4 15. Totals 17 10-13 47.
GCIT (3-2) – Sophia Molinari 2 0-2 6, Maggie Duer 3 0-1 9, Leanne Riddick 4 1-2 10, Ava Friel 2 0-0 4, Savanna Shute 2 2-6 6, Reese Hartman 0 0-0 0, Gina Sheehan 0 0-0 0, Averie Clement 0 1-2 1, Sofia McKay 0 0-0 0. Totals 13 4-13 35.
| Pennsville | 11 | 12 | 8 | 16 – | 47 |
| CGIT | 4 | 4 | 16 | 12 – | 35 |
Riverview Sports News 