Battavio, Donelson never far apart in the box score, combine for 57 as Woodstown opens its tournament with easy win; Pennsville bounces back in Buena and more
THURSDAY’S GIRLS BASKETBALL SCORES
Battle at Buena
Pennsville 49, Camden Academy 33
ACIT Holiday Tech Tournament
Consolation: GCIT 51, Salem Tech 15
Championship: ACIT 55, Camden Tech 19
Wolverine Holiday Tournament
Highland 60, Paulsboro 19
Woodstown 75, Bridgeton 41
Boardwalk Classic
Wildwood Convention Center
St. Dominic 53, Penns Grove 51
By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News
WOODSTOWN – Talia Battavio and Megan Donelson are two of the most dynamic scorers on any one team in any type of geography you want to name – county, conference, section, state.
Woodstown coach Kara Straughn would put them up against anyone anywhere. And when she does, they usually dominate the box score.
When they’re are on – and often when they’re not – they’re capable of outscoring any team they play by themselves. They came thisclose to scoring 30 points in the same game for the first time in their career Thursday, but settled for 28 and 29, respectively, and it was plenty as the Wolverines routed winless Bridgeton 75-41 in the opening round of the Wolverine Holiday Tournament.
They had plenty of time to get it, but they were lifted to play another day with 2:20 left in the game and the win safely tucked away.
“Mainland I believe has a set of twins this year that are seniors who are very good, Megan and Talia caliber, but I don’t know of anybody in Tri-County or maybe South Jersey,” Woodstown coach Kara Straughn said. “Gloucester Catholic has a couple, but they’re not Megan and Talia.
“The big thing is there’s no competition (between them). You have some teams who have two really great players, but it’s a constant competition. But with those two, they’re feeding each other. Together, the two of them, I don’t think there are anybody (like them).”
Battavio agreed the combination gives the Wolverines “something different.”
Donelson said “it’s like a power move for us. We just work really well together because we’ve been playing with each other a lot time. We’re like just locked in together.”
The two juniors are a lot closer than what you see in the scoring column. Sure, it might look like they’re locked in some friendly competition to see who gets scoring honors for the night, but they’re close friends that extend beyond the high school basketball court and genuinely want to see the other succeed.
In the 59 games Woodstown has played during their varsity careers, Battavio has been the higher scorer of the two 27 times, Donelson has had the better of it 26 times and they’ve wound up even six times. Their final line has been within three points of each other 32 times and only three times in the last 26 games has the difference between them been more than six points.
While they were so close to going for 30 in the same game for the first time Thursday, they’ve both gone for 20 in the same game five times and in four of the last eight games going back to last season, including the last two. Their previous best combined effort before Thursday was a 56-point night against Penns Grove (Donelson went for 31) in last year’s South Jersey Group I semifinals.
“I think we share a chemistry over the three years and also being really good friends helps,” Battavio said. “We like to push the ball and get it up to each other and I think we’re both not selfish about it. I’m willing to give up the ball to get her a layup any day. If she has 20 and I have 10, if we win, it’s a win. We’re heavy on that.”
Of course, the biggest beneficiary of it all is the team and the program.
“I think it sets the tone for not just now but the future as well,” Straughn said. “I have a lot of sophomores who are looking to those two and saying, ‘OK, I want to be the Megan and Talia in two years when I’m a junior and senior and they’re gone.’ So they’ve set a great example and a great tone for the young girls and the program overall.
“We have youth programs coming out to watch both of them. And they’re both involved in the youth program, they both help out. So, I think it doesn’t just help on the court, it helps the future of Woodstown basketball as well.”
They played a big part in the Wolverines putting this one away early. Bridgeton stayed with them early, even leading 9-8, but then the avalanche came. The Wolverines went on a 15-3 run to the end of the quarter that turned into a 27-5 spree before the Bulldogs called time with 4:21 left in the first half.
The Dynamic Duo had 25 of the Wolverines’ first 35 points and 29 points in the first half. Donelson had 11 in the first quarter.
While there is no pact for making it happen, everyone involve – Battavio, Donelson and Straughn – all agree it would be “really cool” if they both hit their 1,000th career point on the same night.
After Thursday, Donelson stands are 753 career points and Battavio is at 741. They’re projected to be the 10th and 11th members of the school’s girls 1,000-Point Club sometime around the Tri-County Tournament.
“I think that would really be the icing on the cake,” Straughn said. “I can’t even imagine that celebration.”
WOODSTOWN 75, BRIDGETON 41
BRIDGETON (0-6) – Adelina Wilks 10 3-7 25, Ayianna Ridgeway 0 0-0 0, Diara McGriff 1 0-0 2, Imara James 4 0-0 8, Jayla Bowman 2 0-2 4, Sarena Parker 1 0-0 2, Kahmya Johnson 0 0-0 0, Karina Perez 0 0-0 0, TaMiyah Russell 0 0-0 0. Totals 18 3-9 41.
WOODSTOWN (3-1) – Talia Battavio 11 4-8 28, Megan Donelson 13 0-0 29, Alyssa Baber 1 1-1 4, Gianna Maiorini 0 0-0 0, Shannon Pierman 4 2-2 10, Lauren Hengel 1 0-0 2, Emma Perry 1 0-0 2, Jala Thomas 0 0-0 0, Lizzy Daly 0 0-0 0, Brae DiGregorio 0 0-0 0, Kendall Young 0 0-0 0. Totals 31 7-11 75.
| Bridgeton | 12 | 12 | 6 | 11 – | 41 |
| Woodstown | 23 | 16 | 18 | 18 – | 75 |
Cover photo: Megan Donelson (20) and Talia Battavio lead the Woodstown girls basketball team out of timeout Thursday just as they usually do in the scoring column. (Photo by Collin Groom)
Battle at Buena
PENNSVILLE 49, CAMDEN ACADEMY CHARTER 33: After having what coach Sam Trapp called “a big honest conversation” about how their opening-round loss to Pemberton went down, the Eagles got back on the winning road in the consolation game, but an even bigger issue emerged.
The Eagles played through two injured and endured another during the game.
Point guard Marley Wood played through an ankle injury she sustained the day before, Taylor Bass didn’t play because of a broken finger on her left hand and Annika Macalino suffered a knee injury during the game.
“It’s just so frustrating, it feels like a curse this year,” Trapp said. “I struggled with a lot of injuries with soccer and here we are with Round 2 in basketball. The best thing I can do is just keep coaching the other girls through it and working our team strength at this point and hoping the girls will be able to recover and get back on the court quickly.”
Even with all that going on, the Eagles had enough to get past the winless Cougars. They placed three scorers in double figures and led wire-to-wire, even with a hiccup in the third quarter. Nora Ausland led the offense with 17 points, Wood came through with 12 and Bella Farina had 11.
They built a 14-point halftime lead and never lost it, unlike the day before when Pemberton rallied in the second half. The third quarter was a little interesting, though, as they were outscored 16-14. The Eagles have been outscored in the third quarter in four of their five games this season.
“I was just very honest with the girls,” Trapp said. “I just told them we’ve got to take better care of the basketball. You have to step up when you’re playing in the game. You have to do your best when you’re on the court at all times.
“It’s taking accountability for their mistakes and what they can do better moving forward. Thankfully, the girls responded to what I said. We changed our gameplan a little bit with the injuries that we had, so it all ended up shaking out all right at the end.”
PENNSVILLE 49, CAMDEN ACADEMY CHARTER 33
CAMDEN ACAD. (0-5) – Angel Waysome 0 0-0 0, Nashalie Lugo 0 0-0 0, Yomeidy DeLaRosa 2 2-3 7, Angelise Rodriguez 2 0-0 6, Diomeiry DeLaRosa 5 6-6 20, Nikya Smith 0 0-0 0, Mariana Garriga 0 0-0 0, Malani Taplin 0 0-0 0. Totals 9 8-9 33.
PENNSVILLE (3-2) – Calli Ausland 1 0-0 2, Nora Ausland 7 0-0 17, Karsen Cooksey 1 0-0 2, Bella Farina 5 1-4 11, Kylie Harris 1 0-0 2, Annika Macalino 1 0-0 3, Malani McGee 0 0-0 0, Isabelle Saulin 0 0-0 0, Avery Watson 0 0-0 0, Marley Wood 4 2-2 12. Totals 20 3-7 49.
| Camden Acad. | 5 | 3 | `6 | 7 – | 33 |
| Pennsville | 11 | 11 | 14 | 13 – | 49 |
Boardwalk Classic
ST. DOMINIC 53, PENNS GROVE 51: The Red Devils staged a furious fourth-quarter rallying from double digits to tie the game, but just came up short. RaNiyah Wilson scored 15 of her 19 points in the fourth quarter to help Penns Grove come back from a nine-point deficit.
The Red Devils rallied from 12 down to tie the game, but St. Dominic went back ahead when leading scorer Alyssa Stridiron hit a pair of technical foul shots. In the final five seconds Brianna Robbins drove the length of the floor and got to the basket with contact, but didn’t get a call they thought was warranted.
Robbins, who tied the game twice in the fourth quarter, finished with 15 points.
Stridiron was 6-of-10 from the free throw line in the fourth quarter and finished with 28 points.
ST. DOMINIC 53, PENNS GROVE 51
PENNS GROVE (4-1) – Amani Taylor 2 0-0 4, Meely Horace 3 4-5 10, RaNiyah Wilson 8 1-2 19, Rolande Delva 0 1-2 1, JaNiyah Cummings 0 0-0 0, Arinna Dowe 0 0-0 0, Semijah Hines 1 0-0 2, Zoey Caesar 0 0-2 0, Brianna Robbins 5 4-6 15, Syanna Robbins 0 0-0 0. Totals 19 10-15 51.
ST. DOMINIC (3-3) – Kelly Clare Hester 1 0-0 2, Kalista D’Elia 0 0-0 0, Janiyah Capers 4 3-8 12, Alyssa Stridiron 10 8-13 28, Gianna Scrpa 0 0-0 0, Julia Hester 3 1-4 7, Stella DeFilippis 1 0-0 2, Emily Matos 1 0-0 2. Totals 20 12-25 53.
| Penns Grove | 8 | 5 | 14 | 24 – | 51 |
| St. Dominic | 16 | 9 | 11 | 17 – | 53 |
ACIT Holiday Tech Tournament
GCIT 51, SALEM TECH 15
SALEM TECH (0-4) – Demajae White 1-0-2, Hanna DeWitt 0-1-1, Morgan VanDover 3-0-7, Drummond 1-0-2, Amedee 1-0-2, Reed 0-1-1. Totals 6-2-15.
GLOUCESTER TECH (4-3) – Sophia Molinari 1-0-3, Maggie Duer 4-0-12, Leanne Riddick 3-2-8, Ava Friel 1-0-2, Savanna Shute 2-0-4, Reis Hartman 3-0-6, Gina Sheehan 0-1-1, Averie Clement 3-0-8, Sofia McKay 1-0-2, Octavia Adkins 5-0-13. Totals 23-5-51.
| Salem Tech | 2 | 5 | 7 | 1 – | 15 |
| Gloucester Tech | 21 | 11 | 12 | 7 – | 51 |
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