A webpage dedicated to covering local sports news in Pennsville, Salem County and surrounding communities
Challenge met
Woodstown passes its first major test of the season, Pennsville overwhelms Schalick in a battle of teams fighting the injury bug, Salem gets second straight win
THURSDAY GIRLS SCORES Woodstown 61, Penns Grove 53 Pennsville 52, Schalick 14 Salem 45, Salem Tech 19
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
PENNS GROVE – As almost everybody’s favorite to win the Tri-County Diamond Division and then some in South Jersey, the Woodstown girls basketball team knows it’s going to get everybody’s best shot every night.
The Wolverines faced their biggest test of the young season Thursday night and answered the bell like the favorites they are.
In a battle between the two best teams in the division, Woodstown grabbed the lead late in the first quarter, endured some anxious moments near the end of the first half and then finally pulled away in the second half for a 61-53 victory over Penns Grove.
“This is probably the biggest challenge we’ll have in all of our division games,” Wolverines coach Kara Straughn said. “They’re athletic, they’re quick, they’re the second-best team in our division, but I’ve got 10 girls who play together. There’s nobody in my opinion in our division who has as much of a team as I do.”
While Megan Donelson (25 points) and Talia Battavio (20) did most of their scoring as usual, the Wolverines (5-1) got contributions from throughout the lineup. Shannon Pieman grabbed 16 rebounds and blocked three shots. Alyssa Baber had 10 boards.
And they needed every bit of it. They took the lead midway through the first quarter, but Penns Grove never let them get comfortable.
The Red Devils were out of sorts during their two games in Wildwood after Christmas, but they were determined to play their game and not get caught up in the early-season enormity of the game. They pressed from the jump and made the Wolverines work for everything they got.
Donelson and Battavio combined for all of Woodstown’s points in the first quarter and 28 of their 30 in the first half.
Penns Grove is a team that likes to drive and attack the basket. But as the first half worn on, the Wolverines’ defense kept forcing the Red Devils farther out for shots and it produced the predictable results.
Woodstown led by 12 with less than two minutes left in the first half, but Penns Grove rallied and things got real intense in the final minute of the half. With 25.8 seconds to go in an eight-point game, Penns Grove’s RiNiyah Wilson was fouled by Battavio driving to the basket and the reaction led to a technical foul on the Wolverines guard.
Wilson hit three of the four free throws to make it a five-point game and the Red Devils had the ball with a chance to cut it to two or three. But Gianna Maiorini thwarted those plans when she stole the possession and fed Donelson who banked in a short jumper in the lane with six seconds to go. Donelson then stole the next inbounds pass and the Wolverines ran out the clock to take a seven-point halftime lead.
“If they would’ve gotten the lead I think it would’ve been a different game,” Straughn said.
The Red Devils got to within four several times early in the second half, but the Wolverines pushed it back out to 10 . They kept the Red Devils at arm’s length the rest of the game to win their fifth in a row while sending their hosts to their third straight loss.
“I think we could’ve done a little bit better than what we actually did, but we ended up pulling out the win and that’s just all that matters,” Donelson said.
While Donelson and Battavio were the big producers for Woodstown, Wilson did all she could to keep Penns Grove in it. The transfer from Kingsway led all scorers with a career-high 33 points and she grabbed nine rebounds.
“My coach talks about mental toughness, fight through the game, if we’re down pick my teammates up, keep going, keep fighting,” Wilson said. “I like playing in big games. I like competition.”
3-point goals: Woodstown 3 (Battavio 2, Donelson); Penns Grove 3 (Wilson 2, Dowe). Technical fouls: Battavio. Fouled out: Taylor. Total fouls: Woodstown 16, Penns Grove 19.
Pennsville 52, Schalick 14
PENNSVILLE – The Eagles had the best of it in this battle of teams fighting through injuries. They opened a 24-7 halftime lead, then erupted for 21 points in the third quarter and shut out the Cougars in the fourth quarter.
The Eagles were down to four core players because of the injuries and brought up several players from the junior varsity to replenish the ranks. Veterans and newcomers alike got together for a film session before the start of the night’s JV game to hammer out a game plan for the main event.
They got the bulk of their scoring from Marley Wood (20 points) and Nora Ausland (18) while the others help keep it in the road. Wood and Ausland combined for all of Pennsville’s points in the first half.
“The girls who got pulled up stepped up and played the role we needed them to play,” Pennsville coach Sam Trapp said. “Izzie Saulin really stepped up on the defensive end. She had some great blocks and solid rebounding.”
3-point goals: Schalick 1 (Fisler); Pennsville 5 (N. Ausland 2, McGee 2, Wood). Total fouls: Schalick 8, Pennsville 12.
Salem 45, Salem Tech 19
SALEM – The Rams put together another strong defensive effort to grab their second straight win. They collected 30 steals and blocked 20 shots against the Chargers.
Ava Rogers had 10 points, nine rebounds and blocked seven shots. QwenNazha Johnson-Logan had nine points, 12 rebounds, eight blocks and had five steals. Ryann Foote had seven steals.
The Rams have recorded 59 steals and 40 blocked shots in their two-game winning streak. Johnson-Logan has had 23 blocks in the two games and is averaging 7.6 per game this season.
Riverview Sports News 