Woodstown girls putting together big streaks, big individual numbers; recognize three milestones, plus visiting 1,000-point scorer
By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News
WOODSTOWN – They came to the Joseph P. Irvin Gym Wednesday to recognize some big numbers by some of the home team’s big players, but they aren’t the only numbers worthy of celebrating within the program.
For starters, the Woodstown girls basketball team added an exclamation point to the third straight Tri-County Diamond Division title they clinched the night before with a 60-33 rout of Glassboro.
It was the Wolverines’ 29th straight division win. Now, only Overbrook a week from Saturday stands between them an a third straight undefeated division season. They’ve also won 28 straight games against Salem County competition, although Glassboro doesn’t figure into this category.
Of course, those are all numbers record-keepers keep. On a more public stage, the program recognized juniors Talia Battavio and Megan Donelson for joining the 1,000-Point Club and senior Shannon Pierman for surpassing 500 career rebounds. All three reached their milestones last week, but Wednesday was the Wolverines’ first home game for them to be able to recognize them.
“It’s crazy to think it’s that many,” Woodstown coach Kara Straughn said of all the streaks and milestones working within the program. “A lot of the kids don’t think about the numbers, but the numbers are what leaves the lasting impression for the younger girls and it makes a name for the program and our school. They don’t realize they’re creating this legacy for Woodstown High School girls basketball with all of those little numbers and the numbers they don’t always think about.
“It just goes to show you when you put in all that work in the offseason and in-season it pays off.”
Battavio led the Wolverines Wednesday with 22 points and moved ahead of Donelson on the program’s active scoring list with 1,050 points. Donelson had 18 points and stands at 1,047. Pierman had 14 points and 15 rebounds for her sixth double-double in the last seven games, leaving her 20 points shy of joining the 500-500 Club (480-560).
Both 1,000-point scorers had their commemorative banners displayed on the padding on the wall leading out of the gym.
After the game, the recognized the milestones with a brief video, then presented the players with flowers and balloons that spelled out “1-0-0-0” and “5-0-0” for their particular milestones.
“I thought it was really thoughtful of everybody to do that,” Donelson said. “It’s cool people are going to look back that 2022 and 2023 they were really good. It makes a huge impact on the girls basketball program here.”
“I think we’ve come a long way,” Battavio said. “Having two 1,000-point scorers is amazing and I’m grateful we got to do it together. It helps that we’re best friends. I’m very proud of her.”
“It means a lot,” added Pierman. “We work hard, we play hard and I’m just really proud of all of us.”
Actually, there were three 1,000-point scorers on the floor in the game. Glassboro junior Tamia Smith reached the milestone on a layup with 1:37 left in the third quarter. When the historic moment game, they stopped the game and family and friends poured onto the floor to celebrate the feat.
Smith was fouled on the historic layup and after the celebration subsided she returned to the free throw line to promptly deposited point No. 1,002
“It’s nice to see it from a different perspective,” said Straughn, who presented Smith a bouquet and a ball after the game. “It’s just cool to see somebody else who we play every year and she’s only a junior. It’s nice to see there are up and coming and successful programs nearby and players who are successful nearby.”
WOODSTOWN 60, GLASSBORO 33
GLASSBORO (12-7) – Sanaa Thomas 0 1-2 1, Tamia Smith 8 3-3 19, Kezia Brackett 3 0-2 6, Kimora Miles 3 0-0 6, Anye Davis 0 1-2 1, Nevaeh Cox-Clement 0 0-0 0, Ni Jha Norzan-Clark 0 0-0 0, Grace Moore 0 0-0 0, Briana Fernandez 0 0-0 0. Totals 14 5-9 33.
WOODSTOWN (16-4) – Talia Battavio 10 1-1 22, Megan Donelson 7 2-2 18, Gianna Maiorini 0 0-0 0, Alyssa Baber 1 0-1 2, Shannon Pierman 7 0-0 14, Lauren Hengel 1 0-0 2, Emma Perry 1 0-0 2, Brae DiGregorio 0 0-0 0, Jala Thomas 0 0-0 0, Lizzy Daly 0 0-0 0. Totals 27 3-4 60.
| Glassboro | 4 | 9 | 12 | 8 – | 33 |
| Woodstown | 14 | 20 | 12 | 14 – | 60 |
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