Close to perfect

Woodstown plays best game of the year when it needed it most, routs Woodbury to reach SJ-I girls title game; includes remaining Group I playoff schedule

SOUTH JERSEY GROUP I
THURSDAY’S GIRLS SEMIFINALS
Woodstown 80, Woodbury 57
Wildwood 62, Audubon 36
SATURDAY’S CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
No. 4 Woodstown (21-6) at No. 2 Wildwood (22-7), 1 p.m.

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

WOODBURY – On a night when the Woodstown girls basketball team had to be at its best, the Wolverines were just about perfect.

That’s the way coach Kara Straughn described it Thursday night after her team dismantled top-seeded Woodbury 80-57 in the South Jersey Group I girls semifinals.

The Wolverines (21-6) now play at second-seeded Wildwood (22-7) Saturday at 1 p.m. for the SJ-I title. The winner advances to the state semifinals March 6 at Deptford Twp. against Central Jersey champ Middlesex or Shore Regional.

“They played as a team more than I’ve ever seen them play as a team before,” Straughn said. “They were perfect. They were so seamless, so … just flawless.

“They played together. They saw the court. They were composed. They handled the pressure. They were showing the ball. It was perfect. They were just so great.”

Perfect is as perfect does. 

The Wolverines scored more points in a game in more than 14 years on the road against the top team in the bracket. They got scoring from six players with their Big Three – Talia Battavio (25), Megan Donelson (24) and Shannon Pierman (21) – combining for 70 points.

Pierman also pulled down 16 rebounds for her 12th double-double of the year and 11th in the last 14 games; the Wolverines are 10-2 this season when the senior double dips.

And when Donelson and Pierman both were strapped to the bench in the first half with three fouls, Lauren Hengel and Emma Perry came off the bench were “just as perfect” as the starters.

The Thundering Herd (18-11) were playing without their top player, Maya Braxton-Young, suspended two games for a flagrant foul ejection in Tuesday night’s quarterfinal win over Pennsville, and were a mere shell of themselves. But the way the Wolverines played on this night, even if she were available it might not have made a difference.

Woodstown opened a 22-6 lead in the first quarter behind Donelson and Pierman and turned it into a rout with a 23-5 run in the third quarter behind the Big Three.

The win sends the Wolverines to face Wildwood with payback on their minds. When the teams met in late January, the Warriors took advantage of some friendly rims to shoot 21-of-42 from 3-point range. Angela Wilber and Macie McCracken hit seven each  and Rebecca Benichou hit six.

Straughn said her team will be ready for anything. Last year they beat the Warriors in the sectional final.

“We’ve learned our lesson,” Straughn said. “We’ve watched the game when we played them before. We watched (Wildwood’s) Glassboro game. We’ve watched so much film and taken so many notes and learned all of the lessons. We’re going to have a good practice tomorrow and we’re ready to go.”

SOUTH JERSEY GROUP I
GIRLS SEMIFINALS
WOODSTOWN 80, WOODBURY 57
WOODSTOWN (21-6) – Talia Battavio 8 8-12 25, Megan Donelson 8 7-9 24, Gianna Maiorini 0 0-0 0, Alyssa Baber 2 0-0 5, Shannon Pierman 9 3-4 21, Lauren Hengel 1 1-2 3, Emma Perry 0 0-0 0, Brae DiGregorio 0 0-0 0, Jala Thomas 1 0-0 2, Lizzy Daly 0 0-0 0. Totals 29 19-27 80. 
WOODBURY (18-11) – Abby Bash 4 0-0 11, Nyla Ivey 2 1-4 5, Dasani Talley-Dorman 7 4-8 18, Emerald Sills 3 1-3 7, Janessa Robinson 3 0-0 7, Melannie Noel 1 4-8 6, Zoe Bell 1 1-2 3. Totals 21 11-25 57.

Woodstown	22	16	23	19 –	80
Woodbury	6	15	5	31 –	57

WILDWOOD 62, AUDUBON 36
AUDUBON (16-9) – Ashley Flynn 7 2-3 16, Peyton Marrone 2 0-0 4, Emma Speyerer 2 1-2 7, Sophia Munn 1 0-0 3, Gabby Brooks 1 0-0 2, Kylie Cannaday 1 0-0 2, Giavanna Heller 1 0-0 2. Totals 15 3-5 36.
WILDWOOD (22-7) – Sophia Wilber 4 3-4 13, Angela Wilber 3 2-2 11, Macie McCracken 6 4-5 19, Kaliah Sumlin 1 1-2 3, Rebecca Benichou 3 2-3 9, Cydnee Kilian 2 0-0 4, Ashley Nagle 1 0-0 3, Mia Cripps 0 0-0 0, Janet Gonzalez 0 0-0 0. Totals 20 12-16 62.

Audubon	7	8	10	11 –	36
Wildwood	21	20	16	5 –	62