Tuesday girls roundup: Penns Grove doing more with less, focusing on quality over quantity; Cummings has a career double-double
GIRLS GAMES
Clayton 72, Salem Tech 45
Glassboro 65, Schalick 15
Penns Grove 58, Overbrook 19
Pitman 48, Salem 33
By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News
PENNS GROVE – Look across the court to any bench at a high school basketball game. You’ll see a long row of chairs stretching from the scorer’s table to the end line. You won’t find an empty seat and both sides of the pre-game layup line stretches all the way to the mid-stripe.
And then you’ve got a team like the Penns Grove girls. The Red Devils have taken a minimalist approach to their game, where less is more. They played six players Tuesday and that was more than plenty to take down Overbrook 58-19.
“It tells me my kids have heart, fight and determination,” coach Jennifer Denby said. “It’s not about quantity, it’s about quality, and we have girls who can play the game.”
It’s a team that reminds many of the Penns Grove squad two years ago that went all the way to the South Jersey Group I semifinals with a seven-man roster, a Magnificent Seven.
“We have a handful (of players), but like I keep telling them we have the quality,” Denby continued. “We have 100 percent genuine, authentic players on our team. And that’s all we need, and we’re good with that. I just want them to compete on a higher level.”
“The numbers don’t matter,” sophomore center JaNiyah Cummings said. “You can have like 30 people and still be losing. If you have a good team, a good team where you have connection, and you can move the ball then you can do anything, honestly.”
One thing about a small roster, there’s a lot of opportunity for big games individually and the Red Devils had a lot of quality performances against the Lady Rams.
RaNiyah Wilson continued her march towards 1,000 points with a game-high 24. The senior guard now has 787 career points and is on pace to hit the milestone Feb. 8 against Glassboro. Perhaps sooner if she picks up one certain aspect of her game.
“She is a big scorer and I keep telling her play defense,” Denby said. “If you play defense, you get easy buckets. The teams we play who are not as fortunate like we are, she should get 30 and 40 points if she plays defense. Defense is the key for getting her 1,000 points.”
That was very much in evidence during one brief stretch in the second half. Wilson scored the last basket of the third quarter and the first basket of the fourth both after stealing inbounds passes and turning them into driving layups.
But the big games didn’t just stop with her.
Brianna Robbins had nine points and 10 rebounds. Mikayla Washington had four points and grabbed 13 boards.
But the biggest game belonged to Cummings. She had a career day, scoring 18 points and grabbing 17 rebounds. Her previous career high was 13 points last year against Pennsville. Her best game this year was 12 in a double-double against Pleasantville.
“I don’t know what it was, I got this spark of energy and I just wanted to play,” she said. “I just wanted to play and I wanted to win.”
“Cummings is a true student-athlete; she is my AP girl,” Denby said. “Regardless if she’s going through a lot of negative things, Cummings still comes to perform and she stands on her own. It takes a lot for an individual to stand on their own. Cummings does that day in and day out, and I take my hat off to her.”
Cover photo: RaNiyah Wilson (5) and JaNiyah Cummings (24) had two of Penns Grove’s biggest games against Overbrook Tuesday.
PENNS GROVE 58, OVERBROOK 19
OVERBROOK (1-7): Leslie Rosario 0 0-0 0, Gia Simon 6 0-1 13, Jayel Presley 0 2-4 2, Leiani Knight 1 1-2 5, Ahlani White 0 0-0 0, Kayla Reynolds 0 0-0 0, Bella Sepuleda 0 0-0 0, Lily Lafountain 0 0-0 0, Talia Wiggins 0 0-0 0. Totals 7 3-7 29.
PENNS GROVE (4-2): Syanna Robbins 0 0-0 0, Brianna Robbins 4 0-0 9, RaNiyah Wilson 9 3-6 24, Keziah Patterson 1 0-0 3, Mikayla Washington 2 0-2 4, JaNiyah Cummings 9 0-0 18. Totals 25 3-8 58.
| Overbrook | 2 | 4 | 4 | 9- | 19 |
| Penns Grove | 13 | 12 | 14 | 19- | 58 |
PITMAN 48, SALEM 33
SALEM (0-6): Carlysia Pierce 3 0-2 6, Dakirah Gray 2 3-4 8, Marcela Vilalpando 1 1-2 3, Navaho Hickman 4 1-4 13. Only four players reported. Totals 10 5-15 30-x.
PITMAN (2-4): Colette Rollins 1 0-0 2, Jocelyn O’Brien 2 0-0 4, Audrey Duffield 10 3-4 24, Jess Bretz 8 2-8 18. Only four players reported. Totals 21 5-12 48.
| Salem | 9 | 13 | 5 | 6- | 33 |
| Pitman | 11 | 10 | 12 | 15- | 48 |
GLASSBORO 65, SCHALICK 15
SCHALICK (1-4): Cali Fisler 0 1-3 1, Naveah Robinson 1 2-4 5, Ava Scurry 2 0-0 4, Willow Davis 1 0-0 3, Olivia Lunemann 1 0-0 2. Totals 5 3-7 15.
GLASSBORO (3-4): Sanaa Thomas 3 0-3 7, Tamia Smith 8 0-0 19, Grace Moore 3 0-0 6, NiJha Norzon Clark 1 0-0 2, Kezia Brackett 10 0-1 21, Kimora Miles 2 0-1 4, Sianna Wedderburn 3 0-0 6, Lily Cubas 0 0-0 0. Totals 30 0-5 65.
| Schalick | 7 | 0 | 0 | 8- | 15 |
| Glassboro | 14 | 24 | 17 | 10- | 65 |
CLAYTON 72, SALEM TECH 49
CLAYTON (5-1): Rainelle Blocker 5 0-2 10, Janice Blair 1 0-0 2, India Bryant 4 0-0 9, Ava Delaney 10 0-3 23, Napria Loatman 1 0-0 2, Deondria Simon 11 0-2 24, Isabella Wiseburn 1 0-0 2. Totals 33 0-7 72.
SALEM TECH (2-4): Hannah Dewitt 3 0-0 6, Shelby Drummond 2 0-0 4, Kaylin Beardsley 1 1-4 3, Lavae Scott 1 0-0 2, Demajae White 3 0-0 2, Shelby Liber 7 2-3 20, Evening Amedee 1 0-0 2, Rylee Doerr 3 0-1 6. Totals 23 3-8 49.
| Clayton | 20 | 23 | 12 | 17- | 72 |
| Salem Tech | 7 | 15 | 11 | 16- | 49 |
Active scorers watch
| SALEM COUNTY SCORING LIST | TODAY | POINTS |
| Talia Battavio, Woodstown | DNP | 1332 |
| Megan Donelson, Woodstown | DNP | 1295 |
| 1000-POINT WATCH | ||
| Nora Ausland, Pennsville (Salem 462/Pennsville 427) | DNP | 889 |
| Marley Wood, Pennsville | DNP | 799 |
| RaNiyah Wilson, Penns Grove (Kingsway 251/Penns Grove 536) | 24 | 787 |
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