Tensions rise

Penns Grove, Pennsville play to an empty house in second half as gym cleared in third quarter; includes all of Thursday’s Salem County girls games

THURSDAY’S GIRLS GAMES
Penns Grove 39, Pennsville 32
Clayton 58, Salem 30
Pitman 43, Salem Tech 28
Overbrook 41, Schalick 27

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

PENNSVILLE – Games between Pennsville and Penns Grove in every sport are always a spirited affair, but Thursday night added a new layer of intensity to the rivalry, at least on the girls basketball side of things.

Tensions spilled over from the visitors’ bleachers in Salberg Gym midway through the third quarter, precipitating a 30-minute delay and forcing site managers to clear the gym before allowing play to continue. When it did resume, Penns Grove closed out a 39-32 victory that helped it solidify a spot in the South Jersey Group I playoffs and win for only the second time in its last 10 games against the Eagles.

The drama developed after a hard collision between the Red Devils’ recently installed 1,000-point scorer Meely Horace and Pennsville’s Taylor Bass on a 50-50 ball in the frontcourt with 3:32 left in the third quarter and Penns Grove leading 34-26.

Fans in the Penns Grove stands took exception to the contact and let the officials know about it. It was so concerning to Pennsville athletics director Jamy Thomas that he approached the group, directed authorities to remove the most vocal individuals and announced over the public address system the game “will not continue until the bleachers are cleared.”

Both teams left the floor and waited in the bench area before finally retiring to their respective dressing rooms. Three Pennsville police officers appeared on the scene to help restore order while Thomas watched from the center circle. Three more officers arrived later. At one point Penns Grove coach Jennifer Denby crossed the floor to engage the crowd.

After about 15 minutes game managers began to clear the stands on both sides of the gym with the Penns Grove group the last to leave. After about a 30-minute delay, which included a brief warmup for the teams, play resumed with no spectators in the gym.

Horace and Bass collided again diving for a loose ball in the fourth quarter without incident between the players.

“I was trying to remove the folks who were instigating the whole thing and getting a little bit too aggressive,” Thomas said. “They asked where’s my warning; your warning’s at the beginning of the game. There’s a sportsmanship message in there and it clearly says this is your first and last warning, we’re not issuing warnings.

“When you’re standing up and approaching the court and screaming at the top of your lungs, that’s over the top, because what’s the next step. It’s trying to almost cut the head off the snake right away and be done with the problem. I think we let some go that got to a point we had to shut it down. It’s unfortunate you’ve got to get rid of everybody.”

There were no arrests and a game management report was being prepared after the game to send to the respective district superintendents, principals, officials assignor, Penns Grove athletics director Anwar Golden and the Tri-County Conference. Details of the report will not be made public.

It wasn’t the first time tensions in the series red-lined. There was a dust up in this game at Pennsville last year that resulted in fan ejections on both sides.

“Our fans have got our back and we’ve got their back,” Denby said. “They support us, we support them, so that’s what we’ve got to do because we’re tired on 7-on-5.”

Pennsville coach Sam Trapp declined to comment on any aspect of the game.

Right before the incident, the Red Devils (10-8) had rebuilt a 10-point lead after Pennsville (10-12) closed the second quarter with a 7-0 run to get back within three at halftime. Marley Wood had five of her team-high 12 points in the rally.

But Penns Grove opened the third quarter with runs of 6-2 and 7-2 to gain some breathing room. Brianna Robbins had a spinning layup to start the first run and a three-point play to cap the second. She had 13 points in the game. RaNiyah Wilson led the Red Devils with 16.

“What we try to teach the girls is we’re always like 7-to-5, so you’ve got to continue to play,” Denby said. “I’m happy they came out and continued to play regardless of the calls that were made and things like that. I think the girls played through the situation and that speaks volumes about them.”

The win moved Penns Grove to 12th in the South Jersey Group I power points standings with a game against Schalick left before Saturday’s state cutoff. Pennsville remained tied for ninth with Burlington City, 18 points behind the final spot for a home game in the first round of the playoffs.

“Every game is important at this point,” Denby said.

PENNS GROVE 39, PENNSVILLE 32
PENNS GROVE (10-8) – RaNiyah Wilson 6 2-2 16, Meely Horace 2 2-2 6, Brianna Robbins 5 3-8 13, Zoey Caesar 1 0-0 2, Amani Taylor 0 0-0 0, JaNiyah Cummings 0 0-0 0, Syanna Robbins 0 0-0 0, Arianna Down 1 0-0 2. Totals 15 7-12 39.
PENNSVILLE (10-12) – Celli Ausland 0 0-0 0, Nora Ausland 2 1-2 5, Taylor Bass 2 4-6 9, Sofia Belitas 0 0-0 0, Bella Farina 1 0-2 2, Kylie Harris 0 0-0 0, Malani McGee 0 0-0 0, Izzy Saulin 2 0-0 4, Marley Wood 4 4-8 12. Totals 11 9-18 32.

Penns Grove	17	4	13	5 –	39
Pennsville	8	10	10	4 –	32

3-point goals: Penns Grove 2 (Wilson 2); Pennsville 1 (Bass). Fouled out: Bass. Total fouls: Penns Grove 14, Pennsville 19. Officials: Lahm, Moskovitz, Ryan.

**Pennsville athletics director Jamy Thomas (L) talks with a Pennsville police office as fans file out of the gym before play is resumed in the Penns Grove-Pennsville girls basketball game.**

CLAYTON 58, SALEM 30: NaeNae Logan led Salem with eight points, 12 rebounds and seven blocked shots. She now has 83 blocks for the season and 100 for her career. Carlysia Pierce had seven points, five rebounds and four steals. Ava Rodgers grabbed nine rebounds and Marjziah Bundy had eight.

SALEM (7-14) – Carlysia Pierce 3 1-3 7, Lyric Hayes 0 0-0 0, Marjziah Bundy 1 0-0 2, Ava Rodgers 2 0-0 4, Nevaeh Hickman 2 0-0 5, Ameriyona Hunter 1 0-0 2, Dakirah Gray 1 0-0 2, NaeNae Logan 4 0-0 8, Zaniyah Freison 0 0-0 0, Marissa Bower 0 0-0 0. Totals 14 1-3 30.
CLAYTON (11-9) – Jordyn Jones 3 3-8 9, Rainelle Blocker 6 1-2 13, Rosalina Pereira 1 0-0 2, Deondria Simon 6 0-0 14, Ava Delaney 6 0-0 12, India Williams 2 0-0 4, Janice Blair 1 0-0 2, Kaya Gunther 1 0-0 2. Totals 26 4-10 58.

Salem	2	3	15	10 –	30
Clayton	22	19	11	6 –	58

3-point goals: Salem 1 (Hickman); Clayton 2 (Simon 2).

PITMAN 43, SALEM TECH 28
SALEM TECH (1-17) – Hanna DeWitt 0 1-2 1, Demajae White 1 0-0 2, TiRonna McGaha 1 0-0 2, Kaylin Beardsley 4 0-0 9, Morgan VanDover 3 0-0 6, Lavae Scott 1 0-0 2, Rylee Doerr 2 1-2 5, Drummond 0 1-2 1. Totals 12 3-6 28.
PITMAN (10-10) – Anna Fisicaro 7 0-0 15, Miya Villari 4 4-6 14, Jessica Bretz 1 0-0 2, Evelyn Wisely 3 0-0 7, Audrey Duffield 2 0-0 5. Totals 17 4-6 43.

Salem Tech	4	11	5	8 –	28
Pitman	14	11	9	9 –	43

3-point goals: Salem Tech 1 (Beardsley); Pitman 5 (Fisicaro, Villari 2, Wisely, Duffield).

OVERBROOK 41, SCHALICK 27: Zahaisha Nevius and Gianna Simon led Overbrook with 19 and 11 points, respectively.

Schalick (5-14)	8	4	10	5 –	27
Overbrook (5-14)	8	13	9	11 –	41

Cover photo: Penns Grove’s RaNiyah Wilson tosses a pass to Meely Horace in an empty gym during the second half of their game with Pennsville Thursday night.

The way home

Penns Grove closing in on goal of home playoff game, Pennsville hoping to secure a spot; includes all Salem County games

THURSDAY’S BOYS GAMES
Penns Grove 60, Pennsville 51
Salem 89, Clayton 63
Overbrook 75, Schalick 38
Washington Twp. 50, Woodstown 46
Pitman 76, Salem Tech 42

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

PENNSVILLE – The goal for the Penns Grove basketball team this week was pretty straight forward.

Play four games, win four games. Do that and there’s a good chance they can collect a nice reward at the end of the week.

Ever since the second half of the season began the push for the Red Devils has been to fight their way back for a first-round home game in the South Jersey Group I playoffs.

They moved a step closer to locking that up Thursday with a 60-51 win over Pennsville for their third win of the week. It’s their longest winning streak since late in the 2021-22 season.

“It keeps it rolling,” Penns Grove coach Damian Ware said. “It’s three in a row; we want to keep winning.

“Our goal for this week was to go 4-0 and move into the Tri-County Conference (on a roll). Right now we’ve got three of them so we look to finish off the week tomorrow.”

The Red Devils (9-12), 5-11 on Jan. 29, entered the day in ninth place in the SJ Group I power points standings, 24 points behind of Palmyra that holds the eighth and final home game slot. They cut the gap to eight points with their win over the Eagles with a winnable game Friday at Schalick before Saturday’s state cutoff. Palmyra plays LEAP Academy (13-8) Friday.

If they win Friday and get the same 25 power points they did for beating Schalick on Tuesday, the Red Devils would net gain 16 power points in their best 16-game ledger. If Palmyra loses, it would net gain six points and the Red Devils would jump them with a win.

“As long as we win tomorrow we should be locked into it, but we’ve got to finish the job,” Ware said. “We’ve had a really good week. If we finish tomorrow, we’ll have a great week. I’ve told these guys all year it’s not about how you start, it’s how you finish. We’re trying to finish strong.”

Pennsville, meanwhile, has been living on the bubble. The Eagles (9-14) are 15th after Thursday’s game, but feel good about their position despite the loss because they’re 27 points ahead of the final qualifying spot and the two teams above them and the three teams directly below them all lost.

They can nail it down with a win Friday at Paulsboro, but they’ll have to do it without junior guard Luke Wood. The 1,000-point scorer turned his ankle in the first two and a half minutes of the game, hurridly hobbled off the floor to the training room and didn’t play the rest of the game.

He is not expected to play Friday. Of even greater concern is how the injury might affect him for the upcoming baseball season. A promising left-handed pitcher, the ankle he hurt is in his push-off leg on the mound.

With Wood out of the game, the Eagles turned their eyes to post Danny Saulin to either score down low or draw the defense in to get the ball to his teammates. The 6-7 senior took advantage of the mismatch and responded with a career-high 28 points and 11 rebounds for his fifth double-double this year and 10th over the last two seasons. He also blocked two shots.

“I had to take control to help us get back in the game, to help find my teammates and my teammates found me,” Saulin said. “We had them on the ropes. It was just that first quarter not getting used to that press without Luke, then we figured it out and we were moving the ball from there and we almost won the game.”

Saulin scored the first 11 points in a 14-6 run that got the Eagles to within two with 1:14 left in the third quarter.

But that’s where the game turned. Penns Grove’s Giomar Conrad made a driving layup and was fouled, but Pennsville coach Joe Mecholsky protested too loud and long that it was a foul on the floor and was rung up with a technical. Conrad made his and-one to complete the three-point play and then hit both two technical foul shots to put the Red Devils up by seven.

“That pretty much changed the game,” Ware said.

Conrad led Penns Grove with 19 points. He was 7-for-7 from the free throw line, 6-for-6 in the second half. Mekhi Ballard had 16 with three 3-pointers.

The Eagles made one more push. They got back within three on four more Saulin points, but then KaRon Ceaser hit two buckets to make it a seven-point game with 4:40 left and Penns Grove never led by fewer than five the rest of the game.

PENNS GROVE 60, PENNSVILLE 51
PENNS GROVE (9-12) – Mr Peterson 1 0-0 2, Brandon Robbins 1 0-0 2, Roman Gipson 1 0-0 2, Giomar Conrad 6 7-7 19, KaRon Ceaser 2 1-3 5, Willie Slocum 4 1-4 9, Mehki Ballard 5 3-4 16, Camren Thompson 2 1-2 5. Totals 22 13-20 60.
PENNSVILLE (9-14) – Luke Wood 0-0 0-0 0, Peyton O’Brien 4-6 1-3 10, Daniel Saulin 12-19 4-8 28, Mason O’Brien 3-6 0-3 6, Cohen Petrutz 2-5 3-6 7, Connor Starn 0-0 0-0 0, Cole Johnston 0-3 0-0 0, Logan Hitt 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 21-40 8-17 51.

Penns Grove	17	10	15	18 –	60
Pennsville	11	10	14	16 –	51

3-point goals: Penns Grove 3 (Ballard 3); Pennsville 1-7 (P. O’Brien 1-1, Petrutz 0-3, Johnson 0-2, Hitt 0-1). Technical fouls: Mecholsky. Fouled out: Thompson, M. O’Brien Total fouls: Penns Grove 14, Pennsville 16.

WASHINGTON TWP. 50, WOODSTOWN 46
WOODSTOWN (10-9) – Blake Bialecki 20, M.J. Hall 9, Garrett Leyman 2, Max Webb 4, Rocco String 11.
WASHINGTON TWP. (13-9) – Gevon Conrad 2 7-8 13, Justin Pagano 0 0-0 0, Ethan Hyman 3 2-2 9, Luke McKenty 5 2-3 14, Kade Pekarick 1 0-0 2, Keegan Smith 3 4-4 12, A’Quil Taylor 0 0-0 0, Matt Rodia 0 0-0 0. Totals 14 15-17 50.

Woodstown	6	16	13	13 –	46
Washington Twp.	5	19	7	19 –	50

3-point goals: Woodstown N/A; Washington Twp. 7 (Conrad 2, Hyman, McKenty 2, Smith 2).

OVERBROOK 75, SCHALICK 38
OVERBROOK (18-5) – Shaun Mills 5 3-4 14, Chris Grier 3 0-0 6, Nic Johnson 5 3-4 15, Lamar Little 2 1-2 6, Zair Green 2 4-5 8, Amare Kee 3 0-0 8, Maki Ortiz 2 0-0 4, Xavier Wright 2 1-2 5, Kevin Satchell 0 2-2 2, Tory Scott 1 0-0 2, Davian Santiago 1 0-0 2, Samir Muhammand 1 0-0 3. Totals 27 14-19 75.
SCHALICK (7-12) – Reggie Allen 1 1-4 4, Daniel Lis 5 0-0 11, Nylan Sutton 6 1-2 15, Jake Siedlecki 1 0-0 3, Jordan Johnson 1 0-0 2, Jase Volovar 1 0-0 3, Justin Iacona 0 0-0 0, Dylan Sheehan 0 0-0 0. Totals 15 2-6 38.

Overbrook	23	13	22	17 –	75
Schalick	10	9	12	7 –	38

3-point goals: Overbrook 7 (Mills, Johnson 2, Little, Kee 2, Muhammand); Schalick 6 (Allen, Lis, Ny. Sutton 2, Siedlecki, Volovar).

SALEM 89, CLAYTON 63: Jabez DeJesus led four Salem scorers in double figures with 24 points, 15 in the second quarter. Ramaji Bundy had his best game of the year with 13 points, highlighted by three 3-pointers. Paul Weathers had 13 points and Anthony Farmer added 10. The Rams (14-7) have won seven of their last eight and are currently a solid third in the South Jersey Group I power points standings.

CLAYTON (3-18) – Dillon Jones 7 2-4 16, Nazir Davis 4 3-6 11, John Carter 1 0-0 3, Demetris Williams 2 0-0 4, Jon Cox 3 0-0 6, Cristan Scott 2 0-0 5, Ashaud Hines-Pope 1 0-0 2, Nasir Carter 5 0-0 13, Fareed Mamah 0 0-0 0, Earl Townsend 0 0-0 0, Brian Marshall 0 0-0 0, Isaiah Aviles 0 0-0 0, Rodney Robinson 1 0-0 3. Totals 26 5-10 63.
SALEM (14-7) – Anthony Farmer 3 4-4 10, Ramaji Bundy 5 0-0 13, Jabez DeJesus 10 2-2 24, Paul Weathers 6 1-2 13, Davonte Jackson 3 0-0 8, Tymear Lecator 3 0-0 8, Marshall Stephens 2 0-0 4, Xavier McGriff 2 0-0 5, Donovan Weathers 0 0-0 0, Antwone Rogers 1 0-0 2, Joe Tunis 0 0-0 0, Cole Sayers 1 0-0 2. Totals 36 7-8 89.

Clayton	12	15	15	21 –	63
Salem	20	25	19	25 –	89

3-point goals: Clayton 6 (J. Carter, Scott, N. Carter 3, Robinson); Salem 10 (Bundy 3, DeJesus 2, Jackson 2, Lecator 2, McGriff). Total fouls: Clayton 6, Salem 12.

PITMAN 76, SALEM TECH 42
SALEM TECH (2-17) – Haneef Frisby 3 0-0 6, Joseph Hayes 0 3-4 3, Josh Muntz 1 2-2 5 Tyler Zampino 2 0-0 6, Antoine Robinson 8 3-6 20, Gio Holmes 1 0-0 2. Totals 15 8-14 42
PITMAN (17-6) – Porter Kostiuk 2 3-5 7, Stephen Devanney 5 0-0 14, Colin Ambrosius 0 0-0 0, Chris Wyllie 3 0-1 6, Michael Fisicaro 2 0-0 6, Sonny Myers 3 4-6 11, Hudson Rue 1 1-2 4, Jake Epting 2 1-4 6, Elijah Crispin 7 3-3 19, Sean Powell 0 0-0 0, Trey Tinges 1 0-0 3. Totals 26 12-21 76.

Salem Tech	9	5	17	11 –	42
Pitman	17	30	19	10 –	76

3-point goals: Salem Tech 4 (Muntz, Zampino 2, Robinson); Pitman 12 (Devanney 4, Fisicaro 2, Myers, Rue, Epting, Crispin 2, Tinges).

Power Points
South Jersey Group I

TEAM	RECORD	POINTS
KIPP Cooper	19-6	493
Pitman	16-6	434
Salem	14-7	393
Wildwood	13-9	388
Audubon	14-8	357
Glassboro	11-11	345
Woodbury	13-10	331
Palmyra	11-8	315
Penns Grove	9-12	307
Paulsboro	9-12	299
Riverside	10-12	288
LEAP Academy	13-8	279
Woodstown	10-9	262
New Egypt	7-12	249
Pennsville	9-14	235
(16) Burlington City	4-18	208
Maple Shade	8-15	203
Schalick	7-12	182
Clayton	3-18	169
Cape May Tech	2-18	138
Gateway	1-22	131
Buena	0-21	126
Camden Prep	1-6	56

Through games of Feb. 8

Rising above the noise

Penns Grove distances itself from the distractions, beats Schalick as only Salem County winner of the night

TUESDAY’S BOYS GAMES
Glassboro 68, Pennsville 56
Gloucester Catholic 64, Salem 41
Overbrook 52, Woodstown 35
Penns Grove 53, Schalick 45
Wildwood 84, Salem Tech 38

By Riverview Sports News

PENNS GROVE – There was a lot going on inside the Hyper-Baric Chamber that is Penns Grove’s gym Tuesday night, but the Red Devils rose above the din and put away Schalick 53-45 to remain in the hunt for a first-round home playoff game in the South Jersey Group I playoffs.

The win left the Red Devils (8-12) in ninth place in SJ-I power points standings, 18 points behind eighth with only two games against Diamond Division county rivals fighting for a playoff spot before Saturday’s cutoff left. The top eight teams draw first-round home games.

“I don’t know if we can get up to having a home game, we’ll see what happens,” Red Devils coach Damian Ware said. “We want to try to get at least one home game. I won’t say that’s a goal, but the goal is to get home games in the playoffs. Since we had a slow start, if we can finish strong and get at least one home game then it’ll be great.”

There was a lot to distract the Red Devils from the task at hand. There were activities involving the cheerleaders, at halftime senior girls player Meely Horace was recognized for scoring her 1,000th career point at earlier in the day, and it was Senior Night, meaning a senior-heavy starting lineup that isn’t necessarily their SOP.

The Red Devils were slow out of the gate with the honor lineup and fell behind 10-5, but eventually the senior regulars emerged and they pulled away.

Giomar Conrad and Mehki Ballard led Penns Grove with 23 and 19 points, respectively. Conrad hit three straight 3s in the second quarter and it sparked a 23-8 run that gave the Red Devils the lead.

“That was two seniors who stepped up on Senior Night,” Ware said. “Back in the day they always played big on Senior Night.”

Daniel Lis led Schalick with 16 points. Jake Siedlecki hit a pair of 3-pointers and finished with 12.

PENNS GROVE 53, SCHALICK 45
SCHALICK (7-11) – Daniel Lis 6-4-16, Reggie Allen 0-4-4, Nasir Sutton 3-0-6, Nylan Sutton 2-1-5, Jake Siedlecki 5-0-12, Jordan Johnson 1-0-2. Totals 17-9-45.
PENNS GROVE (8-12) – Brandon Robbins 0-2-2, Roman Gipson 0-1-1, Giomar Conrad 9-2-23, KaRon Ceaser 0-1-1, Willie Slocum 1-0-2, Mehki Ballard 6-4-19, Camren Thompson 0-0-0, Khiry Higgs 0-1-1, Mr Peterson 2-0-4. Totals 18-11-53.

Schalick	10	8	18	9 –	45
Penns Grove	5	23	15	10 –	53

3-point goals: Schalick 2 (Siedlecki 2); Penns Grove 6 (Conrad 3, Ballard 3).

OVERBROOK 52, WOODSTOWN 35: The Rams used an 8-0 run to pull away from an early tie and then held Woodstown without a field goal 10 and a half minutes in the second half to secure their sixth straight win and clinch their sixth straight divisional title.

The teams slugged it out early with Woodstown rallying to earn a 14-14 tie midway through the second quarter before the Rams took control with an 8-0 run. The Wolverines got back to within four on Rocco String’s put back with 10 seconds left in the first half, but they didn’t hit another field goal until String’s bucket in the paint with 5:38 left in the game.

The Wolverines were 0-for-7 with five turnovers in the stretch. Their only points came on five free throws.

“At halftime we challenged them defensively to (give) a little bit more effort and energy in winning those 50-50 balls and keeping them off the glass,” Overbrook coach Donny Lang said. “I know we went a pretty long time with maybe letting them only score maybe three points to close to a quarter. It was more of their energy and effort that stepped up in the second half.”

During their current run of division titles, the Rams have won four straight Tri-County Diamond Division titles and two Colonial Conference Patriot Division crowns before that.

“That was one of our goals, to put up another banner,” Lang said. “I like to look up at that banner, make sure our number’s there.”

OVERBROOK 52, WOODSTOWN 35
OVERBROOK (17-5) – Shaun Mills 5 2-2 13, Chris Grier 0 1-2 1, Nic Johnson 4 0-1 9, Lamar Little 3 0-0 7, Zair Green 4 2-3 11, Amare Kee 1 0-0 3, Maki Ortiz 1 0-0 2, Xavier Wright 0 0-0 0, Kevin Satchell 3 0-0 6, Jaden St. John 0 0-0 0, Tory Scott 0 0-0 0, Angel Bermudez 0 0-0 0, Elvin Santiago 0 0-0 0. Totals 21 5-8 52.
WOODSTOWN (10-8) – Manny Ortega 0 1-2 1, Blake Bialecki 0 2-2 2, Alejandro Vazquez 1 0-0 2, M.J. Hall 2 2-2 6, Connor Sanderson 0 0-0 0, Garrett Leyman 1 1-2 3, Anthony Bokolas 0 0-0 0, Lucas Fulmer 1 0-0 2, Max Webb 4 0-3 10, Rocco String 3 2-2 8, Elijah Caesar 0 1-2 1. Totals 12 9-15 35.

Overbrook	12	12	16	12 –	52
Woodstown	6	12	3	14 –	35

3-point goals: Overbrook 5 (Mills, Johnson, Little, Green, Kee); Woodstown 2 (Webb 2). Total fouls: Overbrook 15, Woodstown 12.

GLASSBORO 68, PENNSVILLE 56
GLASSBORO (10-11) – Xavier Sabb 7 0-3 15, Charles Graves 9 3-3 24, Clinton Suggs 5 1-4 14, Michael Dougherty 2 0-0 5, Josh Buff 1 0-2 3, Tashean Thomas 0 0-0 0, Marley Crout 1 0-0 2, Jayce Grays2 1-1 5.
PENNSVILLE (9-13) – Luke Wood 8-21 0-0 17, Peyton O’Brien 1-6 1-2 3, Daniel Saulin 7-9 4-4 18, Cohen Petrutz 3-6 1-2 9, Mason O’Brien 3-6 2-2 6, Connor Starn 0-2 1-2 1, Cole Johnston 0-3 0-0 0. Totals 22-53 9-12 56.

Glassboro	16	18	20	14 –	68
Pennsville	12	7	18	17 –	56

3-point goals: Glassboro 9 (Sabb, Groves 3, Suggs 3, Daugherty, Buff); Pennsville 3-21 (Johnston 0-3, Starn 0-2 M. O’Brien 0-1, Petrutz 2-3, P. O’Brien 0-1, Wood 1-11). Fouled out: M. O’Brien, Saulin. Total fouls: Glassboro 13, Pennsville 16

GLOUCESTER CATHOLIC 64, SALEM 41
SALEM (13-7) – Anthony Farmer 3 9-10 16, Ramaji Bundy 3 0-0 5, Tymear Lecator 2 0-0 4, Jabez DeJesus 2 0-0 5, Marshall Stephens 4 0-0 8. Totals 14 9-10 41.
GLOUCESTER CATHOLIC (13-8) – Carlos Mendez 3 7-8 13, Jack Mustaro 4 0-0 12, Trey Battle 2 10-12 14, Kyle Guldin 6 3-6 15, Billy Ginipro 1 0-0 3, JonCarlo Coia 1 0-0 2, Nick Calzonetti 1 0-0 2, Ethan Dugue 1 1-2 3, Brody Gates 0 0-0 0, Jack Pund 0 0-0 0, Kybron Ricks 0 0-0 0, Danny Zellner 0 0-0 0, Jordan Mendez 0 0-0 0. Totals 19 21-28 64.

Salem	8	11	14	8 –	41
Gloucester Catholic	9	16	19	20 –	64

3-point goals: Salem 4 (Farmer, Bundy 2, DeJesus); Gloucester Catholic 5 (Mustaro 4, Ginipro).

WILDWOOD 84, SALEM TECH 38
SALEM TECH (2-16) – Chase Wills 2 0-0 4, Haneef Frisby 4 1-1 9, Joseph Hayes 1 0-2 2, Daviontae Russell 2 0-0 4, Tyler Zampino 2 2-3 6, Antoine Robinson 3 4-4 11, Gio Holmes 1 0-0 2, Charlie Brown 0 0-0 0, Chase Ayers 0 0-0 0. Totals 15 7-10 38.
WILDWOOD (12-9) – Junior Hans 6 1-1 13, Ryan Troiano 2 0-0 6, Jordan Dozier 0 2-2 2, Jordan Fusik 3 0-0 9, Brian Cunniff 2 1-2 5, Josh Pintella 1 1-4 3, Haney Buscham 3 0-0 8, Lukas Basile 3 0-0 8, James Wyers 6 1-2 15, Keynan Alston 1 2-2 4, Nolan Mawhinney 1 0-0 2, Trevor Troiano 1 0-0 3, R.J. Blanda 1 0-0 2, Burke Fitzsimmons 0 0-0 0, Lance Lillo 2 0-0 4. Totals 32 8-13 84.

Salem Tech	7	4	12	15 –	38
Wildwood	25	17	26	16 –	84

3-point goals: Salem Tech 1 (Robinson); Wildwood 12 (R. Troiano 2, Jordan Fusik 3, Buscham 2, Basile 2, Ayers 2, T. Troiano). Rebounds: Salem Tech 23 (Robinson 8); Wildwood 28 (Wears 4). Total fouls: Salem Tech 9, Wildwood 7.

Welcome to the club

Penns Grove’s Horace becomes fifth player in Salem County to reach 1,000-point milestone this season, roundup includes all Salem County girls games

TUESDAY’S GIRLS GAMES
Penns Grove 51, Schalick 30
Pennsville 40, Glassboro 38
Gloucester Catholic 61, Salem 12
Wildwood 62, Salem Tech 27
Woodstown 76, Overbrook 42

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

PITTSGROVE – Every day since the start of her senior season Meely Horace has walked into the Penns Grove gym and looked at the big red banner on the wall of 1,000-point scorers in the girls program.

**Penns Grove senior Meely Horace looks up at her name after it was revealed on the banner of 1,000-point scorers in the school’s girls basketball program.**

And every time there has been this big strip of tape underneath the last name on the list, presumably covering the line that carried her name in anticipation of her joining the club just daring her to pull it down. She couldn’t wait to pull that piece of tape down.

Well, she doesn’t have to look at it or wait any more.

Horace became the latest member of the Penns Grove 1,000-Point Club Tuesday when she hit a short jumper from the right side with 6:18 left in the second quarter of the Red Devils’ 51-30 win over Schalick.

“It meant a lot,” she said of the milestone. “It’s been a minute since somebody hit 1K, so I feel like I achieved a goal. My cousin, Tamara Walker, is on that banner, too. I wanted to be up there with her.

“Every day at school when I was in PE and all that I would go in there and look at it and be like, ‘I can’t wait to pull this down.’”

The moment of truth came at halftime of the boys game once her team returned to campus from its road win. She stood on the baseline with the congratulatory banner they presented at her game, then turned and looked upwards as the tape was removed to reveal her name. The space for points remains blank as she still has games to play.

Horace is the 19th player in Penns Grove history to score 1,000 points and the seventh girl. She’s the fifth player in Salem County to reach the milestone this season, joining Woodstown’s Talia Battavio and Megan Donelson, Salem’s Anthony Farmer and Pennsville’s Luke Wood. Both Farmer and Wood hit their marks in games against Penns Grove. Farmer is the only one to have done it at home.

The last Penns Grove player to clear the hurdle was Jamar Johnson in 2020. The last girl was Natrice Reed in 2018.

Horace has been sitting on 998 since Thursday night when she put 38 on Overbrook and she admitted the suspense was killing her.

It was expected she would reach the milestone early in Tuesday’s game, maybe even on the first play of the game, but it took a while. She was turned away the first three times the Red Devils came down the floor – traveling in the right corner, getting double teamed at the top of the key without getting a shot and missing a fast break layup.

She hit 999 with the first of two free throws with 5:38 left in the first quarter. She missed the second shot, but got the rebound and had the ball stripped as she drove to the basket.

Acting coach Taylor Smith took her out with 4:57 left in the quarter. It wasn’t because anyone thought she was pressing to score the milestone points, but rather to give more family members a chance to get to the gym to witness the historic occasion when it came.

“I was frustrated at first, but then I was like it’s going to come to me,” she said. “I feel like (she rushed things) a little bit, then I realized I’ve got to slow it down; there are four quarters. After I missed a couple I didn’t force anything, I let it come to me. I knew I was going to get it regardless. My teammates and my coaches were going to make sure.”

She reentered the game with 12 seconds left in the quarter and missed a layup at the buzzer. She missed two more free throws and then lost a ball in the lane.

The milestone finally came on a short jumper from the right side. They stopped the game, family poured onto the floor from the stands and she was presented with a game ball, a congratulatory 1,000-point banner and balloons that spelled out ‘1K.’

“Congrats to Meely because that’s a great accomplishment,” Smith said. “That’s not an easy thing to do in your high school career. We would like to salute her and congratulate her a million times for it because it is a great accomplishment.

“I was excited for her. Everybody was excited for her. We were all waiting on the moment for her.”

When the milestone finally arrived it was like a weight was lifted off everyone on the Penns Grove side. Her basket gave the Red Devils a 12-7 lead and touched off a run that stretched the lead to 28-7 before the Cougars scored again.

Horace finished with 12 points and now has 1,010 for her career.

PENNS GROVE 51, SCHALICK 30
PENNS GROVE (9-8) – RaNiyah Wilson 4 4-4 13, Meely Horace 5 2-7 12, Brianna Robbins 5 1-3 12, Amani Taylor 1 2-4 4, Zoey Caesar 2 2-6 6, Semijah Hines 0 0-0 0, Syanna Robbins 1 0-0 2, Arianna Down 1 0-0 2. Totals 19 11-24 51.
SCHALICK (5-13) – Cianna Gaines 1 3-4 5, Taylor Sparks 1 1-2 4, Ava Scurry 4 2-2 10, Abby Willoughby 0 0-0 0, Cali Fisler 0 2-4 2, Carly Vicente 3 0-0 8, Emma O’Neill 0 0-0 0, Kyleigh Cutler 0 0-0 0, Olivia Lunemann 0 1-4 1. Totals 9 9-16 30.

Penns Grove	8	24	12	7 –	51
Schalick	7	7	6	10 –	30

3-point goals: Penns Grove 2 (Wilson, B. Robbins); Schalick 3 (Sparks, Vicente 2). Technical fouls: Robbins. Fouled out: Willoughby. Total fouls: Penns Grove 17, Schalick 17.

PENNSVILLE 40, GLASSBORO 38: Taylor Bass’ only basket of the game, a put back with a minute left, broke a 38-38 tie and the Eagles made it stand for their third straight win. Marley Wood led three Pennsville scorers in double figures with 16 points, 10 in the second half. Nora Ausland had 12 points, 10 in the first quarter, and Bella Farina had 10.

PENNSVILLE 40, GLASSBORO 38
PENNSVILLE (10-11) – Nora Ausland 5 0-0 12, Taylor Bass 1 0-1 2, Bella Farina 5 0-0 10, Marley Wood 7 1-2 16, Celli Ausland 0 0-0 0, Izzy Saulin 0 0-0 0. Totals 18 1-3 40.
GLASSBORO (12-6) – Sanaa Thomas 3 2-2 8, Tamia Smith 5 3-4 13, Kezia Brackett 7 0-2 17, Ante Davis 0 0-0 0, Sianna Wedderburn 0 0-0 0, Kimora Miles 0 0-0 0. Totals 15 5-8 38.

Pennsville	19	7	4	10 –	40
Glassboro	8	6	18	6 –	38

3-point goals: Pennsville 3 (N. Ausland 2, Wood); Glassboro 3 (Brackett 3). Total fouls: Pennsville 6, Glassboro 8.

WILDWOOD 62, SALEM TECH 27: In the return game of two-day home-and-home, the Warriors jumped out to a 15-point lead in the first quarter and then held the Chargers scoreless in the second. Wildwood’s Macie McCracken led all scorers with 23 points.

WILDWOOD 62, SALEM TECH 27
SALEM TECH (1-16) – Hanna DeWitt 2 3-4 7, Demajae White 2 0-0 4, TiRonna McGaha 0 2-2 2, Morgan VanDover 3 2-2 8, Lavae Scott 0 0-2 0, Rylee Doerr 2 2-2 8. Totals 9 9-12 27.
WILDWOOD (16-5) – Sophia Wilber 3 0-0 7, Angela Wilber 2 0-0 5, Macie McCracken 9 2-3 23, Kaliah Sumlin 4 0-0 8, Rebecca Benichou 4 0-0 10, Ashley Nagle 3 0-0 8, Janet Gonzalez 0 0-0 0, Mia Chips 1 0-0 2. Totals 26 2-3 63.

Salem Tech	4	0	11	12 –	27
Wildwood	19	16	23	5 –	62

3-point goals: Wildwood 9 (S. Wilber, A. Wilber, McCracken 3, Benichou 2, Nagle 2).

WOODSTOWN 76, OVERBROOK 42: The Wolverines opened a comfortable 10-point lead, then pulled away with a 33-3 second quarter.

Talia Battavio had eight points in the quarter, while Megan Donelson and Shannon Pierman had six apiece. The only basket they allowed in the quarter was a 3-pointer by Zahaisha Nevius.

“We hammered it inside to Shannon in their zone defense and moved the ball really well,” Wolverines coach Kara Straughn said. “We have also been focusing a lot on our drives and kicks and the girls did a much better job executing that tonight.”

Battavio led the Wolverines with 19 points. Donelson and Pierman had 14 each. Ten players scored.

Donelson now had 1,029 career points and Battavio 1,028.

WOODSTOWN 76, OVERBROOK 42
WOODSTOWN (15-4) – Talia Battavio 7 2-2 19, Megan Donelson 5 2-2 14, Alyssa Baber 3 0-0 7, Gianna Maiorini 2 0-0 4, Shannon Pierman 7 0-0 14, Emma Perry 2 0-0 4, Brae DiGregorio 1 0-0 2, Jala Thomas 2 0-0 4, Lizzy Daly 0 0-0 0, Kailyn Kennedy 2 0-0 4, Kendall Young 2 0-0 4, Talia Guardascione 0 0-0 0. Totals 33 4-4 76.
OVERBROOK (4-14) – Gianna Simon 1 0-0 2, Joel Presley 4 2-6 11, Kaylee Burckhardt 2 0-0 4, Zahaisha Nevius 6 4-7 19, Sarah Evans 1 0-0 3, Leiani Knight 0 0-0 0, Alahni White 0 0-0 0, Kayla Reynolds 0 0-0 0, Nahia Smith 0 0-0 0, Talia Wiggins 0 0-0 0. Totals 14 6-13 42.

Woodstown	20	33	9	14 –	76
Overbrook	10	3	15	14 –	42

3-point goals: Woodstown 6 (Battavio 3, Donelson 2, Baber); Overbrook 6 (Presley, Burckhardt, Nevius 3, Evans). Total fouls: Woodstown 10, Overbrook 8.

GLOUCESTER CATHOLIC 61, SALEM 12
GLOUCESTER CATHOLIC (16-6) – Jahzara Green 6 1-2 13, Julianna DeFebbo 5 0-0 10, Talia Shumate 5 0-0 10, Yazaniah Shumate 2 0-0 4, Jalyn Moore 2 0-0 4, Ashlynn Eggers 4 0-0 10, Kendall Scott 0 2-4 2, Anna Gerardi 1 0-0 2, Maya Hutchinson 2 2-2 6, Julia Calzonetti 0 0-2 0. Totals 27 5-10 61.
SALEM (7-13) – Marjziah Bundy 0 0-4 0, Ameriyona Hunter 3 1-4 7, Carlysia Pierce 1 3-4 5, Lyric Hayes 0 0-0 0, Ava Rodgers 0 0-0 0, Zaniyah Freison 0 0-0 0. Totals 4 4-12 12.

Score by quarters not available.
3-point goals: Gloucester Catholic 2 (Eggers 2).

Sectional wrestling

Woodstown goes down to the wire, but falls in South Jersey Group I semifinals; Pennsville falls in sectional quarters

SOUTH JERSEY GROUP I TOURNAMENT
At Woodstown
Audubon 44, Palmyra 25
Woodstown 52, Haddon Twp. 18
Audubon 37, Woodstown 32
At Paulsboro
Paulsboro 70, Pitman 4
Gloucester 60, Pennsville 16
Paulsboro 48, Gloucester 28
Championship match
Wednesday
Audubon at Paulsboro

OTHER MATCHES
Penns Grove 42, Camden 22
Penns Grove 54, Lindenwold 18
Penns Grove 36, Riverside 21

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

WOODSTOWN — In any match, no matter the time of the season ,it’s the little things that can make all the difference between in moving on to the next round of a tournament or going home disappointed. Woodstown didn’t do enough of the little things Monday night.

The Wolverines got to the semifinals of the South Jersey Group I team tournament, but failing to pick up a point here and there in key matches meant the difference in Audubon taking a 37-32 victory to derail their second-half express.

The Wolverines were 2-9 at one point in the season, but rallied in the second half of the year to become the second seed in the sectional team tournament. Five of those early matches came down to the final bout (1-4). Once they turned it around, they had won 10 of their previous 11 entering the tournament.

The Wolverines grabbed a 26-6 lead at the midpoint in the match, winning six of their first seven bouts, but even then they left points on the table. Their fortunes changed when they turned to the lighter weights, opening with back-to-back forfeits and winning only one of the last seven bouts.

The match was decided in the final bout when Audubon junior Tyler Perrozi scored a 10-2 major decision over Laitton Roberts at 144.

“We needed to pin in some areas, where at ’65 and ’75 we had them flat, close to flat, they were almost pinned, we didn’t get it,” Wolverines coach Adam Hyland said. “We get those two pins, we win by one, and we lost by five.

“Those little things are the big differences. We just didn’t come through on those pins tonight. It’s probably happened to us 10 times this year where it came down to the last match. It’s just the way it is. Sometimes you get the bull, sometimes you get the horns.”

The back-to-back forfeits were intended to keep Audubon from building any momentum, but it led the Green Wave to change its strategy and just go best-on-best the rest of the way to chase the points it missed on earlier in the match. The free points became the front end of four straight wins that gave Audubon its first lead of the match, 27-26.

Alex Torres put the Wolverines back on top when pinned Brayden Ervin in the second period at 132.

Torres got in a pickle early in his match, but he quickly turned his fortunes with the help of a headlock he’d been practicing since middle school and got his opponent on his back. It wasn’t long thereafter the Wolverines were back on top 32-27 with two matches remaining.

“When I was about to run out on the mat I was like, ‘This is going to be an important match,’ and it was,” Torres said. “So I ran out there, just giving it my best. It’s about the team at this point and I’ve got to do whatever it takes to help us.

“I had a little trouble when the kid put me to my back but all I was thinking about was I’m not going to give up and that’s when I turned the kid.”

The Green Wave retook the lead with Rocco Noce’s pin at 138, setting up the winner-take-all match at 144.

Angel Hernandez wrestled the 144 match for Woodstown in the quarterfinals, but the Wolverines have been alternating there all season and Hyland sent out Roberts against Audubon because “he does a little bit better job of not getting in danger.” Perrozi was wrestling up from his usual 138, but he was aggressive from the start and scored a dominating 10-2 decision to clinch it.

“I love it,” Perrozi said. “It’s so nervous, but it’s always the best having the last match, just coming down to it. I love the thrill of it and everything. As soon as I got the first takedown it relieved me so much.”

**Audubon’s Tyler Perrozi has control over Woodstown’s Laitton Roberts in the match that decided their South Jersey Group I wrestling semifinal.**

The Green Wave dedicated the victory to heavyweight Jacob Dutill, who spent Monday in the hospital after taking ill Sunday night. His teammates face-timed with him after the match to deliver the news of their victory.

“I was talking to our guys and just said our bullets have to make a bigger bang because we’re shorthanded and we went for it,” Audubon coach John Walsh said.

The Green Wave now faces top-seeded Paulsboro for the South Jersey Group I championship Wednesday.

Woodstown reached the semifinals with a dominating 52-18 win over Haddon Twp. The Wolverines established control with seven straight wins after losing the opening bout and Travis Balback clinched the victory with a decision at 120.

SJ GROUP I QUARTERFINALS
WOODSTOWN 52, HADDON TWP. 18
144: Damian Shepherd (H) pinned Angel Hernandez, 5:22
150: Jayden Donahue (Wo) pinned Jaden Chanthavanh, 5:07
157: Brett Roland (Wo) pinned Antonio Reyes, 0:53
165: Zach Bevis (Wo) maj. dec. over Richard Poblano Benito, 14-5
175: Greyson Hyland (Wo) pinned Joseph Sum, 0:59
190: Bradley Snitcher (Wo) pinned Elijah Borowicz, 1:36
215: Mateo Vinciguerra (Wo) won by forfeit
285: Andre Sinou (Wo) dec. Sean Weikel, 4-3
106: Andrew Marshall (H) pinned Chase Blandino, 1:35
113: Owen Ziegler (H) won by forfeit
120: Travis Balback (Wo) dec. Thomas Andrews, 5-3
126: Carson Bradway (Wo) dec. Blake Thoder, 9-2
132: Alex Torres (Wo) pinned Brady Monoid, 2:00
138: Willem Groom (Wo) dec. Jake Andrews, 4-2

GLOUCESTER 60, PENNSVILLE 16
285: Jeremy Smith (G) pinned Trevor Waddington, 2:54
106: Kloi Tighe (G) pinned Gina Shinn, 0:47
113: Josh Quinones (G) pinned Lucas Thomas, 1:08
120: Christopher Daniels (P) pinned Edgar Morales, 2:44
126: Mason Johnson (G) pinned Kameron Drummond, 5:09
132: John Pfeffer (G) dec. Ayden Perez, 6-1
138: Travis Hagan (P) pinned Greg Harris, 2:21
144: Harry Ulmer (G) pinned Joseph Maurer, 3:20
150: Ashton Wall (G) dec. Sky Eppes, 1-0
157: Robbie McDade (P) maj. dec. over Collin Morrell, 9-1
165: Jacob Zearfoss (G) pinned Cole Campbell, 1:50
175: Jason Chiodi (G) pinned Connor Ayers, 2:48
190: Kaleb Wright (G) pinned Elias Lussi, 2:55
215: Jaden Thompson (G) pinned Daniel Emmons, 4:33

SJ GROUP I SEMIFINALS
AUDUBON 37, WOODSTOWN 32
150: Jayden Donahue (Wo) dec. Giovanni Patti, 7-4
157: Brett Rowand (Wo) won by forfeit
165: Zach Bevis (Wo) maj. dec. over David Borodziuk, 13-1
175: Greyson Hyland (Wo) maj. dec. over Gabriel McCracken, 9-1
190: Christian Burton (A) pinned Bradley Snitcher, 0:32
215: Andre Sinou (Wo) pinned Syncere Faulk, 0:59
285: Mateo Vinciguerra (Wo) dec. Sam Myers, 6-1
106: Rocco Monteferrante (A) won by forfeit
113: Nicholas Sassany (A) won by forfeit
120: Lucas Stinger (A) dec. Travis Balback, 11-5
126: Blaise LaFrance (A) pinned Carson Bradway, 2:40
132: Alex Torres (Wo) pinned Brayden Ervin, 2:54
138: Rocco Noce (A) pinned Willem Groom, 1:53
144: Tyler Perrozi (A) maj. dec. over Laitton Roberts, 10-2

**Woodstown 120 Travis Balback gets Haddon Twp.’s Thomas Andrews on his head in the bout that clinched the Wolverines’ victory in the South Jersey Group I wrestling quarterfinals.**

On the rise

Woodstown scores big win on the road, Schalick may have gotten its signature win, includes box scores from all of Monday night’s Salem County basketball action

MONDAY’S SALEM COUNTY SCORES
Boys
Gloucester City 76, Pennsville 62
Penns Grove 63, Williamstown 22
Schalick 66, Maple Shade 37
Woodstown 55, Glassboro 49
Girls
Kingsway 64, Salem 29
Maple Shade 43, Schalick 15
Pennsville 53, Gloucester City 20
Wildwood 70, Salem Tech 29

By Riverview Sports News

GLASSBORO – Just about a week ago the Woodstown basketball team was teetering precariously on the edge of the South Jersey Group I playoff bubble. Two wins later they’ve come off the edge and now have a little breathing room in the final days of the regular season.

The Wolverines earned their largest power point haul of the season Monday night with a 55-49 road victory over Glassboro. Put that with a blowout win over nine-win Pennsville and an overtime loss to 12-win Gloucester Catholic, over the last five days they have gone from 15 to 13 in the power points standings, 46 points ahead of the 16th and final qualifying spot from the section.

They have three games between now and Saturday’s state cutoff date to pick up more points.

Blake Bialecki (21) and Max Webb (19) combined for 40 points to lead the Wolverines (10-7) in this one, outscoring Glassboro’s two leading scorers, Xavier Sabb and Charles Graves, who had 13 points apiece.

Webb was involved in one of the headiest plays in the game. With about 30 seconds left, the Wolverines were trying to get the ball inbounds. With no timeouts and nobody getting open, Webb smartly threw the ball off a defender in front of him and got it back to save the possession.

Bialecki then made a pair of free throws with five seconds left to ice it.

Another crucial factor to getting the win was the play of Rocco String. The 6-foot-7 junior played the entire fourth quarter with four fouls and never picked up his fifth. And he managed to pick up a couple blocked shots and key rebounds.

WOODSTOWN 55, GLASSBORO 49
WOODSTOWN (10-7) – Blake Bialecki 6-4-19, M.J. Hall 2-0-4, Garrett Leyman 1-0-2, Max Webb 6-4-19, Rocco String 3-1-7, Elijah Caesar 2-0-4. Totals 20-9-55.
GLASSBORO (9-11) – Xavier Sabb 5-3-13, Charles Graves 5-2-13, Clinton Suggs 2-2-8, Michael Dougherty 2-0-6, Josh Buff 1-0-3, Crowly Marley 2-0-4, Jayce Grays 1-0-2. Totals 18-7-49.

Woodstown	20	8	11	15 –	55
Glassboro	10	21	10	8 –	49

3-point goals: Woodstown 6 (Bialecki 3, Webb 3); Glassboro 6 (Graves, Suggs 2, Dougherty 2, Buff).

SCHALICK 66, MAPLE SHADE 37: The Cougars have been looking for that signature win in their winningest season in five years and may have gotten it here.

The teams they had beaten prior to Monday had a combined 12 wins and they picked up a season-high 28 power points for this one. It puts them at No. 18 in the South Jersey Group I power points standings, technically No. 17 since they beat Maple Shade who sits one spot above them.

Nasir and Nylan Sutton led the Cougars with 15 and 13 points, respectively. It was the second time this year and fourth time in their careers they both scored in double figures in the same game. Dan Lis had 14 with three 3-pointers.

The Cougars, now with more wins than the last three seasons combined, have won back-to-back games for the first time since winning the last three games of the 2019-20 season.

MAPLE SHADE (8-13) – Nicholas Gowen 2 0-0 4, Amir Hall 2 0-0 5, Elijah Ashe 3 2-2 8, Antjuan Johnson 2 0-0 6, Hezekiah Delvalle 0 1-2 1, Corey Volcy 6 1-2 13. Totals 15 4-6 37.
SCHALICK (7-10) – Dan Lis 5 1-2 14, Jake Siedlecki 2 0-2 6, Reggie Allen 3 0-2 7, Nylan Sutton 6 1-2 13, Nasir Sutton 6 3-3 15, Jase Volovar 1 0-0 3, Justin Iacona 1 0-0 3, Nyzier Wynder 1 0-0 2, Dylan Sheehan 1 0-0 3. Totals 26 5-11 66.

Maple Shade	6	9	11	11 –	37
Schalick	16	10	17	23 –	66

3-point goals: Maple Shade 3 (Hall, Johnson 2); Schalick 9 (Lis 3, Siedlecki 2, Allen, Volovar, Iacona, Sheehan).

PENNS GROVE 63, WILLIAMSTOWN 22
PENNS GROVE (7-12) – Brandon Robbins 1 0-0 3, Roman Gipson 3 6-6 12, Giomar Conrad 5 3-4 14, KaRon Ceaser 3 1-1 7, Willie Slocum 1 0-0 2, Mehki Ballard 6 0-0 13, Camren Thompson 2 2-2 6, Luis Colon 1 0-0 2, Mr Peterson 2 0-0 4, Will Roy 0 0-0 0. Totals 24 12-13 63.
WILLIAMSTOWN (1-20) – Drew Schnapp 1 0-0 3, Tyrone Price 3 0-0 6, Basill Mateen 3 3-4 10, Josh Roberts 1 0-0 2, Jordan Foley 0 1-5 1. Totals 8 4-9 22.

Penns Grove	9	24	13	17 –	63
Williamstown	5	8	7	2 –	22

3-point goals: Penns Grove 3 (Robbins, Conrad, Ballard); Williamstown 2 (Schnapp, Mateen).

GLOUCESTER 76, PENNSVILLE 62: Ryan James was 6-for-6 from the foul line in the fourth quarter to help Gloucester pull away from a close game.

Danny Saulin returned to the Pennsville lineup after a four-game absence and had 23 points and six rebounds. Peyton O’Brien had 10 rebounds and six assists, and Luke Wood had q8 points and nine boards.

GLOUCESTER (11-10) – Ryan James 4 6-8 15, Marcus Flagg 2 0-0 4, Keegan Cohan 6 2-3 19, Jake Smith 8 1-2 17, Kadon Harris 3 5-6 11, Mike Light 4 0-0 10, Kevin Wall 0 0-0 0. Totals 27 14-19 76.
PENNSVILLE (9-12) – Luke Wood 7-18 0-0 18, Peyton O’Brien 3-9 0-4 6, Daniel Saulin 10-15 3-9 23, Cohen Petrutz 3-9 0-4 8, Mason O’Brien 2-8 0-0 4, Connor Starn 1-1 0-0 3. Totals 26-60 3-13 62.

Gloucester	15	14	24	23 –	76
Pennsville	11	23	16	12 –	62

3-point goals: Gloucester 8 (James, Cohan 5, Light 2); Pennsville 7-20 (Starn 1-1, M. O’Brien 0-3, Petrutz 2-6, P. O’Brien 0-1, Wood 4-9). Technical fouls: Saulin. Total fouls: Gloucester 15, Pennsville 16. Officials: McCormick, Brown, Lundy.

Girls Games

PENNSVILLE 53, GLOUCESTER 20
PENNSVILLE (9-11) – Nora Ausland 4 4-5 14, Taylor Bass 4 3-5 12, Bella Farina 2 2-4 6, Marley Wood 8 3-6 21, Izzy Saulin 0 0-0 0, Kylie Harris 0 0-0 0, Calli Ausland 0 0-0 0. Totals 18 12-20 53.
GLOUCESTER (5-14) – Logan Thomson 1 1-4 3, Kierstynn O’Donnell 0 3-8 3, Elizabeth Schultes 1 0-0 2, Bailey Schoenfeldt 2 0-1 5, Victoria Serrano 2 0-0 5, Alexis Ulman 1 0-0 2. Totals 7 4-13 20.

Pennsville	15	11	12	15 –	53
Gloucester	2	7	5	6 –	20

3-point goals: Pennsville 5 (N. Ausland 2, Bass, Wood 2); Gloucester 2 (Schoenfeldt, Serrano).

WILDWOOD 70, SALEM TECH 29
WILDWOOD (15-5) – Sophia Wilber 1 2-2 5, Angela Wilber 7 0-0 19, Macie McCracken 11 3-4 27, Kaliah Sumlin 1 2-3 4, Rebecca Benichou 4 0-0 10, Cydnee Kilian 1 0-2 2, Ashley Nagle 1 0-0 3, Mia Cripps 0 0-0 0, Janet Gonzalez 0 0-0 0. Totals 26 7-11 70.
SALEM TECH (1-15) – Morgan VanDover 3 0-0 6, Kaylin Beardsley 2 0-0 4, Lavae Scott 2 0-0 4, Demajae White 6 0-0 12, Rylee Doerr 0 1-2 1, TiRonna McGaha 1 0-0 2. Totals 14 1-2 29.

Wildwood	28	18	21	3 –	70
Salem Tech	4	4	9	12 –	29

3-point goals: Wildwood 11 (S. Wilber, A. Wilber 5, McCracken 2, Benichou 2, Nagle); Salem Tech 0. Notes: Wildwood’s McCracken had 10 steals and Sophia Wilber had nine assists.

MAPLE SHADE 43, SCHALICK 15
SCHALICK (5-12) – Abby Willoughby 2-0-4, Cianna Gaines 1-0-2, Carly Vicente 2-1-7, Olivia Lunemann 1-0-2, Ava Scully 0-0-0, Taylor Sparks 0-0-0, Cali Fisler 0-0-0. Totals 6-1-15.
MAPLE SHADE (15-5) – Billie Ormsby 1-1-3, Addison Yackel 7-6-22, Alexis Andrada 3-0-7, Maddy Vessels 3-1-8, Mel Bimmer 1-0-2, Molly Mitchell 0-1-1. Totals 15-9-43.

Schalick	2	3	3	7 –	15
Maple Shade	10	8	20	5 –	43

3-point goals: Schalick 2 (Vicente 2); Maple Shade 4 (Yackel 2, Andrada, Vessels).

KINGSWAY 64, SALEM 29
SALEM (7-12) – Ava Rodgers 1 1-1 3, Ameriyona Hunter 3 1-4 8, Marjziah Bundy 0 0-0 0, Ryann Foote 0 2-6 2, Lyric Hayes 0 0-0 0, Dakirah Gray 0 0-0 0, Carlysia Pierce 2 2-3 7, Nevaeh Hickman 3 1-3 9, Zaniyah Freison 0 0-0 0. Totals 9 7-17 29.
KINGSWAY (9-11) – Erin Lail 2 0-0 5, Kellis Greer 2 0-0 4, Vienna Gantz 4 0-0 10, Emily Barber 2 0-2 4, Olivia Myers 4 2-2 12, Ava Valente 1 2-2 4, Jaylynn Curtis 3 3-4 10, Paige Horton 2 2-2 6, Bella Archer 1 0-0 3, Chloe McNeill 2 0-0 4, Ojanile Gabriel 1 0-0 2. Totals 24 9-12 64.

Salem	9	6	9	5 –	29
Kingsway	25	5	15	19 –	64

3-point goals: Salem 4 (Hickman 2, Hunter, Pierce); Kingsway 7 (Lail, Gantz 2, Myers 2, Curtis, Archer). Notes: Salem’s Bundy had 10 points and seven blocked shots.

Tri-County pairings

Here are the pairings for the Tri-County Conference Tournament; only one Salem County team has a first-round home game

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

Timber Creek’s Liberty Division-leading boys and Williamstown’s Royal Division-leading girls have pulled down the overall No. 1 seeds for next week’s Tri-County Basketball Tournament.

The tournament begins next Monday with 22 games at the higher seeds. The brackets were finalized Sunday and became official at noon today.

Timber Creek is currently 13-3, 8-0 in the Liberty Division, riding a 10-game on-the-floor winning streak and fourth in the South Jersey Group III power points standings. Williamstown is 14-5 overall, 6-0 in the Royal Division and leads the South Jersey Group IV power points standings.

As far as Salem County’s teams are concerned, no county boys team has a first-round home game and Schalick’s girls are the only county team playing at home in the opening round.

Pennsville’s boys and Salem’s girls have No. 1 seeds in their respective seven-team C Flight brackets, have first-round byes and will play home games in Round 2 Feb. 14. Pennsville is 5-0 against the other teams in its bracket, Salem 3-1.

“It’s bittersweet,” Pennsville coach Joe Mecholsky said of his team’s seeding. “It’s not our goal to be the best of the bottom. However, we will get two solid days of practice in as we prepare for the playoffs.

“Hopefully, two home games and the good vibes that come with winning a C bracket will help build momentum into the first round of the playoffs.”

On the girls side, Woodstown is No. 5 in the A Flight and will open the tournament at current Classic Division No. 2 Gloucester Catholic, a team the Wolverines opened the season against and are presently scheduled to play in Saturday’s consolation bracket of the SJIBT. Pennsville is No. 5 and Penns Grove 8 in the B Flight, and Salem is 1, Schalick 3 and Salem Tech 7 in the C Flight.

On the boys side, Salem is No. 6 in the A Flight and will open at Diamond Division leader Overbrook, a solid No. 7 in the South Jersey Group II power points standings. Penns Grove is No. 7 and Woodstown 8 in the B Flight, while Pennsville is No. 1 in C, followed by Schalick (6) and Salem Tech (7).

Day 1 winners are guaranteed two more games. Day 1 losers (except in Flight C) will play one consolation game.

The pairings for all six flights are listed below:

TRI-COUNTY CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT
BOYS BRACKETS
A FLIGHT
Feb. 12
No. 8 Gloucester Catholic (12-8) at No. 1 Timber Creek (13-3)
No. 5 Triton (11-8) at No. 4 Pitman (15-6)
No. 6 Salem (13-6) at No. 3 Overbrook (15-5)
No. 7 Wildwood (11-9) at No. 2 Delsea (13-7)
Feb. 14
Gloucester Catholic-Timber Creek winner vs. Triton-Pitman winner
Salem-Overbrook winner vs. Wildwood-Delsea winner
Consolation games
Feb. 16
Third-place game
Championship

B FLIGHT
Feb. 12
No. 8 Woodstown (9-7) at No. 1 Kingsway (11-10)
No. 5 Glassboro (9-10) at No. 4 Deptford Twp. (10-9)
No. 6 Washington Twp. (11-9) at No. 3 Highland (9-9)
No. 7 Penns Grove (6-12) at No. 2 Clearview (11-8)
Feb. 14
Woodstown-Kingsway winner vs. Glassboro-Deptford Twp. winner
Washington Twp.-Highland winner vs. Penns Grove-Clearview winner
Consolation games
Feb. 16
Third-place game
Championship

C FLIGHT
Feb. 12
No. 1 Pennsville (9-11) bye
No. 5 Clayton (3-16) at No. 4 Cumberland (2-18)
No. 6 Schalick (6-10) at No. 3 Williamstown (1-19)
No. 7 Salem Tech (2-15) at No. 2 GCIT (7-14)
Feb. 14
Clayton-Cumberland winner at Pennsville
Schalick-Williamstown winner vs. Salem Tech-GCIT winner
Schalick-Williamstown loser vs. Salem Tech-GCIT loser
Feb. 16
Third-place game
Championship

GIRLS BRACKETS
A FLIGHT
Feb. 12
No. 8 Highland (10-9) at No. 1 Williamstown (14-4)
No. 5 Woodstown (14-4) at No. 4 Gloucester Catholic (15-5)
No. 6 Washington Twp. (10-8) at No. 3 Wildwood (14-5)
No. 7 Timber Creek (13-8) at No. 2 Clearview (14-3)
Feb. 14
Highland-Williamstown winner vs. Woodstown-Gloucester Catholic winner
Washington Twp.-Wildwood winner vs. Timber Creek-Clearview winner
Consolation games
Feb. 16
Third-place game
Championship

B FLIGHT
Feb. 12
No. 8 Penns Grove (7-8) at No. 1 GCIT (12-7)
No. 5 Pennsville (8-11) at No. 4 Delsea (8-10)
No. 6 Pitman (9-8) at No. 3 Kingsway (8-11)
No. 7 Clayton (8-9) at No. 2 Glassboro (12-5)
Feb. 14
Penns Grove-GCIT winner vs. Pennsville-Delsea winner
Pitman-Kingsway winner vs. Clayton-Glassboro winner
Consolation games
Feb. 16
Third-place game
Championship

C FLIGHT
Feb. 12
No. 1 Salem (7-11) bye
No. 5 Overbrook (3-12) at No. 4 Triton (6-11)
No. 6 Deptford (3-15) at No. 3 Schalick (5-11)
No. 7 Salem Tech (1-14) at No. 2 Cumberland (4-13)
Feb. 14
Overbrook-Triton winner at Salem
Deptford-Schalick winner vs. Salem Tech-Cumberland winner
Deptford-Schalick loser vs. Salem Tech-Cumberland loser
Feb. 16
Third-place game
Championship

This week’s schedule

Here is the Salem County sports schedule for the week of Feb. 5-11

Monday

BASKETBALL
Girls
Wildwood at Salem Tech, 4 p.m.
Pennsville at Gloucester City, 5:30 p.m.
Salem at Kingsway, 5:30 p.m.
Schalick at Maple Shade, 5:30 p.m.
Boys
Gloucester City at Pennsville, 5:30 p.m.
Maple Shade at Schalick, 5:30 p.m.
Penns Grove at Williamstown, 5:30 p.m.
Woodstown at Glassboro, 5:30 p.m.

WRESTLING
South Jersey Group I Tournament
At Woodstown
Audubon vs. Palmyra, 6 p.m.
Haddon Twp. at Woodstown, 6 p.m.
Audubon-Palmyra winner vs. Haddon Twp.-Woodstown winner, 7 p.m.
At Paulsboro
Pitman at Paulsboro, 5:30 p.m.
Pennsville vs. Gloucester, 5:30 p.m.
Pitman-Paulsboro winner vs. Pennsville-Gloucester winner, 7 p.m.

Penns Grove, Camden, Riverside at Lindenwold, 4 p.m.
Schalick at Northern Burlington, 6 p.m.

SWIMMING
NJSIAA Playoffs
Schalick vs. Barnegat at St. Francis Community Center, 4:30 p.m.
Woodstown vs. Cape May Co. Tech at GCIT, 6:30 p.m.

INDOOR TRACK
Salem at Ocean Breeze Complex, Staten Island, N.Y., 5 p.m.

Tuesday

BASKETBALL
Girls
Penns Grove at Schalick, 4 p.m.
Pennsville at Glassboro, 4 p.m.
Salem Tech at Wildwood, 4 p.m.
Gloucester Catholic at Salem, 5:30 p.m.
Woodstown at Overbrook, 5:30 p.m.
Boys
Salem at Gloucester Catholic, 5 p.m.
Glassboro at Pennsville, 5:30 p.m.
Overbrook at Woodstown, 5:30 p.m.
Schalick at Penns Grove, 5:30 p.m.
Salem Tech at Wildwood, 5:30 p.m.

COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Women
Salem CC at Bucks County CC, 5 p.m.
Men
Montgomery County CC at Salem CC, 7 p.m.

BOWLING
TCC Showcase at 30 Strikes, 4 p.m.

SWIMMING
Schalick at West Deptford, 3:30 p.m.

Wednesday

BASKETBALL
Girls
Glassboro at Woodstown, 4 p.m.

WRESTLING
Pennsville at Haddon Heights, 5 p.m.
Pitman at Schalick, 5 p.m.
Salem at Gloucester Catholic, 6 p.m.

SWIMMING
Schalick at Camden Academy Charter, 3:30 p.m.

Thursday

BASKETBALL
Girls
Penns Grove at Pennsville, 5:30 p.m.
Salem Tech at Pitman, 5:30 p.m.
Salem at Clayton, 5:30 p.m.
Schalick at Overbrook, 5:30 p.m.
Boys
Penns Grove at Pennsville, 4 p.m.
Clayton at Salem, 5:30 p.m.
Overbrook at Schalick, 5:30 p.m.
Woodstown at Washington Twp., 5:30 p.m.
Salem Tech at Pitman, 7 p.m.

SWIMMING
South Jersey Group C Tournament
Schalick at Middle Twp.
Woodstown at Oakcrest

Friday

BASKETBALL
Girls
Schalick at Penns Grove, 4 p.m.
Pleasantville at Salem, 5 p.m.
Cape May Co. Tech at Salem Tech, 5:30 p.m.
Millville at Pennsville, 5:30 p.m.
Woodstown at Lower Cape May, 5:30 p.m.
Boys
Buena at Woodstown, 5:30 p.m.
Penns Grove at Schalick, 5:30 p.m.
Pennsville at Paulsboro, 5:30 p.m.
Salem Tech at Cape May Co. Tech, 5:30 p.m.

WRESTLING
Woodstown at Delran, 6 p.m.

Saturday

BASKETBALL
Girls
South Jersey Invitational Tournament
at Eastern Regional HS
Woodstown vs. Williamstown, 8 p.m.
Boys
Bridgeton at Salem, 12:30 p.m.

COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Women
Salem CC at Lackawanna College, 1 p.m.
Men
Harrisburg Area CC at Salem CC, noon

WRESTLING
Schalick, Burlington Twp., Cherry Hill-West at Maple Shade, 8 a.m.
Pennsville, Cedar Creek, Delran at Hightstown, 10 a.m.
Salem, Mainland, Timber Creek at Pennsauken, 10 a.m.

BOWLING
Girls
NJSIAA Sectionals

Division champs

Friday roundup: Balback’s pin lifts Woodstown to Diamond Division wrestling crown; also, indoor track sectionals

By Riverview Sports News

SICKLERVILLE – The Woodstown wrestling team went hunting a division title Friday night and it went down to the wire.

Travis Balback’s first-period pin at 120 gave the streaking Wolverines a 42-34 win over Timber Creek for the Tri-County Diamond Division title. Balback pinned Matthew Steele in 1:52.

The Wolverines, who host half the bracket in the South Jersey Group I tournament Monday, are now 11-10. They were 2-9 at one point this season.

Both teams were 3-0 in the Diamond Division going into the match.

The teams traded bouts early in the match. Three straight pins by Brett Rowand (157), Zach Bevis (165) and Greyson Hyland (175) gave the Wolverines a 30-10 lead. A pin by Mateo Vinciguerra at 215 pushed the lead to 36-16, then Timber Creek won three straight bouts (285-106-113) to set the stage for the winner-take-all bout at 120.

All Balback had to do was not lose and the Wolverines would wear the crown, and he took care of business.

WOODSTOWN 42, TIMBER CREEK 34
126: Devin Karge (T) dec. Carson Bradway, 5-2
132: Alex Torres (Wo) pinned Josh Wolfenden, 1:22
138: Joey Walker (T) dec. Willem Groom, SV 4-2
144: Laitton Roberts (Wo) pinned Eric Rambaran, 2:00
150: Ryan Kuriger (T) maj. dec. over Zayden Donahue, 13-4
157: Brett Rowand (Wo) pinned Gavin Bates, 3:13
165: Zach Bevis (Wo) pinned Zyeir Green, 1:02
175: Greyson Hyland (Wo( pinned Elijah Green, 5:49
190: Amir Reason-Dallas (T) pinned Karsten Hantho, 1:42
215: Mateo Vinciguerra (Wo) pinned Josh Bartell, 1:38
285: Jayson Ross (T) pinned Andre Sinou, 0:27
106: Ryan Pancoast (T) pinned Chase Blandino, 3:58
113: Dominic Speakman (T) won by forfeit
120: Travis Balback (Wo) pinned Matthew Steele, 1:52.
Records: Woodstown 11-10, Timber Creek 10-8.

OTHER MATCHES
SCHALICK/CUMBERLAND 44, ABSEGAMI 33
106: Liam Kisby (A) pinned Caleb Jenkins, 4:19
113: DeAnthony Harden (SC) pinned Rafael Estrada-Perez, 2:40
120: Luke Silva (SC) dec. Tristan Brown, 4-0
126: Chase Williams (SC) pinned Michael Famelio, 3:25
132: Aiden Torres (A) pinned Colin Bittle, 4:22
138: Daniel Lloyd (SC) pinned Brendan Ross, 0:19
144: Ayden Jenkins (SC) won by forfeit
150: Christopher Eaton (A) pinned Michael Carastro, 0:31
157: Ibn Russell (A) dec. Riley Papiano, 1-0
165: Sebron Hall-Jones (SC) won by forfeit
175: Julian Rivera (A) pinned Jake Magonagle, 0:40
190: Brayden Wright (A) won by forfeit
215: Evan Elliott (SC) pinned Mason Tharp, 1:42
285: Noval Jenkins (SC) pinned Brandon Miller, 0:43
Schalick had 1 team point deduction (taunting 285).

BURLINGTON TWP. 37, PENNSVILLE 34
215: Messiah Malik (B) pinned Daniel Emmons, 0:12
285: Trevor Waddington (P) won by forfeit
106: Gina Shinn (P) won by forfeit
113: Xavier Moy (B) pinned Lucas Thomas, 3:58
120: Christopher Daniels (P) pinned Jacob Palentchar, 1:15
126: Kaiem Uthman (B) maj. dec. over Kameron Drummond, 20-9
132: Gabriel Supernavage (P) pinned Lucas Rush, 0:29
138: Anthony Cook (B) pinned Maddox Efelis, 0:51
144: Travis Hagan (P) dec. Nicholas Davis, SV 7-5
150: Logan Kahrs (B) dec. Sky Eppes, 9-3
157: Robbie McDade (P) maj. dec. over Dominick Saulle, 12-4
165: Eric Salazar-Hernandez (B) pinned Cole Campbell, 4:45
175: Connor Ayars (P) dec. Dylan Zerillo, 5-1
190: Jacob Davis (B) pinned Justin Oldaker, 1:48

PITMAN 42, PENNS GROVE 26
113: Skylar Nicola (P) won by forfeit
120: Double forfeit
126: Adriano Platt (P) pinned Devine Arce, 4:18
132: Adam Gonzales (PG) pinned Justin Evans, 3:18
138: Jacob Lawrence (P) pinned Raeed Clark, 0:56
144: Chris McIntyre (P) won by forfeit
150: Jonathan Bruno (P) pinned Jayden Owens, 1:55
157: Tre Brown (PG) maj. dec. over Robert Graves, 11-0
165: Chase Rollins (P) pinned Antonio Garris, 0:55
175: Dwayne Guzman (PG) won by forfeit
190: Clinton Bobo (PG) maj. dec. over Dominic Saffioti, 18-5
215: Isaiah Upshur (PG) won by forfeit
285: Aiden Milward (P) pinned Antonio Cooper, 3:49
106: Double forfeit

PENNS GROVE 54, SALEM 6
150: Jayden Owens (PG) pinned Gabrielle Johnson, 0:55
165: Antonio Garris (PG) pinned Jajuan Anderson, 3:09
Penns Grove won by forfeit at 126, 132, 138, 157, 175, 190, 215. Salem won by forfeit at 285.

PITMAN 60, SALEM 6
150: Jonathan Bruno (P) pinned Gabrielle Johnson, 0:36
157: Robert Graves (P) pinned Jahquan Gooden, 0:51
285: Abdullah Jenkins (S) pinned Nicholas Horner, 0:31
Pitman won by forfeit at 106, 126, 132, 138, 144, 165, 190, 215.

Indoor Track

TOMS RIVER – Salem County produced four sectional champions, two runner-ups and qualified 18 individuals and four relays to state across 10 events at Friday’s South Jersey Group I indoor track championship at The Bubble.

All four champions came from the girls side. Schalick’s Jordan Hadfield swept the 1600 and 3200 meter races. Salem’s Anna Buzby won the 800 and Karima Davenport-White won the 55 hurdles.

Salem’s Dominique Lewis placed second in the girls shot put and Woodstown’s Cole Lucas was runner-up in the boys 800.

Salem finished third in the girls standings with 49 points. Schalick was fifth, Woodstown eighth, Penns Grove T-10 and Pennsville T-12. On the boys side, Schalick was sixth, Salem seventh, Woodstown tenth and Penns Grove T-11.

The complete list of Salem County qualifiers to state are posted below:

GROUP I GIRLS
TEAM SCORES: Audubon 72, Clayton 59, Salem 49, Haddon Twp. 43, Schalick 22, Glassboro 15, Woodbury 15, Woodstown 12, KIPP Norcross 8, Bordentown 4, Penns Grove 2, Pennsville 2, Gateway 2, Linewold 2, Buena 1.

SALEM
Anna Buzby: 3. 400 (1:01.84); 1. 800 (2:22.30); 4. Pole vault (8-0)
Karima Davenport-White: 1. 55 hurdles (8.98); 6. 55 dash (7.76)
Sairis Jiminez: 5. 55 hurdles (10.04)
Dominique Lewis: 2. Shot put (34-10)
2. 4×400 Relay (4:22.25)

WOODSTOWN
Jaime Deal: 6. 400 (1:03.51)
Lisa Covely: 4. 55 hurdles (9.96)
Kayla Ayars: 6. 800 (2:35.05)
3. 4×400 Relay (4:23.90)

SCHALICK
Sophia Longo: 5. 800 (2:35.04)
Jordan Hadfield: 1. 3200 (11:16.06); 1. 1600 (5:12.36)

PENNSVILLE
Megan Morris: 5. Pole vault (7-6)

PENNS GROVE
Kayla Smith: 4. Shot put (32-4)

GROUP I BOYS
TEAM SCORES: Glassboro 90, Woodbury 72, Audubon 39, Haddon Twp. 24, Palmyra 15, Schalick 13, Salem 12, Burlington City 10, Clayton 10, Woodstown 9, Gateway 4, Bordentown 4, Penns Grove 4, Buena 3, Florence 1.

SALEM
Anthony Parker: 6. 400 (53.52); 3. 55 hurdles (8.04)
Kaden Robinson: 6. High jump (5-6)
Gradin Buzby: T-4. Pole vault (9-0)
6. 4×400 Relay (3:39.84)

SCHALICK
Charles Fuerneisen: 3. 1600 (4:40.28); 4. 3200 (10:26.84)
Salvatore Longo: T-4. Pole vault (9-0)

WOODSTOWN
Cole Lucas: 2. 800 (2:00.44)
Jacob Marino: 6. 3200 (10:53.60)

PENNS GROVE
4. 4×400 Relay (3:39.49)

Ain’t life grand

Donelson reaches 1,000-point milestone as Woodstown overcomes slow start to beat Pennsville; includes other Salem County games and box scores

THURSDAY’S GIRLS SCORES
Woodstown 66, Pennsville 57
Penns Grove 81, Overbrook 24
Glassboro 67, Schalick 14
Wildwood 67, Salem 22
Clayton 51, Salem Tech 30

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

PENNSVILLE — Megan Donelson might have had prettier baskets in her career, but not many were more memorable than the one she dropped in the fourth quarter Thursday night.

The Woodstown junior became the 10th player in her school’s girls basketball history to score 1,000 career points — and the third player in Salem County to reach the milestone this season – in the Wolverines’ 66-57 win over Pennsville.

She needed 29 points to reach the milestone entering the game and hit it on the number. She hit the milestone on a layup with 1:57 left in the game.

“I was really determined to get my thousandth point and it put me to drive to get that goal,” she said. “I set that goal for myself as soon as I walked in my freshman year and I just wanted to complete my goal.”

Donelson was four points short of the milestone entering the fourth quarter, but given the weight of the situation they were as hard to get as the final three outs of a no-hitter and made harder by picking up her fourth foul with five minutes left in the game. She didn’t peel away the first two points until 2:41 remained – and they were on free throws. The milestone came about a minute later.

It wasn’t artistic, but it was effective. She took the outlet pass from one of Shannon Pierman’s defensive rebounds, drove the length of the floor and tossed an off-balanced shot towards the basket in traffic from the right side of the lane. It went through just as she was falling out of bounds.

“I thought it was a really good way to score the thousandth,” she said. “I had the defender on me and I got the thousandth point off the defender.”

She is the first Woodstown girls player to reach the milestone since Riley Fulmer in 2022. Junior teammate Talia Battavio could join her in the club as early as Saturday when the Wolverines play Cherokee in the South Jersey Invitational Basketball Tournament at Eastern. The girls school record for points is 1,566 by Tori Smick (2013).

Boys players Luke Wood (Pennsville) and Anthony Farmer (Salem) joined the club earlier this year and Penns Grove girls guard Meely Horace, who needs just two points after putting 38 on Overbrook Thursday, is a lock to get it in her next game against Schalick.

“There was anxiousness all day of is she going to get it, when is she going to get it, how is she going to get it, is she going to have to get Saturday,” Wolverines coach Kara Straughn said. “Once she got it, it was just like this overwhelming sense of relief, like, all the hard work she put in came to fruition.

“She’ll say she wasn’t counting, but I know inside she probably was.”

**Woodstown’s Megan Donelson (24) drives on Pennsville’s Marley Wood (4) in the fourth quarter on the way to the basket for her 1,000th career point.**

The final score may have looked like another routine win for the Wolverines (14-3), but it was anything but that. Pennsville (7-11), playing the best it has all season, jumped out to leads of 13-0, 15-2 and 26-15 before Donelson and Pierman brought their team back.

Donelson scored the last nine points in an 11-0 run that drew the Wolverines even at 26 with 1:27 left in the half. She made two free throws with 10 seconds left to give them a 32-30 halftime lead.

They never trailed again. They scored the first 10 points of the third quarter and by the end of it led by 15.

“I’m really proud of the way we didn’t give up,” Pierman said. “We obviously did not give up. We pushed back, we fought harder and it showed. We knew we could play better. We knew we were better than that. Eventually something has to change, especially when we know how we can win.”
Pennsville built its early lead by making layups inside Woodstown’s 2-3 zone and caught the Wolverines on a cold start.

Taylor Bass got it started with a 3 and two free throws. Marley Wood made three buckets and Bella Farina hit two free throws. Suddenly it was 13-0 and the Wolverines called time looking for energy. It was 17-8 at quarter’s end.

“We talked about what the best way to open up the court to get open looks, we talked about where the cuts need to be,” Eagles coach Sam Trapp said. “As long as that kept happening we kept scoring.”

The quick start wasn’t without a hitch, however. Post Bella Farina picked up three fouls in the first six and a half minutes and sat the rest of the half.

Meanwhile, the Wolverines were just stuck in the mud. They missed their first 11 shots and had five turnovers before Donelson finally broke the ice off an inbounds play with 2:34 left in the first quarter. They shot 2-for-14 from the floor in the quarter.

The Eagles’ inspired play continued through the first half of the second quarter, extending the lead to 26-15. The Wolverines were 7-of-25 from the field before Donelson and Co. started the charge to get back in the game.

“Their two leading scorers were creeping into their 1,000, that always makes a kid nervous, that kind of got in their head a little bit and this is the first time they’ve seen us at full strength and now they’re being able to see what the girls Pennsville basketball team can really bring,” Trapp said. “I think that was what executed that great 13-0 stretch at the beginning.

“I’ve been putting a big emphasis on playing together, looking ahead, focusing on using each other’s strength and I think that’s a big component. I keep telling the girls when we play together, when we’re sharing the ball, distributing the ball, making everybody work to help us get to a good place we play our best basketball.”

Nora Ausland led the Eagles with 21 points. Wood had 15.

Donelson’s 29 points matched her season-high. Pierman had 12 points and 15 rebounds for her fourth straight double-double. Battavio had 21 points and needs 19 to become the next member of Woodstown’s 1,000-Point Club.

WOODSTOWN 66, PENNSVILLE 57
WOODSTOWN (14-3) — Talia Battavio 7 4-4 21, Megan Donelson 9 7-8 29, Gianna Mairoini 1 0-2 2, Alyssa Baber 0 1-2 1, Shannon Pierman 4 4-4 12, Lauren Hengel 0 1-2 1, Emma Perry 0 0-0 0, Brae DiGregorio 0 0-0 0, Jala Thomas 0 0-0 0, Lizzy Daly 0 0-0 0. Totals 21 17-22 66.
PENNSVILLE (7-11) — Celli Ausland 0 0-0 0, Nora Ausland 9 1-1 21, Taylor Bass 3 2-2 9, Karsen Cooksey 0 2-2 2, Bella Farina 1 2-2 4, Kylie Harris 0 0-0 0, Izzy Saulin 2 2-2 6, Marley Wood 7 0-2 15. Totals 22 9-11 57.

Woodstown	8	24	23	11 —	66
Pennsville	17	13	10	17 —	57

3-point goals: Woodstown 7 (Battavio 3, Donelson 4); Pennsville 4 (N. Ausland 2, Bass, Wood). Fouled out: Farina. Total fouls: Woodstown 16, Pennsville 18.

WILDWOOD 67, SALEM 22
WILDWOOD (14-4) — Sophia Wilber 4 3-4 12, Angela Wilber 2 0-0 5, Macie McCracken 9 0-0 25, Saliah Sumlin 2 0-0 4, Rebecca Benichou 8 1-2 20, Cydnee Kilian 0 0-0 0, Mia Cripps 0 1-4 1, Ashley Nagle 0 0-0 0, Janet Gonzalez 0 0-0 0. Totals 25 5-10 67.
SALEM (7-10) — Ryann Foote 1 1-6 3, Ava Rodgers 3 1-2 7, Ameriyona Hunter 1 0-0 3, Kaela Nichols 1 0-0 3, Carlysia Pierce 1 0-0 2, NaeNae Logan 1 0-0 2, Marjziah Bundy 1 0-0 2, Zaniyah Freison 0 0-0 0, Nevaeh Hickman 0 0-0 0, Marissa Bower 0 0-0 0. Totals 9 2-8 22.

Wildwood	19	19	16	13 —	67
Salem	7	6	4	5 —	22

3-point goals: Wildwood 12 (S. Wilber, A. Wilber, McCracken 7, Benichou 3); Salem 2 (Hunter, Nichols). Rebounds: Wildwood 29 (McCracken 9, Sumlin 9); Salem 57 (Rodgers 13, Logan 10).

CLAYTON 51, SALEM TECH 30
SALEM TECH (1-13) — Morgan VanDover 5 3-4 15, Kaylin Beardsley 2 0-0 5, Hanna DeWitt 1 0-2 2, Rylee Doerr 2 0-0 4, Shelby Drummond 2 0-0 4. Totals 12 3-6 30.
CLAYTON (8-9) — Jordyn Jones 9 6-8 24, Deondria Simon 4 1-2 9, Ava Delaney 4 0-0 8, India Williams 1 0-0 3, Janice Blair 0 2-4 2, Kaya Gunther 1 1-4 3, Sophia Petsch 1 0-0 2. Totals 20 10-18 51.

Salem Tech	6	5	12	7 —	30
Clayton	9	12	15	16 —	51

3-point goals: Salem Tech 3 (VanDover 2, Beardsley); Clayton 1 (Williams).

GLASSBORO 67, SCHALICK 14
SCHALICK (5-10) — Ava Scurry 1 0-2 2, Gianna Gaines 0 3-4 3, Taylor Sparks 1 0-0 3, Abby Willoughby 0 0-2 0, Cali Fisler 3 0-0 6, Victoria Basich 0 0-0 0, Olivia Lunemann 0 0-2 0, Carly Vicente 0 0-0 0. Totals 5 3-10 14.
GLASSBORO (11-5) — Sanaa Thomas 5 0-0 13, Tamia Smith 8 3-8 21, Kezia Bracektt 9 6-8 28, Sianna Wedderburn 2 0-2 4, Kimora Miles 0 1-2 1, Ante Davis 0 0-0 0, Jayde Darling 0 0-0 0, Nevaeh Cox-Clement 0 0-0 0, Samyra Lane 0 0-0 0. Totals 24 10-20 67.

Schalick	2	3	5	4 —	14
Glassboro	15	9	25	18 —	67

3-point goals: Schalick 1 (Sparks); Glassboro 9 (Thomas 3, Smith 2, Brackett 4). Fouled out: Davis. Total fouls: Schalick 16, Glassboro 13.