Here is this week’s Salem County sports schedule for the week of Feb. 3-8
FEB. 3 GIRLS BASKETBALL GCIT at Salem Tech Pennsville at West Deptford Penns Grove at Haddon Twp., 4:15 p.m. Schalick at Buena BOYS BASKETBALL Buena at Pennsville Riverside at Penns Grove, 6:30 p.m. TRACK Pennsville, Salem at Ocean Breeze Complex, Staten Island BOWLING Salem vs. Hammonton at DiDonato Bowling Center FEB. 4 GIRLS BASKETBALL Glassboro at Schalick Woodstown at Pennsville, 7 p.m. Penns Grove at Overbrook Pitman at Salem Salem Tech at Clayton BOYS BASKETBALL Clayton at Salem Tech Overbrook at Penns Grove Salem at Pitman Schalick at Glassboro Woodstown at Pennsville MENS COLLEGE BASKETBALL Salem CC at Montgomery County (Pa.) CC, 7 p.m.
FEB. 5 WRESTLING Pennsville at Gateway Penns Grove at Clearview Salem at Gloucester Catholic BOWLING Salem, Salem Tech in TCC Showcase at 30 Strikes
FEB. 6 GIRLS BASKETBALL Glassboro at Penns Grove, 4 p.m. Salem at Clayton Schalick at Pennsville Wildwood at Salem Tech Woodstown at Overbrook BOYS BASKETBALL Clayton at Salem Overbrook at Woodstown Pennsville at Schalick Glassboro at Penns Grove Salem Tech at Wildwood BOWLING Salem vs. Salem Tech at Wood Lanes SWIMMING NJSIAA Sectionals at GCIT WRESTLING Woodstown, Williamstown at Hammonton Pennsauken at Schalick MENS COLLEGE BASKETBALL RCSJ-Gloucester at Salem CC, 7 p.m. WOMENS COLLEGE BASKETBALL RCSJ-Gloucester at Salem CC, 5 p.m.
FEB. 7 GIRLS BASKETBALL Buena at Salem Pennsville at Millville WRESTLING Gloucester Catholic at Penns Grove Salem at Winslow BOWLING NJSIAA Playoffs
FEB. 8 GIRLS BASKETBALL Cumberland at Schalick, 11:30 a.m. BOYS BASKETBALL Pennsville at West Deptford, 11:30 a.m. Woodstown at Cherokee, 11:30 p.m. Absegami at Salem, noon WRESTLING Burlington City, Egg Harbor Twp., St. Joe (Hamm.) at Pennsville Salem, Woodstown, Williamstown at Hammonton MENS COLLEGE BASKETBALL Salem CC at Harrisburg Area CC, noon
Schalick wins 3 as Salem County athletes shine at the TCC/Olympic Conference Indoor Track Championships, also includes basketball and wrestling results
By Riverview Sports News
TOMS RIVER – Schalick’s Jordan Hadfield, David Stewart and the girls 4×400 relay team and Woodstown’s boys 4×400 relay team all won events Friday night to lead Salem County’s contingent in the Tri-County & Olympic Conference Indoor Track Showcase at The Bubble.
Jordan, one of the state’s premier distance runners, won the girls 1600 (5:12.91). Stewart won the boys 400 (50.67). The girls 4×4 relay team of Allyson Green, Hadfield, Gia Martellacci and Brooke Valentine won it 4:23.38
Stewart also finished second in the 55-meter dash (6.61). Martellacci scored in the girls 400 and 55-meter dash.
The Cougars finished third in the girls team standings, behind champion Washington Twp. and runnerup Williamstown.
Woodstown’s boys 4×400 relay team of Cole Lucas, Karson Chew, Anthony Costello and Josh Crawford won in 3:34.41. Lucas and Crawford went 2-3 in the 800 and Jacob Marino was second in the 3200.
The Wolverines were fourth in the boys standings, a half-behind behind third-place Deptford.
TCC/OLYMPIC CONFERENCE SHOWCASE At The Bubble, Toms River (Salem County scorers)
NON-OLYMPIC GIRLS TEAM SCORES: Washington Twp. 93, Williamstown 66, SCHALICK 29, Kingsway 26, Timber Creek 20, WOODSTOWN 20, Delsea 14, Clearview 14, Overbrook 12, Glassboro 12, Deptford 9, Highland 8, PENNSVILLE 6, Cumberland 5, Triton 3 400: 2. Jaime Deal, Woodstown, 1:01.16; 4. Gia Martellacci, Schalick, 1:02.27 1600: 1. Jordan Hadfield, Schalick, 5:12.9155: 6. Gia Martellacci, Schalick, 7.76 3200: 6. Abby Marino, Woodstown, 12:49.36 4×400: 1. Schalick (Allyson Green, Jordan Hadfield, Gia Martellacci, Brooke Valentine), 4:23.38; 3. Woodstown (Sarah Seiden, Lia Covely, Kayla Ayars, Jaime Deal), 4:29.62 High jump: 4. Kami Casiano, Woodstown, 4-10 Pole vault: 3. Megan Morris, Pennsville, 9-6 Shot put: 5. Allyson Green, Schalick, 30-1.25
BOYS TEAM SCORES: Williamstown 57, Delsea 41, Deptford 40.5, WOODSTOWN 40, Highland 37, Glassboro 28.5, SCHALICK 25.5, Washington Twp. 16, Timber Creek 12, Triton 10, SALEM 8, PENNS GROVE 6.5, Overbrook 5, Cumberland 4, Clearview 3. 400: 1. David Stewart, Schalick, 50.67; 2. Josh Crawford, Woodstown, 51.36 55 hurdles: 2. Anthony Parker, Salem, 7.58 800: 2. Cole Lucas, Woodstown, 2:01.36; 3. Josh Crawford, Woodstown, 2:01.53 55: 2. David Stewart, Schalick, 6.61 3200: 2. Jacob Marino, Woodstown, 10:13.53 4×400: 1. Woodstown (Cole Lucas, Karson Chew, Anthony Costello, Josh Crawford), 3:34.41; 4. Penns Grove (Sebastian Hernandez, Bryan Garlic, Knowledge Young, DeQuan Brown), 3:44.88 High jump: T-6. Sebastian Hernandez, Penns Grove, 5-6 Pole vault: 4. Salvatore Longo, Schalick, 11-6 Shot put: 6. Sheldon Goldsboro, Schalick, 43-9
Basketball
BOYS HOLY CROSS PREP SHOWCASE MEDFORD TECH 70, SALEM 61: The Rams got off to a fast start, opening a 20-11 first-quarter lead, but Medford Tech’s Tyler Branson and Nesta Rice came to life and Jaguars pulled away. Branson hit five 3-pointers and scored 28 points while Rice finished with 18.
Salem placed four scorers in double figures, led by Tymear Lecator’s 14. Xavier McGriff had 13 and Neziah Spence and Deshaan Williams had 10 apiece. Lecator also had seven rebounds and seven assists. Williams grabbed eight rebounds.
3-point goals: Medford Tech 9 (Branson 5, James, Rice, Jackson 2); Salem 5 (McGriff, Spence 2, Lecator 2). Rebounds: Salem 40 (Williams 8, Rogers 7, Lecator 7).
GATEWAY 44, SALEM TECH 37: The Gators pulled away from a close game with a big third quarter. Joseph Hayes led Salem Tech with 12 points. Aiden Bobo had 11.
GATEWAY (4-12): Justin Dugan 19, Benjamin Contarino 4, Jake Finger 14, Sean Cawley 2, Dylan Ceravolo 5. SALEM TECH (0-17): Ayden Myers 2 0-2 4, Joseph Hayes 3 3-4 12, Aiden Bobo 4 2-2 11, Sam Battiato 1 1-2 4, Larry Pompper 2 0-2 4, Chase Ayars 1 0-0 2. Totals 13 6-12 37.
Gateway
10
8
18
8-
44
Salem Tech
7
12
10
8-
37
3-point goals: Salem Tech 5 (Hayes 3, Bobo, Battiato).
GIRLS HADDON TWP. 57, PENNSVILLE 42: Alli Kamulda scored all of her points on six 3-pointers for Haddon Twp. Pennsville freshman Addie Johnston hit a career-high four 3-pointers and scored a team-high 16 points.
PENNSVILLE 53, CLAYTON 24 126: Christopher Daniels (P) pinned Cayden Wentz, 1:00 132: Nathaniel Mason (P) pinned Antonio Mendez, 1:39 138: Gabe Supernavage (P) tech fall over William Camp, 18-3 (5:15) 144: Travis Hagan (P) pinned Matthew Kamara, 1:41 150: Steve Benkert (C) won by forfeit 157: Brodie Carey (C) won by forfeit 165: Kenneth Johnson (C) pinned Juan Velasquez, 3:08 175: Joseph Halstead (P) won by forfeit 190: Connor Ayars (P) def. Jeffrey Smith, SV-1 3-0 215: Michael Nichols (C) won by forfeit 285: Trevor Waddington (P) won by forfeit 106: John Sassi (P) pinned Ayden Figueroa, 0:45 113: Earl Wynn (P) pinned Joshua Wentz, 0:54 120: Mehki Dicks (P) dec. Dylan Adams, 4-1
Penns Grove’s Wilson passes 1,000-point plateau in loss, Woodstown girls get back on track; Pennsville boys snap 12-game losing streak, Penns Grove boys over .500 for first time since 2020-21; Woodstown’s String goes for 26 points, 25 rebounds to join 200-200 club for second year in a row
GIRLS
BOYS
Wildwood 56, Penns Grove 42
Penns Grove 60, Wildwood 47
Overbrook 28, Salem Tech 24
Pennsville 66, Salem Tech 49
Woodstown 52, Clayton 34
Woodstown 84, Clayton 62
Camden Tech 46, Salem 40
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
PENNS GROVE – RaNiyah Wilson knew it was going to be a monumental day when she woke up Thursday morning, but it wasn’t until she got to the gym and saw the presentation in front of her for the first time did she realize what a big deal it really was.
The Penns Grove senior was in line to score her 1,000th career point in the game with Wildwood – she only needed half her average to get it – but the celebration already started before she got into Rudy Baric Gym.
There was a set of gold balloons spelling out “1-0-0-0” behind the Penns Grove bench. There was a banner anticipating the feat behind the Red Devils’ basket. There were hand-held fans with her picture on it and baseball-like player cards.
There was even a cake. Now, all she had to do was complete the task.
Wilson hit the milestone on a layup with 4:01 left in the first half, touching off a celebration that included a short video on the scoreboard of her career. The only thing that dampened the day from a Penns Grove perspective was Wildwood won the game, 56-42.
“It means a lot,” Wilson said of the milestone. “Starting slow in my school seasons and then coming out, starting, getting hotter over time it’s … an unbelievable moment.”
She became the eighth girls player in recorded Penns Grove history to reach the milestone and 20th player in school history. With the 25 she scored against the Warriors she now has 1,013 points for her career.
Wilson started her career at Kingsway, but didn’t become a scorer until she transferred to Penns Grove last year. She scored 251 points at her former school – just 19 as a freshman – and may end up with well over 900 at Penns Grove by the end of this season.
Red Devils coach Jennifer Denby wouldn’t take credit for turning her into scorer. She just “gave her the floor … and she seized the opportunity.”
Wilson has scored in double figures in each of her last 20 games and has had 30 or more four times in her last seven. She’s averaging 24.2 ppg this season on a team that has only seven players.
“As a coach it’s good to see the girls reach a great milestone,” Denby said. “Coaches are just put in place to put the players in place. They’ve got to do the work, and that’s what NyNy is, she’s been putting in the work.
“She came here with a little bit of points and she said she wanted to get her thousand. Every day she’d come into the classroom, write down her plan and stuck to it every day. She wrote it down last year at the end of the season, we made out a plan and she went right through it.”
It hasn’t been lost on the college recruiters. At the moment, Wilson’s three top choices are Delaware State, Morgan State and N.C. Central.
3-point goals: Wildwood 6 (McCracken 2, Wilber, Benichou 3); Penns Grove 2 (Wilson, Patterson). Rebounds: Wildwood 30 (McCracken 18). Fouled out: Washington. Total fouls: Wildwood 11, Penns Grove 14.
Penns Grove senior RaNiyah Wilson stands under the banner school officials erected in the gym commemorating her feat as a 1,000-point scorer.
WOODSTOWN 52, CLAYTON 34: Talia Battavio broke out of a mini scoring slump with 21 points, Megan Donelson had 15 and the Wolverines (12-5) played some tenacious defense to snap a three-game losing streak.
Battavio helped the Wolverines get off to fast start with 14 points in a 26-2 first quarter. The Wolverines led 38-8 at halftime, holding the Clippers to only three field goals.
The losing streak was the program’s longest since early in the 2022-23 season. Woodstown coach Matt Smart said it felt “very good” to get back on the winning side of things.
“The team played together,” he said. “Our defense led to offensive output. We had lot of girls get into the game at critical times and perform well. They played with confidence and had a lot of fun today.”
OVERBROOK 28, SALEM TECH 24 OVERBROOK (5-12): Gianna Simon 3 2-3 8, Jael Pressley 4 2-8 10, Lelani Knight 3 4-8 10. Only three players reported. Totals 10 8-19 28. SALEM TECH (2-13): Hannah Dewitt 0 1-8 1, Shelby Liber 2 1-4 6, Shelby Drummond 1 1-2 3, Lavae Scott 1 0-0 3, Demajae White 3 0-0 6, Rylee Doerr 2 1-4 5. Totals 9 4-18 24.
Overbrook
6
10
6
6-
28
Salem Tech
5
4
5
10-
24
3-point goals: Salem Tech 1 (Liber). Rebounds: Salem Tech 50 (Scott 14, White 14, Doerr 12).
Boys games
PENNSVILLE 66, SALEM TECH 49: Wins have been hard to come by for the Eagles this season this season, so when one does come around it’s worth celebrating.
The Eagles snapped a 12-game losing streak when they beat the Chargers for the second time this season.
“We came through a very tough part of our schedule where we faced tough opposition every night and tonight it was our chance to execute the way we want to,” Pennsville coach Joe Mecholsky said. “We’ve been priding ourselves on defense and tonight we let our defense do the talking. The ball went in the basket and it felt good to get back on the winning side of the ledger.”
Jovanni Rios got the Eagles (2-15) off to a quick start scoring nine in the first quarter and 21 of his career-high 28 points in the first half. The junior was 11-of-15 from the floor. He also grabbed five rebounds and had seven steals. He has scored 49 points over the last three games.
“He was the whole reason we got out early,” Mecholsky said. “He was just everywhere. He really played hard tonight.
“He’s been the biggest positive surprise in this season. He wouldn’t have been given the chance to develop under different circumstances, but he’s taken advantage of the opportunity he was given and really ran with it.”
3-point goals: Pennsville 3 (Rios 0-1, Knight 1-3, O’Brien 0-1, Johnston 2-6, McDevitt 0-1, Miller 0-2, Laughty 0-1); Salem Tech 1 (C. Pompper). Rebounds: Pennsville 31 (Rios 5, Meranti 5). Technical fouls: Hayes. Total fouls: Pennsville 23, Salem Tech 22.
PENNS GROVE 60, WILDWOOD 47: The Red Devils put together a big second half to pull away from a tied game that extended their winning streak to six in a row and got them over .500 for the first time since the end of the 2020-21 season. The win also snapped a three-game losing streak against the Warriors.
“Well, in ’20 we won the South Jersey Group I sectional so we graduated that class and the last four years we have been growing the program back after COVID,” Red Devils coach Damian Ware said. “This was the next group of kids that have the basketball skills to be successful.
“But being so young and playing the tough schedule early in the year has allowed us to see great competition and now we are reaping the benefits of it.”
The teams battled to a 29-29 tie in the first half, then the Red Devils outscored their hosts 31-18 in the second. Karon Ceaser and Roman Gipson combined for 21 points in the second half. Ceaser hit three of his four 3s in the third quarter to give the Red Devils some separation.
Ceaser finished with 19 points. Gipson had 15 and Will Roy 11.
PENNS GROVE (8-7): KaRon Ceaser 6 3-5 19, B.J. Robbins 2 2-2 7, Will Roy 4 1-2 11, Jameel Horace 2 0-0 4, Luis Colon 2 0-0 4, Roman Gipson 5 3-5 15, Antoine Robinson 0 0-0 0. Totals 21 9-14 60. WILDWOOD (5-11): Eric Jordan 2 0-0 4, Nolan Mawhinney 3 0-0 6, Trevor Troiano 2 0-0 6, R.J. Blanda 1 0-0 2, Jordan Dozier 1 0-0 2, Gianni Troiano 1 1-2 3, Brian Cunniff 10 2-2 24. Totals 20 3-4 47.
Penns Grove
16
13
18
13-
60
Wildwood
14
15
11
7-
47
3-point goals: Penns Grove 9 (Ceaser 4, Robbins, Roy 2, Gipson 2); Wildwood 4 (Troiano 2, Cunniff 2). Rebounds: Penns Grove 23 (Ceaser 9), Wildwood 35 (Cunniff 11).
WOODSTOWN 84, CLAYTON 62: Blake Bialecki hit six 3-pointers for the second time this season and scored 22 points and Rocco String scored a season-high 26 points as the Wolverines won their fourth straight.
String scored 11 points in the first quarter and combined with M.J. Hall for 18 as the Wolverines (11-4) opened a 25-8 lead. Hall finished with 15 points.
String also grabbed 25 rebounds to surpass 200 points and 200 rebounds for the second year in a row. He’s averaging 14.5 rebounds a game and has snared 65 in his last four games. He also had four blocked shots in the game, leaving him 22 shy of 100 for the season and 26 short of 200 for his career. He has had at least four blocks in each of his last 14 games.
CLAYTON (7-10): Princeton Sackor 4 4-5 13, Nazir Davis 5 1-1 13, Demetris Williams 3 1-2 7, Josiel Figueroa-Marrero 1 2-2 4, James Fritz 5 0-0 14, Jackson Venuto 2 0-0 5, Hasir Carter 1 0-0 2, Isaiah Aviles 2 0-0 4. Totals 23 8-10 62. WOODSTOWN (11-4): Eli Caesar 2 0-0 4, John Hood-McGindley 0 0-0 0, Blake Bialecki 7 2-2 22, Alejandro Vazquez 3 0-0 6, M.J. Hall 7 1-3 15, Garrett Leyman 1 0-0 2, Anthony Bokolas 0 0-0 0, Andrew White 1 0-0 3, Sid Leevy 0 0-0 0, Rocco String 12 2-3 26, Brayden Hall 2 2-2 6, Connor Miller 0 0-0 0. Totals 35 7-10 84.
Clayton
8
15
19
20-
62
Woodstown
25
20
19
20-
84
3-point goals: Clayton 8 (Sackor, Davis 2, Fritz 4, Venuto); Woodstown 7 (Bialecki 6, White). Rebounds: Woodstown 61 (String 25). Total fouls: Clayton 7, Woodstown 15.
Pennsville’s Ausland breaks through the 1,000-point barrier, joins her brother on the esteemed list; Glassboro girls stun Woodstown, plus all of Tuesday’s Salem County basketball action
TUESDAY GIRLS GAMES
TUESDAY BOYS GAMES
Pennsville 67, Overbrook 25
Overbrook 80, Pennsville 44
Penns Grove 51, Schalick 43
Penns Grove 72, Schalick 50
Glassboro 52, Woodstown 44
Woodstown 55, Glassboro 49
Wildwood 82, Salem 13
Salem 72, Wildwood 43
Gloucester Cath. 72, Salem Tech 31
Gloucester Cath. 77, Salem Tech 39
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
PENNSVILLE — Nora Ausland thought she’s be able to go to bed Monday night as routinely and calm as as anyone could be on the verge of a major milestone, but the anticipation of what the next day held proved too much to sleep on.
She tossed and turned all night, and when she did nod off she dreamed of what was to come and then woke up realizing it hadn’t happened yet. The school day provided a suitable distraction, but when she got to the gym and saw the family gathering in the upper rows of the bleachers the butterflies returned.
Once she got in the game, though, the nerves gave way to normal game-day focus and she was able to settle into the game.
Then came the moment of truth. The Pennsville senior became Salem County’s newest 1,000-point scorer and joined her brother on the elite list while scoring a Pennsville career-high 28 points Tuesday as the Eagles soared past Overbrook 67-25.
She needed 13 points to reach the milestone and she hit the number on a free throw with 6:10 left in the second quarter. She hit a 3 moments earlier to get to 999. She now has 1,015 points for her career.
“It feels like a weight has been lifted off of me and I’m proud of myself that I was able to reach that even being out half of my sophomore season and a few games last year,” she said. “I’m glad I was able to do that.”
Ausland scored her first 462 points in two seasons at Salem, and missed 14 games her sophomore year because of injury.
Ironically, she scored her 1,000th point against the team she scored her first points against and did it for the coach with whom she started her career at Salem, Steve Merritt. She scored a team-high 15 points as a freshman against Overbrook in her high school debut Dec. 17, 2021.
Her first points in that game came on a short jumper after missing on a 3-ball, her dad and trainer Mike Ausland said.
“That’s something I had no idea about; completely lost track of that,” Merritt said. “I was happy to be here, it was good fun. And she deserves it, it’s a long road. It’s a good night.”
As much as everyone wanted it to happen Tuesday, there were no special arrangements to get her the ball to make it happen. The points she was going to get were going to come within the framework of the offense.
The first time she touched the ball she dished it off to Taylor Bass for an opening 3-pointer. She didn’t score for the first time until midway through the first quarter when she gave the Eagles the lead for good. She also had 14 rebounds (for 521 in her career) and seven assists.
Her next target on the points parade is brother Gage, who scored 1,144 points in three seasons at Salem before graduating in 2020.
“It meant a lot to me because my brother, he got it in his three years; I wanted to be like him,” Nora said. “That’s what influenced me to do that first. Now that I finally get it I feel accomplished. So now my goal is to beat him, of course.”
“And she’ll beat me, too,” Gage said.
With Ausland safely over the 1,000-point barrier, the focus now turns on Marley Wood’s quest for the milestone. Wood, a junior, is 69 points away from the number.
If she hits it, she will be the third member of her on the list. Luke Wood, who is not playing basketball this season to focus on baseball, has 1,198 career points. Their sister Ryane, a 2022 Pennsville grad, has 1,224 points and is the school’s fourth all-time leading girls scorer.
“I’m really excited because I want to see my name up on the banner with my brother and my sister,” Marley said.
Katie Kline is Pennsville’s all-time leading scorer in girls basketball with 2,110 points. She graduated in 2004.
Pennsville’s Nora Ausland is flanked by her parents in celebrating her 1,000th career point Tuesday against Overbrook.
PENNS GROVE 51, SCHALICK 43: RaNiyah Wilson moved closer to becoming Penns Grove’s next 1,000-point scorer when she went for 31 points and was the difference against a Cougars team that gave the Red Devils a battle for four quarters.
Wilson needs 11 points to join the elite club teammate Meely Horace joined last season and is projected to get it Thursday at home against Wildwood. She has gone for 30 or more twice in the last week as she closed the gap on the milestone.
The Cougars limited the senior guard to 11 points in the first half on 5-of-19 shooting, but she got loose for 20 in the second half.
Penns Grove pulled away from a close game with eight straight points early in the second quarter, but Schalick never went away. The Cougars needed three players to match Wilson’s production. Freshman Navaeh Robinson (11), Ava Scurry (10) and Cali Fisler (10) combined for 31 points.
3-point goals: Schalick 2 (Willoughby, Robinson); Penns Grove 3 (Wilson 2, Patterson). Fouled out: Fisler, J. Cummings. Total fouls: Schalick 14, Penns Grove 14.
GLASSBORO 52, WOODSTOWN 44: The Bulldogs put together a big fourth quarter to upset Woodstown and hand the Wolverines their third straight loss and snapped their 38-game winning streak against TCC Diamond Division opponents.
Woodstown held a 36-32 lead heading into the fourth quarter, but the Bulldogs went on a 20-8 tear to snap a four-game losing streak.
Kezia Brackett was Glassboro’s leading scorer with 14 points, but Sanaa Thomas scored eight of her 13 in the fourth quarter to lead its comeback.
“They were ferocious on the glass today and played great defense on our drives,” Woodstown coach Matt Smart said. “Brackett and Thomas played with an extreme tenacity on both ends of the floor. They were able to attack the basket, grab offensive and defensive rebounds and pressure the ball.
“They had other girls make big shots when they had the chance to. Their ability to close our and defense our drives without fouling made it difficult to score. They did not give up many second chance opportunities to us.”
Megan Donelson led the Wolverines with 17 points and pulled into a tie with teammate Talia Battavio for second place on Woodstown’s all-time girls scoring list, 108 points behind the top spot. She had five of their points in the fourth quarter and 12 in the second half.
The three-game losing streak is Woodstown’s longest since early in the 2022-23 season. Tuesday’s loss sets up a potential Diamond Division championship game showdown at Pennsville Feb. 4.
“We did not execute tonight,” Smart said. “We talk about playing our style of basketball each and every night — pressure the ball, push the pace, try and get open looks — and we did not do that tonight. We tried to force some shots that were not there instead of working to get an easy shot.
“While the last three games are obviously disappointing, the great thing about basketball is we get to play another game on Thursday (at Clayton). We need to find that Woodstown Basketball that makes us who we are. We need to play with confidence. I have no doubt the girls will be up for that challenge.”
3-point goals: Gloucester Catholic 10 (Green, Moore 3, Am. Eggers, High 3, As. Eggers, Hutchinson); Salem Tech 7 (Liber 5, Beardsley, Bazemore). Rebounds: Salem Tech 24 (Beardsley 6).
Boys games
Salem’s Xavier McGriff has scored 56 points in the Rams’ three-game winning streak after enjoying a career night against Wildwood Tuesday. (Photo by Jalen Freeman)
SALEM 72, WILDWOOD 43: Xavier McGriff continued his recent run of strong play, going for a career-high 22 points to lead the Rams to a third straight win that got them back to .500 (8-8) after forfeiting four wins due to an ineligible player. The Rams are 5-1 since the ruling Jan. 13.
McGriff, a junior guard, has scored 56 points during the three-game winning streak. He had 21 points in his previous game against Pennsville.
“He’s been in the program three years, played JV for two years and just stuck with it,” Rams coach Anthony Farmer said. “He’s just a real hard worker, he listens, he’s good in the classroom, he’s good in the hallways, he’s good in the locker room.
“You know, the basketball gods tend to reward kids who put the work in on and off the floor and right now it’s just coming to light. I’m glad the kid’s shooting the ball well, it’s the perfect time of the season, and I hope he keeps lightin’ it up.”
Neziah Spence also had a career night, going for 18 points. Tymear Lecator had 11 points and 12 rebounds and came within two assists of a triple-double. Deshaan Williams also had a double-double (14 points/10 rebounds) and Antwuan Rogers grabbed 12 boards.
Wildwood (5-10)
5
10
11
17-
43
Salem (8-8)
14
16
23
19-
72
PENNS GROVE 72, SCHALICK 50: Playing four men down due to injury and illness, the Red Devils turned to their bench to give them a boost and it came through big to help them continue their longest winning streak since opening the 2020-21 season 8-0. It was their fifth straight win to get back to .500 (7-7) on the season.
Gionni Conrad, a part-time varsity player, came off the bench and scored all five of his points in the second quarter when the Red Devils outscored the Cougars 24-9 to take control of the game. Will Roy scored seven of his 11 in the quarter and Roman Gipson threw in eight of his team-high 17.
“Next man up mentality,” Penns Grove coach Damian Ware said.
Jameel Horace continued his run of strong play with a career-high 15 points. He has averaged 13 points over the past three games.
Schalick’s Reggie Allen led all scorers with 20 points. He is averaging 18.4 ppg over his last five games.
WOODSTOWN 55, GLASSBORO 49: M.J. Hall scored 18 points, including eight in the fourth quarter, to lift the Wolverines to victory. They held off a furious Glassboro rally by going 8-for-12 from the free throw line in the fourth quarter. Rocco String had 13 points and Garrett Leyman 11.
GLASSBORO (6-9): Davon Barr 0 0-0 0, Xavier Sabb 3 0-4 7, Adien Harris 4 0-0 8, Tae Thomas 1 2-2 4, Kenny Smith 10 4-5 25, Alex Adeleye 1 2-2 5, Will Boggins 0 0-0 0. Totals 19 8-13 49. WOODSTOWN (10-4): Eli Caesar 0 1-2 1, Blake Bialecki 2 3-4 9, Alejandro Vazquez 2 1-2 6, M.J. Hall 6 5-6 18, Garrett Leyman 3 1-2 8, Rocco String 6 1-2 13, Brayden Hall 0 0-0 0. Totals 19 12-18 55.
OVERBROOK 80, PENNSVILLE 44: Lamar Little scored 27 points and the Rams hit 12 3-pointers to hand the Eagles their 12th straight loss. The Rams have won 13 in a row. Jovanni Rios led Pennsville with a career-high 17 points.
Ausland, Wood move closer to 1,000-point plateau, but Pennsville drops close game with Haddon Heights
MONDAY’S GIRLS GAMES Cinnaminson 50, Woodstown 44 Gateway 57, Salem Tech 20 Gloucester City 36, Schalick 16 Haddon Heights 53, Pennsville 48 Palmyra at Salem MONDAY’S BOYS GAME Bordentown 51, Schalick 39
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
PENNSVILLE — Nora Ausland can’t wait for Pennsville’s next game for two important reasons: she’s projected to hit the 1,000-point milestone and to put Monday’s loss to Haddon Heights behind her.
The Pennsville senior moved seven points closer to the career milestone, but the Eagles lost to the Garnets 53-48.
She now needs 13 points to become the newest member of Salem County’s 1,000-point club and join her brother Gage in the elite group. It’s expected to come Tuesday when the Eagles (10-4) host Overbrook, a team they beat by 37 in the first meeting this season.
“I’m excited (anticipating Tuesday’s game) because today was a mess,” Ausland said. “It shouldn’t have been like that at all, but you can’t change it, so tomorrow will be a better game.”
The points she gets Tuesday will come within the framework of the offense, just as they were going to happen Monday. Ausland had 10 in the earlier meeting with Overbrook and 25 against it last year.
“It is better that way,” she said, “because the more nerves, the more that I miss my shots. I try not to think about it and just let it happen when it happens.”
When it does happen, Eagles coach Steve Merritt said, it will bring a “collective sigh of relief” because it has been on everyone’s radar all season.
And after it hits, the focus will shift to Marley Wood’s pursuit of 1,000. The junior guard led the Eagles Monday with 16 points and now has 923 in her career. She hit four 3-pointers in the game and has 82 in her career.
Ausland might have been held to single digits by the Garnets, but she helped the Eagles (10-4) in a number of other ways. She had 11 rebounds and several steals and assists. She made back-to-back steals early in the third quarter that Taylor Bass turned into runout layups in a 7-0 run that drew the teams even after the Eagles trailed by 14 early in the game.
The areas that hurt them most were rebounding and 3-point defense. The Garnets (12-5) hit 10 3-pointers. Every time the Eagles got close, the Garnets hit another to keep their hosts at bay. Leading scorer Emma Harris (21 points) hit four, Brielle Connor three and CeCe Matthews (12 points) two.
“Those were two points of emphasis pre-game,” Merritt said. “We said No. 3 (Harris), No. 22 (Sami Szabo), they love 3s. No. 5 (Matthews) came out and hit a couple right away; now I’ve got three people to worry about.
“And rebounding. I said at some point during the course of the game no ball should hit the floor. We came up short in those areas.”
Here is this week’s Salem County sports schedule for the week of Jan. 26-Feb. 2; all games 5:30 p.m. unless noted
JAN. 27 GIRLS BASKETBALL Haddon Heights at Pennsville, 4 p.m. Gloucester City at Schalick Palmyra at Salem, 4 p.m. Salem Tech at Gateway Woodstown at Cinnaminson, 4 p.m. BOYS BASKETBALL Schalick at Bordentown, 6:30 p.m. SWIMMING Salem vs. Woodstown at GCIT, 7 p.m. BOWLING Salem vs. Clayton at Bolero Lanes JAN. 28 GIRLS BASKETBALL Gloucester Catholic at Salem Tech, 4 p.m. Overbrook at Pennsville Salem at Wildwood Schalick at Penns Grove, 4 p.m. Woodstown at Glassboro, 4 p.m. BOYS BASKETBALL Glassboro at Woodstown Pennsville at Overbrook Penns Grove at Schalick Salem Tech at Gloucester Catholic Wildwood at Salem BOWLING Salem vs. Salem Tech at Wood Lanes WRESTLING Penns Grove at Riverside, 5 p.m. Salem, Holy Spirit at Oakcrest, 5 p.m. MENS COLLEGE BASKETBALL Salem CC at CC of Philadelphia, 7 p.m. WOMENS COLLEGE BASKETBALL Union at Salem CC, 5 p.m. JAN. 29 WRESTLING Clayton at Salem, 5 p.m. Cumberland at Woodstown, 6 p.m. Pennsville at Gloucester Catholic, 6 p.m. Pitman at Schalick BOWLING Salem Tech vs. Lindenwold at Wood Lanes SWIMMING Tri-County Conference Showcase at GCIT, 3:30 p.m. JAN. 30 GIRLS BASKETBALL Schalick at Paulsboro Wildwood at Penns Grove, 4 p.m. Camden Tech at Salem Overbrook at Salem Tech Woodstown at Clayton, 7 p.m. BOYS BASKETBALL Pennsville at Salem Tech, 4 p.m. Clayton at Woodstown Penns Grove at Wildwood BOWLING Salem vs. Clayton at Wood Lanes, 4 p.m. JAN. 31 GIRLS BASKETBALL Pennsville at Haddon Twp. Salem Tech at Camden Tech Winslow at Salem BOYS BASKETBALL Gateway at Salem Tech Salem vs. Medford Tech at Holy Cross, 7 p.m. WRESTLING Clayton at Pennsville, 7 p.m. Penns Grove at Gloucester Catholic, 7 p.m. TRACK Tri-County & Olympic Conference at Bennett Center, Toms River FEB. 1 GIRLS BASKETBALL Camden Catholic at Pennsville, 1 p.m. BOYS BASKETBALL Oakcrest at Pennsville, 11:30 p.m. Schalick at Buena, 11:30 a.m. Woodstown at Bridgeton, 11:30 a.m. Deptford at Penns Grove, 1 p.m. WRESTLING Pennsville, Clearview, Hammonton at Central Regional, 10 a.m. Pennsville girls at Eastern, 9 a.m. Penns Grove vs. Bordentown, Vineland, Winslow Salem, Schalick, Palmyra at Lindenwold, 9 a.m. MENS COLLEGE BASKETBALL Luzerne County CC at Salem CC, noon WOMENS COLLEGE BASKETBALL Salem CC at Raritan Valley CC, noon
FEB. 2 GIRLS BASKETBALL Woodstown at Eastern, 10 a.m.
Woodstown falls in SJIBT, Pennsville edges Delsea in regular-season game; Woodstown pins loss on Pennsville in wrestling
FRIDAY GIRLS GAMES
FRIDAY BOYS GAMES
Shawnee 53, Woodstown 38 (SJIBT)
Buena 46, Salem Tech 44
Pennsville 51, Delsea 46
GCIT at Salem Tech
Buena at Salem
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
WOODSTOWN — It takes really, really good defense to beat the Woodstown girls basketball team. Shawnee came in with a specific approach Friday night and played its best defensive game of the year.
The Group 3 Renegades held Woodstown to six field goals over the first three quarters and went on to a 53-38 win in the quarterfinals of the South Jersey Invitational Basketball Tournament. The loss snapped the Wolverines’ seven-game winning streak.
“We’ve been working, working, working (on their defense), but tonight we got rewarded for it,” Shawnee coach Mike Spera said.
Megan Donelson hit a 3-pointer and a three-point play to give Woodstown (11-3) early leads of 3-0 and 6-5, but the Wolverines only got two more baskets the rest of the half — Talia Battavio’s 3-pointer with 15 seconds left in the first quarter and Donelson’s 2-on-1 layup with Emma Perry with 1:57 left in the half. They had just two field goals and six points in the third quarter as Shawnee stretched its lead to 37-23 after 24 minutes.
The Renegades focused on clamping down Battavio and Donelson and held the two 1,400-point scorers to 16 combined points through three quarters; they did combine for all 15 of Woodstown’s points in the fourth. Battavio finished with 15 and Donelson had 17.
“I thought in the first half we came out a bit soft,” Woodstown coach Matt Smart said. “We weren’t boxing out, we weren’t finding our girl, we weren’t playing aggressive defense. At halftime we challenged the girls. I don’t think the score will show it, but I think they came out and played a lot tougher (in the second half).”
Even though the Renegades are just .500 on the ledger (8-8), the schedule they’ve played leading up to the game prepared them for the Wolverines.
“They’re a .500 team record wise, but they’re definitely talent-wise, skill-wise, not a .500 team,” Smart said. “They’ve played some of the toughest teams in South Jersey each and every week and compete on a high level. They have size, they have strength, they have girls with high basketball IQs and it kind of stifled us for a little bit.”
In addition to their tight defense, the Renegades often got behind the Woodstown defense for at least eight back-door layups that helped extend their lead. Olivia Gasik (18), Maggie Lutz (16) and Noelle Thomas were often the recipient of those crisp entry passes and they combined for 40 points. Gasik had 12 in the second half.
“It’s something we’ve been working on,” Spera said. “We want to reverse the ball, cut hard, share it on offense. Sometimes we over-dribble, but I thought tonight we did a really good job of cutting to the basket and finding our cutters. Made some good passes.”
Shawnee, the No. 3 seed in the West bracket, advances to the SJIBT Elite Eight, which will be reseeded Monday. Woodstown, the 2-seed in the West, plays in a consolation game at 10 a.m. Feb. 2 against Eastern at Eastern.
PENNSVILLE 51, DELSEA 46: After giving up its nine-point halftime lead by the end of the third quarter, the Eagles “knuckled down” in the fourth and hit 5 of 8 free throws to pull away from their hosts. The Eagles were 8-of-11 from the line in the second half.
Nora Ausland and Marley Wood hit big shots in the field and at the line in the fourth quarter and finished with 14 and 12 points, respectively. Taylor Bass was Pennsville’s leading scorer with 16 points. Ausland grabbed a team-high 14 rebounds.
The Eagles trailed 45-44 with 1:20 to play. Wood and Ausland both hit buckets over the next 30 seconds to give them ahead for good.
Delsea’s Angelina Rodriguez hit a free throw at 24.6 to make it a two-point game. A series of turnovers, fouls and missed free throws over the next 16 seconds intensified the drama. Delsea’s Juliana Baez hit one of two free throws with eight seconds left to make it a one-point game. Ausland hit a free throw with six seconds to go and then two more with two seconds left to bring the final margin.
Wood’s points pushed her over 900 for her career. Ausland moved within 20 points of 1,000 and is projected to reach the milestone in one of the next two games.
“Reaching 1,000 points has always been something I set out to do since I can remember,” Ausland said. “Basketball has always been in my life with my brother (Gage) playing (and) my Dad coaching and training. I got to watch all his games, watched my Dad train him and I fell in love with the game.
“After watching Gage score his 1,000 (at Salem), I knew I was going to do the same. My brother is the best player I have ever seen play and I wanted to do what he did. Now, I want to beat his total (1144). I can’t wait to get my 1,000 and it’s great that it worked out to be home with all my teammates. I wouldn’t be able to reach my goal without my teammates. I just want to get 1,000 so it can be over.”
When it happens she will be the 109th player in Salem County to reach the milestone and 43rd girl. She could be the first of three players to reach the milestone this season. Wood is currently at 908 points and Penns Grove’s RaNiyah Wilson has 938.
Baez hit five 3-pointers – three in Delsea’s third-quarter comeback — and led the Crusaders with 16 points.
Penns Grove delivers down the stretch to win wild one at Clayton; Bialecki, Woodstown bounce back at Gloucester Catholic; 3 county girls move closer to 1,000, and more
THURSDAY GIRLS GAMES
THURSDAY BOYS GAMES
Penns Grove 58, Clayton 41
Penns Grove 83, Clayton 78
Schalick 24, Pitman 19
Pitman 78, Schalick 52
Pennsville 71, Salem 18
Salem 80, Pennsville 41
Overbrook 42, Salem Tech 41
Woodstown 78, Gloucester Catholic 31
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
CLAYTON — They didn’t quite get to the number coach Damian Ware suggested when he reminded his players of the test they were going to face, but it was the track meet he predicted. And Jameel Horace was there for them at the finish line.
Horace converted three layups in the final 40 seconds after a go-ahead 3-pointer by B.J. Robbins and Penns Grove escaped the fast pace at Clayton with an 83-78 victory Thursday for their fourth win in a row.
Ware told his team the night before to be prepared to score 100. They might have done it, too, if they hadn’t gotten complacent with a big lead and turned it over so much in the second half that allowed the Clippers to rally.
The Red Devils led by 20 in the second half and 15 to start the fourth quarter, but behind its all-gas, no-brakes approach Clayton came all the way back and tied the game at 74 with 1:05 to play.
Robbins hit his big 3-pointer with 56 seconds left and that put the Red Devils (6-7) up for good.
“That was a huge shot by him, the biggest shot of the game,” Ware said. “He’s been stepping up lately and he’s really coming around. He’s starting to take the bull by the horns in clutch moments and get the job done.”
The Clippers got a layup to make it 77-76 with 42.6 second left and that’s when Horace became Jameel-on-the-spot. He scored on a run-out layup out of a timeout. Karon Ceaser made a steal on the next play and sent Horace off on another run out. Clayton hit a layup to make it 81-78 and then Horace scored again down low inside 15 seconds to seal it.
Horace finished with 14 points. Ceaser led Penns Grove with 26 points. Roman Gipson had 22 and Robbins had 15. Clayton’s Demetris Williams led all scorers with 27 points.
“This is a game where we grew up a little bit,” Ware said. “It could have easily gone from a tie game to Clayton being up four, but we made the plays at the end of the game to win the game.
“We made the game-winning plays and that’s one of the things we’ve been stressing all season – to make game-winning plays in the fourth quarter. The fourth quarter is winning time, so you’ve got to make the plays that are solid and that’s kind of what we did in that last minute or so. We figured out how to win a game in the clutch today.”
PENNS GROVE 83, CLAYTON 78 PENNS GROVE (6-7): B.J. Robbins 6 0-0 15, Roman Gipson 8 4-6 22, Karon Ceaser 12 1-2 26, Antoine Robinson 1 0-0 2, Jameel Horace 7 0-0 14, Will Roy 1 0-0 2, Luis Colon 1 0-0 2. Totals 36 5-8 83. CLAYTON (6-7): Princeton Sackor 4 4-8 12, Nazir Davis 6 0-0 12, Demetris Williams 13 1-1 27, Josiel Figueroa-Marrero 1 0-0 2, James Fritz 3 1-1 7, Jackson Venuto 4 0-0 10, Nasir Carter 2 0-0 4, Isaiah Aviles 2 0-0 4. Totals 35 6-10 78.
SALEM 80, PENNSVILLE 41: Xavier McGriff scored a career-high 21 points and Tymear Lecator scored 19 with six assists and a career-high seven steals to lead the Rams.
McGriff’s night was highlighted by 6-for-9 shooting from the field with three 3-pointers. His previous career high was 14 against West Tech earlier this season. Lecator’s night was highlighted by a career-high five 3-pointers. He made four in a row at one point.
A’Zhone Burden had seven points, six rebounds and seven assists, and Antwuan Rogers grabbed 10 rebounds.
WOODSTOWN 78, GLOUCESTER CATHOLIC 31: Wolverines junior Blake Bialecki had an eventful day. He scored a career-high 28 points on the strength of 6-for-9 shooting from 3-point range and then after a quick change in the gym and drive back to Woodstown was installed as a member of the National Honor Society.
“It was definitely a very fun day,” he said.
Bialecki hit three 3s without missing in the first half as the Wolverines opened a 39-16 lead and three in the fourth quarter. His previous career high was 26 points against Salem Tech. He hit seven 3-pointers in that game.
“This one definitely felt better because it was against a better team and it was kind of must-win game for us after taking a tough loss yesterday,” he said. “It was a game we knew we needed.”
The Wolverines (8-4) matched their season-high with 12 3-pointers as a team. The win was a big rebound for them after a tough loss at Penns Grove the day before.
“We definitely bounced back,” Bialecki said. “It was the best response I’ve ever had in this sport personally.”
In addition to their second-highest scoring output of the season, the Wolverines did a masterful job defensively on Jack Mustaro, holding the Rams’ all-time leading scorer to just seven points. It was only the second time in 50 games Mustaro has been held out of double digits and the first time since Rancocas Valley held him to seven in December 2023.
“We had a game plan for Mustaro and we executed it really well,” Bialecki said. “We didn’t have (a dedicated) someone just deny him. We played our normal defense but if he came into a person’s zone, they denied him, if he went to another person’s zone, they denied him, and if he went to another person’s zone, they denied him. It was more of a team effort. It wasn’t just one guy guarding him.”
WOODSTOWN (8-4): Eli Caesar 2 0-0 4, Garrett Leyman 3 0-0 7, Rocco String 5 4-6 14, Brayden Hall 1 2-2 4, Connor Miller 2 0-0 6, Alejandro Vazquez 2 0-0 6, Blake Bialecki 10 2-4 28, M.J. Hall 3 0-0 7, Sid Leevy 1 0-0 2. Totals 29 8-12 78. GLOUCESTER CATHOLIC (6-9): Jordan Mendez 1 0-0 2, Gary Connelly 1 0-0 2, Ben Cook 1 3-4 5, Danny Zellner 3 2-2 8, Jack Pund 1 2-3 5, Jack Mustaro 2 2-2 7, Carlos Mendez 1 0-0 2, Andrew Ginipro 0 0-0 0. Totals 10 9-13 31.
Woodstown
20
19
17
22-
78
Gloucester Cath.
12
4
10
5-
31
3-point goals: Woodstown 12 (Leyman, Miller 2, Vazquez 2, Bialecki 6, M. Hall); Gloucester Catholic 2 (Pund, Mustaro).
PITMAN 78, SCHALICK 52: Reggie Allen poured in 27 points to match his season and career high, but the Cougars came up short and dropped their fourth straight. Nylan Sutton also scored in double figures for the Cougars (15).
Michael Fisicaro hit four of Pitman’s 11 3-pointers and led four Panther scorers in double figures with 21 points. Aiden Stranahan, a senior playing his first year of varsity with the Panthers, scored 20 points. Elijah Crispin had 15 points and Hudson Rue had a double-double with 12 rebounds and 10 assists.
PENNSVILLE 71, SALEM 18: Nora Ausland, shut out for the first time in her two years at Pennsville in her last game, got back in the scoring column and put up 24 in her first game against her old team to move within 34 points of 1,000 for her career.
Ausland started her high school career at Salem under current Pennsville coach Steve Merritt before transferring to the Eagles last season. She scored 462 points in two seasons with the Rams and her game Thursday put her over 500 for her time at Pennsville.
On her current pace, she’s projected to reach the milestone at home Jan. 28 against Overbrook.
Marley Wood hit four 3-pointers and scored 17 points and needs 105 to become the third member of her family to reach 1,000. Izzy Saulin added 11 points to the win.
The Eagles (9-3) shutout Salem in the first quarter 22-0. The Rams (1-11) were coming off their first win of the season. Carlysia Pierce, who had 24 points and 10 rebounds in the win, was Salem’s leading scorer Thursday with seven points.
3-point goals: Salem 4 (Prince, Hickman, Simmons 2); Pennsville 7 (Bass, Wood 4, N. Ausland 2). Total fouls: Salem 5, Pennsville 3
PENNS GROVE 56, CLAYTON 41: RaNiyah Wilson scored 30 or more points for the second straight game and closed the gap to 1,000 career points to less than 100 points. Wilson scored 30 points against the Clippers and now has 938 for her career.
It was her third 30-point game this season and sixth since coming to Penns Grove last season.
She’s on pace to hit the milestone on Jan. 30 at home against Wildwood.
Brianna Robbins also scored in double figures for Penns Grove with 17 points. She and Wilson combined for all 11 of the Red Devils’ points in the first quarter and all their points in the third as they extended a 23-20 halftime lead.
CLAYTON (8-4): Rainelle Blocker 6 6-11 18, Janice Blair 2 1-2 5, India Bryant 3 2-4 10, Ava Delaney 3 2-2 8, Rosa Pereira 0 0-0 0, India Williams 0 0-0 0. Totals 14 11-19 41. PENNS GROVE (7-5): Mikayla Washington 1 1-2 3, Keziah Patterson 0 0-0 0, JaNiyah Cummings 2 0-2 4, Syanna Robbins 0 0-0 0, Brianna Robbins 8 1-2 17, RaNiyah Wilson 13 0-0 30. Totals 24 4-8 56.
Clayton
8
12
8
13-
41
Penns Grove
11
12
17
16-
56
3-point goals: Clayton 2 (Bryant 2); Penns Grove 4 (Wilson 4). Fouled out: B. Robbins. Total fouls: Clayton 6, Penns Grove 13.
SCHALICK 24, PITMAN 19: Olivia Vanacker and Cali Fisler combined for 10 of their 15 points in the third quarter and the Cougars held their opponents to four points in the second half to snap a three-game losing streak.
The Cougars (3-7) trailed 15-8 at halftime, then outscored the Panthers 14-3 in the third to take the lead.
“We made a small adjustment offensively at halftime and the girls came out and executed it perfectly,” Schalick coach John Whalen said. “Defensively, we didn’t change anything. We ran our base zone defense and pressed the majority of the game.
“The girls got much more comfortable in the second half and were able to play with more aggression and confidence.”
Vanacker and Fisler led the Cougars with eight and seven points, respectively. In the third quarter, Whalen said, “both did a great job attacking space and getting quality looks.”
OVERBROOK 42, SALEM TECH 41: Demajae White scored a career-high 12 points and Shelby Liber and Shelby Drummond each had 11, but the Chargers just came up short. Liber, a freshman, hit three 3-pointers for Salem Tech.
Here are the results and details of Tuesday night’s high school basketball games involving Salem County teams
TUESDAY GIRLS GAMES
TUESDAY BOYS GAMES
Pennsville 39, Glassboro 34
Glassboro 87, Pennsville 30
Woodstown 68, Penns Grove 52
Woodstown at Penns Grove (Wed.)
Salem Tech at Salem
Salem 71, Salem Tech 10
Overbrook 34, Schalick 29
Overbrook 80, Schalick 39
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
PENNSVILLE — In the world of high school basketball, you either win big, lose or escape. The Pennsville girls “escaped” Tuesday night.
The Eagles and Glassboro battled through four quarters until Pennsville made the plays that put it over the top 39-34 to get back on the winning track after last week’s Diamond Division showdown loss at Woodstown.
“We escaped tonight,” Pennsville coach Steve Merritt said. “If (Glassboro’s Kezia Brackett) had hit that 3 there at the end we’d have a tied ballgame. We were fortunate that didn’t happen.”
There were a number of factors that led to the game going the way it did. First of all, there was Glassboro’s defense, which may have been the most tenacious Pennsville has seen all season. And the shots that seemingly fell from everywhere at Woodstown didn’t fall at home against the Bulldogs and admittedly took the Eagles out of their rhythm.
But when one aspect of the game isn’t working you have make up for it in other ways.
The Eagles did it by getting on the boards. They collected 28 rebounds in the game, with freshman Jaida Burns getting eight and Marley Wood and Nora Ausland grabbing six apiece.
“I harped pre-game that it was absolutely critical that we get some rebounds,” Pennsville coach Steve Merritt said. “I talked to my two girls in the middle and told them they need to stay in that middle and I spoke to the guards and let them know when you’re not shooting you need to get in there and get after a rebound.”
Ausland was held scoreless for the first time in her Pennsville career as she marches towards 1,000 career points, but she helped the Eagles in other ways, especially down the stretch. She had three rebounds in the fourth quarter, two steals in the final two minutes when it was still a two-point game and delivered a sharp assist to Burns for the win-sealing layup with 8.2 seconds left.
Marley Wood got the Eagles going with 12 points in the first quarter and she finished with a game-high 16. Taylor Bass had 10 points. Freshman Addie Johnston had seven, including a buzzer-beater in the third quarter that gave Pennsville a 31-28 lead.
The Bulldogs were playing without Tamia Smith. The senior was sidelined with a shoulder injury, one point shy of becoming the fifth-leading scorer in Glassboro history.
WOODSTOWN 68, PENNS GROVE 52: The Wolverines extended a number of streaks in what coach Matt Smart called a game of “stepping up,” one in which several players stepped up to fill roles that evolved as the game wore on.
It was Woodstown’s seventh straight win. It also was their 38th in a row over TCC Diamond Division opponents and 34th straight against Salem County rivals.
“We went into the game with our third starting lineup of the year due to sickness,” Smart said. “Emma Perry, who has been a stalwart for our team this year, came into the starting lineup and played great defense with a couple steals and then knocked down some big shots for us in the second quarter.
“She’s always so stoic on the basketball court, just doing her job, but today she had a big smile on her face after making some big plays.”
Megan Donelson hit five 3-pointers and led Woodstown with 24 points to become only the third player in program history with 1,400 points. Lauren Hengel had a career-high 17 points – nine in the second quarter – and Talia Battavio had 13 to remain ahead of her high-scoring teammate on the school’s all-time scoring list.
“Talia went down in the first quarter, which caused Donelson to pick up her game,” Smart said. “She was attacking the basket, knocking down big 3s and making incredible passes to teammates. Where she stepped up her game was on the defensive end and her leadership.
“She constantly puts her body on the line and today she took two big charges. She gave girls like Emma, Kendall Young and Bryn Ecret the confidence to enter the game in critical moments and make some big plays.”
Perry and Young each had a pair of buckets in the second quarter when the Wolverines started pulling away.
Penns Grove’s RaNiyah Wilson led all scorers with a career-high 35 points to move over 900 for her career. It was her fifth career 30-point game and second this year. She had six second-half 3-pointers, four in the fourth quarter to try to bring the Red Devils back.
Smart praised her as a “phenomenal player who can score the ball from anywhere over half court.”
3-point goals: Penns Grove 7 (Wilson 6, B. Robbins). Woodstown 6 (Battavio, Donelson 5). Fouled out: Cummings. Total fouls: Penns Grove 13, Woodstown 9. Officials: Cooper, Brown.
OVERBROOK 34, SCHALICK 29: Jael Pressley scored 15 points and Gianna Simon had 13 to lead Overbrook. Pressley attacked the basket and went 7-of-21 from the free throw line.
Schalick (2-7)
8
7
4
10-
29
Overbrook (3-10)
6
12
7
9-
34
Boys games
SALEM 71, SALEM TECH 10: Xavier McGriff led three players in double figures and 10 scorers with 13 points as the Rams swamped the Chargers. Tymear Lecator and Antwuan Rogers had 10 points apiece.
Salem Tech (0-13)
2
2
4
2-
10
Salem (6-8)
26
18
19
10-
71
GLASSBORO 87, PENNSVILLE 30 Xavier Sabb scored 28 points, Kenny Smith scored 27 and the Bulldogs scored more than enough points in the first quarter to hand the Eagles their ninth straight loss.
Sabb and Smith both hit three 3-pointers in the game. They had four of the six the Bulldogs hit in the first quarter as they opened a 35-3 lead. Sabb scored 12 points in the quarter, while Smith and Aiden Harris each had eight.
Jovanni Rios led Pennsville with eight points. Arturus Franzy had four points, but had seven rebounds and four blocked shots.
Here is the Salem County sports schedule for the week of Jan. 19-25
JAN. 20 BOYS BASKETBALL Penns Grove vs. Burlington City at Woodbury, 11 a.m. GIRLS BASKETBALL Bridgeton at Pennsville, 11 a.m. BOWLING Salem vs. Cinnaminson at Laurel Lanes JAN. 21 GIRLS BASKETBALL Glassboro at Pennsville, 4 p.m. Penns Grove at Woodstown Salem Tech at Salem Schalick at Overbrook BOYS BASKETBALL Overbrook at Schalick, 7 p.m. Pennsville at Glassboro Salem at Salem Tech BOWLING Salem vs. ACIT at Wood Lanes Salem Tech vs. Collingswood at Wood Lanes SWIMMING Woodstown vs. Pitman at GCIT, 3 p.m. MENS COLLEGE BASKETBALL Salem CC at Union College, 7 p.m. WOMENS COLLEGE BASKETBALL Salem CC at Delaware Tech, 6 p.m. JAN. 22 BOYS BASKETBALL Woodstown at Penns Grove WRESTLING Schalick at Clayton Gloucester Catholic at Salem Timber Creek at Pennsville Woodstown at Overbrook TRACK Pennsville, Penns Grove, Woodstown at Bennett Center, Toms River Salem, Schalick at Ott Center, Philadelphia BOWLING Salem Tech vs. Clayton
JAN. 23 GIRLS BASKETBALL Clayton at Penns Grove, 4 p.m. Pitman at Schalick Salem at Pennsville Salem Tech at Overbrook BOYS BASKETBALL Gloucester Catholic at Woodstown, 4:30 p.m. Pennsville at Salem Penns Grove at Clayton Schalick at Pitman SWIMMING Salem vs. Schalick at GCIT, 6 p.m. BOWLING Salem vs. Lindenwold at Wood Lanes Salem Tech in NJTAC MENS COLLEGE BASKETBALL Williamson Trades at Salem CC, 4 p.m. JAN. 24 GIRLS BASKETBALL Buena at Salem, 4 p.m. GCIT at Salem Tech Pennsville at Delsea, 7 p.m. SJIBT Tournament Shawnee at Woodstown BOYS BASKETBALL Salem Tech at Buena WRESTLING Woodstown at Pennsville JAN. 25 GIRLS BASKETBALL Penns Grove at OLMA, 11 a.m. Schalick at Camden County Tech, 11:30 a.m. BOYS BASKETBALL Camden County Tech at Schalick, 11:30 a.m. Pennsville at Clearview, 11:30 a.m. West Deptford at Woodstown, 11:30 a.m. WRESTLING Salem, Timber Creek, Lower Cape May at Haddon Heights Schalick, Holy Spirit, Toms River North at Vineland Clayton, Millville at Penns Grove Woodstown, Hillsborough, West Essex at Watchung Hills SWIMMING SJISA Championships at GCIT, 4 p.m. TRACK Schalick at Bennett Center, Toms River BOWLING Salem vs. Eastern at 30 Strikes MENS COLLEGE BASKETBALL Northampton CC at Salem CC, 2 p.m. WOMENS COLLEGE BASKETBALL Middlesex at Salem CC, noon
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