Ocean City Girls Back on Top of South Jersey Basketball with Big Win Over Moorestown

The Ocean City girls on the bench couldn't contain their happiness and started celebrating with a little more than a minute remaining in the game. Emily Duggan literally started jumping for joy at the foul line with 17 seconds left.

The Red Raiders are back on top of South Jersey Group III basketball.

Ocean City, the No. 4 seed, ended No. 14 Moorestown's improbable run with a 48-34 victory Monday night to capture the sectional championships. It's the school's third title in five years.

The Red Raiders will play Neptune, the Central Group III champions, at Williamstown High School on Wednesday night.

"We are so excited," said Duggan, who scored a game-high 18 points. "We came in with a streak of wins. We are playing hard, and we are so excited."

"It's an awesome feeling to win," Ocean city guard Emily Gillian said. "It's a great feeling. When we beat St. Peters, that put a flame on our butts. That's what made us get going and play our game of basketball. That's what we have been doing these past games."

The win was the Red Raiders' seventh straight, and it snapped the Quakers' seven-game winning streak, which included knocking off three higher seeds in the playoffs.

Ocean City assured it wouldn't be Moorestown's fourth victim by outscoring the Quakers 16-6 in the fourth quarter. The Red Raiders opened the quarter with a 9-2 run to put the game away.

Red Raiders center Julia Duggan, who scored 14 points, started the quarter with a three-point play on an assist from Emily Duggan to increase Ocean City's lead to 35-28. Julia Duggan returned the favor and set up her older sister, Emily, for a baseline jumper and a nine-point lead.

Moorestown would only get as close as seven the rest of the game, as Ocean City ran time off the clock.

"It's exciting," said Ocean City coach Paul Baruffi who also led the Red Raiders to the 2008 and 2009 sectional titles. “I’m real happy for this group. A few of them were around a couple years ago, but they were more the girls watching. Now they are the ones to get it."

Moorestown, which entered with momentum of three upset victories in a row, jumped out to a 7-0 lead. The Quakers were up 12-4 on 3-pointer by Emily Filoon with 1:30 left in the first quarter, but the Red Raiders never panicked.

“I feel like we came out a little shaky," Emily Duggan said. "It takes us a few minutes to get going."

That's exactly what they did in the second quarter, as the Red Raiders went on a 12-2 run, including eight points from Gillian. The Ocean City guard hit two 3-pointers in the run to help bring the Red Raiders back. 

"I was confident when I shot the ball," Gillian said. "I got myself open and my teammates helped me out, and I helped them back out. That's the way we have to play."

The Red Raiders hope to continue to play that way, but for now they will enjoy being sectional champs.

"We feel like South Jersey champs," Julia Duggan said. "This is awesome."