Sports
Ocean City Girls Basketball Team Nabs Sectional Title, Avenges Only Loss
The Red Raiders won their second straight title with a 38-31 win over Mainland, according to nj.com.
OCEAN CITY, NJ — Revenge wasn’t the only thing the Ocean City High School girls basketball team secured Tuesday night. The Red Raiders also walked away with a South Jersey title.
Top-seeded Ocean City defeated No. 2 Mainland, 38-31, to win the NJSIAA South Jersey Group 3 title for the second straight season at home Tuesday night, nj.com reports.
The teams were tied, 15-15, at halftime, but the Red Raiders scored the first six points out of the locker room in the second half to jumpstart an 8-2 run and never look back, according to the report.
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A big part of the turnaround was a change in strategy employed by Coach Paul Baruffi, to speed up the pace of the game.
Alexis Paone led the charge for Ocean City, with 12 points and five rebounds. Michaela Baker had nine points, seven rebounds and two blocks.
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Sadie Ford had six points, two assists and a steal, followed by Rosalia Daddi with five points and five rebounds. Grace Sacco had four points and eight assists, and Tori Rolls had two points.
Kylee Watson led Mainland with nine points, eight rebounds and three blocks.
Ocean City improved to 29-1, and avenged its only loss of the season, a 38-25 home loss to Mainland that snapped Ocean City’s 21-game winning streak on Feb. 16.
Ocean City won its sixth South Jersey title in 16 years under Baruffi's guidance, and will now play Central Jersey Group 3 Champion Ewing (26-4) in the state semifinals at Deptford High School on Thursday night, 7 p.m.
Ocean City had advanced to the sectional final with a 47-34 win over No. 5 Woodrow Wilson in the semifinals. Paone led the way with a game-high 15 points, followed by Sacco with 12.
In the quarterfinals, Ocean City defeated No. 8 Toms River East, 51-25, behind a 16-point performance from Paone.
Ocean City opened the playoffs with a 49-19 win over No. 16 Pinelands.
Mainland advanced to the championship round with a 36-25 win over Winslow in the semifinals.
In the quarterfinals, it was a 50-27 win over No. 7 Deptford, and Mainland opened up the playoffs with a 52-12 win over No. 15 Gloucester Tech.
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