The last game may have ended in defeat, but it doesn't overshadow the success of the entire girls' basketball season.
Ocean City matured and grew into one of the best teams in South Jersey, winning 23 games and capturing the Group III South championship.
"I couldn't have asked for a better end than with a South Jersey championship," said Ocean City's Kelsey Ladd, one of two seniors on the roster. "I couldn't have asked for a better group of girls to play with in my last year. We can say we never gave up. We fought to the end."
It is the end for Ladd and fellow senior Danielle St. Clair. However, for the rest of the Red Raiders, there is at least one more year of play -- if not more.
Ocean City has been one of the most successful girls programs in South Jersey, winning three titles in the past five years.
Since all, but two players will be back, Ocean City plans on staying on top. Ocean city will have four of the five starters returning in Julia Duggan, Emily Duggan, Emily Gillian and Reilly Larkin. Also returning is Natalie Landi, who also started for almost half the season. Also returning are Katie Johnson and Samantha Robinson, who logged important minutes off the bench this year.
"This year we did everything we wanted to do," Gillian said. "We are losing two great seniors, but we are all coming back here and we are coming back stronger."
"We are excited for next year," Emily Duggan said. "We are going to work really hard to better ourselves."
The Red Raiders played its best basketball at the end of the regular season and into the Group III South playoffs.
However, they couldn't get past nationally-ranked Neptune in the state semifinals. The Red Raiders believe the loss will help them next year.
"We learned that there are other teams out there that are really good and it makes us better to play against them," Julia Duggan said.
"Most of these girls are back and it let's them know where they have to try to strive to get to," Ocean City coach Paul Baruffi said. "We may never reach that level, but that's where we have to go next season."
He added: "I'm real proud of their effort."
