West Deptford Girls' Basketball Breaks School Record Against Heights

The narrative for this girls’ basketball season was supposed to be different—with a stronger schedule and tougher opponents, approaching the heights the Eagles achieved last year, with the first 18-win season in 28 years, was about all head coach J McKeown was hoping for.

He could never have imagined the girls would torch their competition to the tune of 9-1 through the first three weeks of February, with a shot at eclipsing last year’s run and topping 18 wins for the first time in school history.

They did just that Friday night, defeating Haddon Heights on the road to set the new season mark, winning their 19th game this year, 48-26.

“I told people before the season, if we got to 18, that would be better than last year,” McKeown said. “I’m so happy about their effort.”

While the coach may have been cautious about his outlook for the season, his players were confident they could get there.

“This team has come a really long way over the years,” guard Megan Knoblock said. “We knew it would be tough, but we knew if we set our minds to it and worked hard, we would get it. It feels incredible.”

Paige Paratore said it was about self-confidence.

“We’re a strong team, and we knew we were going to be good this year,” she said.

Win No. 19 started off a bit slow—the Eagles struggled to find their shots early, and the rim didn’t seem too forgiving, but the girls broke through with a basket from Gabby Minnite that burst the dam.

West Deptford went on a 6-0 run to close the first, then built their lead to 23-11 by halftime with a little high-pressure defense that caused a number of turnovers.

Megan Kirschling did the heavy damage for West Deptford, scoring 17 on the night, and nine players contributed, as the Eagles went deep into the bench in the third and fourth quarters.

The Eagles now have to turn their attention to Deptford and the opening round of the South Jersey, Group 2 playoffs next week.

“I’m hoping we’re peaking at the right time,” McKeown said. “That’s what it feels like—it feels like we’re getting ready for a little run.”

If the Eagles can score win No. 20 and put themselves in line for a playoff run, McKeown said it’ll be icing on another great season.

“That would be totally above and beyond what I thought we could do,” he said.