Maybe if the Northern Burlington County Regional High School girls’ varsity basketball team were to play Toms River South again, Toms River South would miss a couple of 3-pointers and NBC would walk out with a NJSIAA Group III South Jersey championship.
By:Sean Moylan
Unfortunately, that’s not what happened at a gym in Woodstown on Tuesday night. In that game, Toms River South players connected for seven 3-pointers and defeated NBC, 47-42.
After taking an l8-16 lead into intermission, NBC fell behind in the third quarter and trailed the rest of the way. Even though they did cut their deficit to just 1 (41-40) in the fourth quarter.
"We missed some inside shots that we normally make," said NBC head coach Terry Jennings, whose team also had a hard time breaking Toms River South’s full-court press.
Even so, NBC’s only starting senior, Melissa Coover, stepped up and had a brilliant game.
"She (Coover) had 8 of her 10 points in the fourth quarter," said Coach Jennings, who gave Coover much of the credit for keeping the Greyhounds in the game. Coover, who’ll be playing in a senior all-star game in two weeks, also collected 7 rebounds and 4 assists.
Erica Davis also came through with a NBC’s strong 14-point, 8-rebound effort. Erin Walton netted 6 points and dished off 4 assists, while Krystle Hatton (12 rebounds), Danielle Walder and Krysta Sensbach each scored 4 points.
After two torrid shooting games, NBC did not shoot as well against Toms River South. Toms River South’s defense had a lot to do with that, though.
"They had a good game plan. They gave us a lot of full-court pressure," noted Jennings.
Still, Jennings is very proud of NBC’s best season ever (21-4). The seniors on the team have come a long way from their 3-21 freshman season. Of course, Jennings was not the coach back then.
Erica Davis was selected as a First Team All-Star and Krystle Hatton made the Second Team. Danielle Walder should have been honored too.
At it’s heart, this is a young team. But in the biggest game of her high school career, senior Melissa Coover proved there was plenty left in her tank.
She helped her team to come within 5 points of earning a South Jersey Championship.
