BY MIKE WHITE
Staff Writer
PLUMSTED – Needing two victories this week to earn a berth in the state tournament for the for first time in school history, the New Egypt High School girls basketball team is poised as it makes it bid for postseason play.
“This is an extremely important week for us and the program,” New Egypt coach Matt Brogan said. “The girls certainly are aware of the situation. We’re trying not to get too excited about the possibilities. Of course, we’re very happy to be in the position we’re in, but we still have to stay focused.”
With wins over Maple Shade and Pemberton last week, the Lady Warriors improved to 8-9 on the season. With the cutoff date approaching this Saturday, and teams needing a .500 record to earn a spot, New Egypt is in a must-win situation against Burlington City and Medford Tech this week.
“We started last week needing to win four straight to make the playoffs,” Brogan said. “I didn’t know what our chances were of accomplishing that. We decided to look at it one game at a time. We had two great wins and are now in a position where we can attain something special.”
In a 40-38 win over Pemberton last Saturday, New Egypt trailed by four points with 40 seconds remaining, but somehow managed to stage an unlikely comeback.
Pemberton clung to a 38-34 lead when Cindy Murray drained two free throws to draw New Egypt within two. Stephanie Partyka scored on a post move to tie the game at 38 with 20 seconds left.
Robynn Frank stole a pass at midcourt on Pemberton’s next possession and Brogan immediately called a timeout.
“We pressed and got a huge turnover at that point,” Brogan said. “We wanted to draw up a play to get the ball in the post.”
Brogan went to Partyka again, who delivered with another bucket for a 40-38 lead.
“She had good position down low and we fed her the ball,” Brogan said. “She put up a beautiful pump fake and then just laid it in. It was a really exciting finish.”
Pemberton had one last shot to win or tie and hoisted a long three that missed.
Partyka led the Lady Warriors with 14 points, 10 of which came in the second half. Murray had 11 points, including two three-point goals, while Frank added seven points to go along with her key steal at the end of the game.
“We got a lot of contributions in this game,” Brogan said. “It was a total team effort as they say.”
In a 45-44 triumph over Maple Shade, New Egypt squandered a nine-point lead late in the game, but managed to escape with the win.
“They shot some long threes at the end of the game, which went in and cut the lead down,” Brogan said.
Again, it was Partyka, only a sophomore, who sparked the Lady Warriors to victory. She netted 21 points, while teammate Kelly Cameron contributed 11. Emily Straneiro had seven points.
“We’ve had a real good season,” Brogan said. “We still have a number of important games ahead of us. It’s nice to have stuff to play for at this point in the season. The girls are realizing all the hard work is paying off. Hopefully, things go our way this week.”