NBC junior helps girls basketball get back to winning
By Justin Feil, The Packet Group
The Northern Burlington County High School girls basketball team has the ability to score inside, and when Shelby Dolan can score like she has lately from outside, the Greyhounds are a much tougher team.
Dolan, a junior guard, has been heating up lately and her breakout over the last two weeks makes NBC a more dangerous squad. Dolan scored a team-high 15 points as the Greyhounds improved to 8-7 with a 51-33 win over LEAP Academy last Tuesday before heading into midterms.
” I’ve been told recently you have to look for your shot,” Dolan explained. “I’d look for my shot and if I didn’t have it, I’d pass it. We had some nice passes and less turnovers.”
Dolan’s 15-point game followed some of her strongest showings of the year. She came alive with a career-high 21 points in a 46-36 win over Cinnaminson on Jan. 17. She broke double digits in scoring for the second time this season three days later in a 41-34 loss to Moorestown, before four days later going for 15 against LEAP.
”She’s just starting to hit some of her shots,” said NBC head coach Ed Fitzpatrick. “And she’s starting to play with a little more confidence.”
A little confidence is all it took for Dolan, who is in her third season of playing varsity. Each year, she’s gotten a little more confident in her abilities and become a little bigger part of the team.
”I think I’ve matured a lot,” Dolan said. “I’ve been able to keep my composure and if one of our players gets down, I’ve been able to get them in the right direction and I’ve been trying to not put my head down if something goes wrong. I’m trying to think positive.”
The Greyhounds endured a difficult stretch of games leading up to their LEAP game. They lost games to solid squads Freehold Township, Moorestown and Willingboro to fall back to .500 before beating LEAP.
”The hard games helped us to learn in order to stay in games we have to have all five girls hustle,” Dolan said. “There’s not one person on the court who could do everything. We have to work together.”
It worked against LEAP Academy. While 6-foot-4 DePaul signee Brandi Harvery-Carr had 24 points for LEAP, the Greyhounds held the rest of the team to nine total points. NBC got 11 points from Marissa Rivera, six apiece from Tyler Jones, Jackie Laurenti and Drina Thornton and five from Rachel Dortch. Amirah Terry also added a basket.
”Marissa Rivera, Tyler Jones and Drina Thornton, they really battled against her,” Fitzpatrick said of his defense. “They learned they can hang in there with a bigger, tougher person.”
Their play gave the rest of the Greyhounds confidence that they could get back to winning.
”We were aggressive for the ball,” Dolan said. “They had that one good girl. Our posts stayed with her. She got frustrated.”
The Greyhounds know that they will have to continue to play together as they go through big week that includes four games. NBC takes on Bordentown today and then plays at LEAP on Friday.
”I think we’ve played pretty much up to our potential,” Dolan said. “There are a couple games here and there that we should have won. It feels better than the last couple of years where we’ve struggled. Hopefully we can end strong.”
With Dolan playing more aggressively at the offensive end, the Greyhounds should be tougher to stop.
”We’re pretty post-oriented,” Fitzpatrick said. “We score most of our points inside. It’s really nice when Shelby can get on a little streak for us.”
Fitzpatrick has seen Dolan develop into a nice complement to his inside presence. She’s steadily improved in her career.
”She’s played since she was a freshman,” he said. “She works very hard in practice. She’s one of the hardest workers in the summer. She wants to win, and some of the other kids are starting to accept it. Shelby wants to compete and win as much as anybody on the team.”
This year, Dolan sees a team that is together enough to win more. They had the lead against Moorestown with just over four minutes left, but did not make a field goal in that fourth quarter. The Greyhounds, though, have been more competitive this season overall, and they have higher hopes that her first years.
”Freshman year, it was definitely hard adjusting,” Dolan said. “You’re put in a position you’re never put in before. Last year, was rough because we didn’t do so well. Rachel (Dortch) didn’t come in for 30 days so we had to wait for her. Now this is the same team we’ve had for two years. That’s a positive. We’ve been able to play with each other.”
Dolan is fitting into her role with the team and starting to see how much the team needs her outside shooting.
”I guess I started to get my confidence back after the big game with Cinnaminson,” she said. “I realized if I miss a shot, not to get my head down and keep shooting. My coaches told me to keep shooting. I took that advice.”
It usually doesn’t take much to get a player to shoot more, but Dolan needed to know that the Greyhounds were counting on her.
”I was not confident with my shot,” Dolan said. “I was hurt for a little. I was kind of timid to shoot. Then I got out of it.”
In addition to providing a lift to the offense on the court, Dolan has tried to be a bigger influence to the team as a leader. It’s a step up from her role over the last two seasons.
”Our coach said he needed someone to step up and lead the team and get the team pumped up,” Dolan said. “If no one is going to step up, I’ll try to.”
Dolan has been trying to do more this year to help the Greyhounds. They have had some encouraging games and will need strong leadership to finish the season the way they want to.
”They definitely ask for me to do more this year,” Dolan said. “They put a lot more tasks on me. They want me to be a leader. When I was a freshmen, there were a lot of seniors and they were the leaders. Now they want me to step up.
”It’s tough, but at the same time, I think it’s worth it,” she added. “It’s not that hard. There are seniors. They’re leaders too. We all get along which makes it easier.”
The Greyhounds have been emphasizing playing an entire game, taking away team’s top players on defense, and taking care of the basketball on offense as they head into the final month of the season.
”We are more intent on hustling back,” Dolan said. “We’re not the most talented team but we have a lot of effort and a lot less drama.
”We have to break down on defense and not let the key players go to the basket as much as they have,” she said. “We have to make the shots we have and not get as many turnovers. When we have turnovers, that’s when we don’t win.”
And when the NBC girls basketball team can find an open Shelby Dolan, she understands what the Greyhounds need from her. She just needs to keep shooting with confidence.
”When she can hit some open shots,” Fitzpatrick said, “it really helps us.”

