By Wayne Witkowski
New Egypt High School’s girls basketball team, coming off two Burlington County Scholastic League division championships, enters this week strutting off an 11-1 start and closing in on an Independent Division championship with four division games left on the schedule.
“We have a lot of good wins under our belt. I’m happy with where we’re at,” coach Matt Brogan said as the Warriors, unbeaten in the division, can wrap it up by next weekend and be assured of a favorable seed in the NJSIAA tournament by winning at least three league games in the second go-around of the division schedule. The state playoff cutoff date is Feb. 6.
Florence Township Memorial High School has one loss in the division, and both teams play in the Feb. 10 division finale.
The odds for another title are likely if the Warriors play up to the level they did in the prior meetings with those teams and if Faith Weber, a 5-foot-10 senior forward, continues to play her best basketball of the season as she has in the four-game winning streak that started after New Egypt’s lone loss to Holy Cross Academy, 48-24, in a non-divisional game.
In that four-game stretch, Weber has had three 30-point games, including a season-high of 35 in a Jan. 21 victory over Camden County Technical Schools, 50-37. She also had 12 rebounds in that game. In the four-game stretch, Weber averaged 32 points and 15.5 rebounds.
Averaging 27 points a game on the season, Weber recently scored her 1,000th career point and is 139 rebounds away from 1,000 for her career coming into this week, which would be a first at her school for one player achieving both millenial milestones.
Weber needed 28 points for 1,000 against Bordentown Regional High School Jan. 19 and reached it in the 46-39 victory on a jump shot from the right elbow in the third quarter. She finished with 35 points and also grabbed 17 rebounds that night.
Emily Bausher has the school scoring record with 1,376 points.
“I definitely think morale is a big part of the season, which we had going in,” Weber said “A lot of us played together for many years. We’ve worked hard every game, which gives us a good shot at winning every game. We’re building up to more things and to get better every game, to move forward and have a shot at making a good run in the states.”
“We’ve been taking care of the ball, and Faith Weber has been absolutely tremendous,” Brogan said. “She’s been scoring points, getting rebounds and is very difficult to guard.”
Weber is quick to credit some of that to the support from her teammates, including freshman Holly Wetzel, who has filled in well for injured sophomore Sam Weber, Faith’s sister, who is out with a knee injury.
“When teams collapse on Faith, Holly hits the outside shot,” Brogan said.
He said senior Sara Weirsky averages 7.5 assists and senior Kalilah Johnson has been a good floor leader. Michaela Schenker, another senior, helps with her hustle, Brogan said, exerting pressure on defense, getting open for shots and hitting free throws when she is fouled.
“I don’t look at the stats until someone tells me. It’s not as important as winning,” Faith Weber said. “I’m just proud and blessed to have these players around me. In the end, I could not win without them and their helping me.”
Brogan said the one area that is not as strong is team defense, which he hopes to muster from his starters and when Sam Weber returns, as well as from well-utilized reserves Kirsten Homeney, a senior guard, and Amanda Weaver, a 5-foot-7 junior forward.
“The mental part is a big thing,” Faith Weber said. “We’re on a win streak but at practice, you can’t assume you’re doing everything right just because you’re winning. You have to think about and prepare for the things that could go wrong.”
The closing stretch of the schedule started Jan. 26 against Riverside High School, which New Egypt beat earlier in the season, 44-25, as Weber scored 25 points and grabbed 15 rebounds.
After that comes non-division matchups at Burlington City High School Jan. 29 and at home against Hamilton High School West at 5:30 p.m. Jan. 29. Two division opponents follow on the road Feb. 2 against Florence, which New Egypt already beat, 47-34, behind Weber’s 18 points and 16 rebounds, and Feb. 4 against Maple Shade High School, which New Egypt beat in the recent streak, 58-33, behind Weber’s 30 points and 16 rebounds.
After tough non-division games against Steinert High School and Cinnaminson High School, New Egypt closes its division schedule Feb. 10 at Palmyra High School, which it beat, 50-14, in that latest win streak behind Weber’s 24 points and 17 rebounds.