The Wildwood High School and Ocean City High School girls’ basketball teams became sectional champions on March 7. Both teams earned the No. 1 seed in their respective groups and did not disappoint heading into the championships.
Wildwood – S.J. Group I
For the first time in program history, Wildwood hosted a South Jersey Group I tournament final in front of a sold-out crowd. The Lady Warriors had wins over No. 16 Schalick, No. 8 Woodstown and No. 4 Clayton before meeting with No. 3 Haddon Township in the sectional final and winning, 42-31. Senior Mackenzie McCracken led the game with 26 points and 11 rebounds while sister Maddie added seven points. The visiting Hawks struggled with their outside shooting, missing all 23 three-pointers, much in part to the strong defensive efforts by the Warriors. Tracey Young, Michelle Lugo, Jen Collins and Tatiana Alston were key players in the victory.
The win marked their ninth South Jersey Group I title in school history and their first since 2008, all under head coach Dave Troiano. They finished their season with a 24-5 record after suffering a 78-54 deficit in the Group I state semifinals to Central Group I champion Bound Brook on March 9.
Ocean City – S.J. Group III
The Ocean City girls have been resilient throughout the regular season and continued to dominate in the South Jersey Group III tournament. With wins over No. 16 Pinelands, No. 8 Toms River East and No. 5 Woodrow Wilson, the Lady Red Raiders earned a spot in the finals with archrival Mainland Regional and won, 38-31. The second-seeded Mustangs handed the Raiders their only loss of the season in mid-February and hoped to repeat in the final. Senior Alexis Paone led Ocean City with 12 points while Michaela Baker added nine points.
Ocean City went on to play Central Group III champion Ewing in the state semifinal at Deptford High School on March 9 and won in dramatic fashion, 58-57 in overtime. Paone led all scorers with 22 points, including four three-pointers, in the win. Grace Sacco chipped in 13 points with six rebounds.
In the state final at Pine Belt Arena in Toms River on Sunday, the Red Raiders faced Pascack Valley and fell, 48-45. Sacco and Paone led the team with 16 and 15 points, respectively. The Ocean City girls finished their season with an impressive 30-2 record.
VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS of both teams can be found on the March 9 episode of Under Review with Pete Thompson at www.capemaycountyherald.com/sports.
