WILDWOOD — The Ocean City girls basketball team had a terrible shooting day in their first game at the Boardwalk Basketball Classic Dec. 26, but rectified that a few days later in their 41-18 victory over Newark Academy.
In the 49-24 loss to Glassboro on Dec. 26, no Red Raider was able to make it to double digits in scoring and the team as a whole couldn’t put up more than nine points in any quarter of the game.
On Monday, Dec. 30, the girls were stingy on defense, limiting Newark to four points in the first and third quarters and only two points in the second quarter. With the game in hand, the Raiders allowed eight points in the fourth quarter, but it was far from enough for Glassboro.
Ocean City enters the new year with a 3-2 record, which includes 44-17 and 42-37 wins over Lower Cape May Regional and Hammonton, respectively, and a 50-31 loss to Holy Spirit.
Talking about the game against Newark Academy, head coach Trish Henry said she was pleased with the improvement in the shooting but cited defense as leading the way.
“Today’s game was much better. Everything started on the defensive end, which I was really proud of,” Henry said. “It’s always nice when Naomi (Nnewihe) is out there anchoring the defense. That kind of led to our offense.
“The other day we really struggled on our offense, so it was nice to have us get in the groove early on,” she added.
The Raiders forced 20 steals in the game, led by Allie Hudson with six and Nnewihe close behind with four. Marley Ostrander had three, Gabby Henry and Cecelia Mirsky had two each and Meagan Kitchen, Casey Adamson and Kaia Chew one each.
Nnewihe and Hudson each had eight points in the game behind leader Chew, with 11 including three three-pointers. Scarlett Fletcher scored seven, Kitchen had three, Ostrander and Mirsky two each.
Nnewihe is the true spark plug of the team with her tenacity on defense and energy, helping transition the team quickly from defense to offense.
Henry said Nnewihe’s energy “is just contagious.
“It all starts with age, and Naomi being the oldest, most senior player on the team, and her just having completed such a successful soccer season,” the coach said. “I expect her to continue her leadership. The juniors have done a great job and we have a lot of sophomores on this team getting the experience they need.”
“I just hope we play together and play as a team and good things will come from that,” Nnewihe said.
The senior’s main sport is soccer and she comes off a season in which she helped lead the Red Raider girls to a South Jersey championship game. Nnewihe noted that when asked about her leadership skills.
The other girls, she said, “probably know more about basketball than me,” but her support comes in teaching them “that sticking together as a team will take you very far.”
Henry enjoys bringing her team to the Boardwalk Basketball Classic, billed as the largest coed high school basketball tournament in the nation.
“I think it is a nice environment. You get to see some teams not even from the state. You get to see the talent that is out there and not have to travel too far,” she said. “All of our parents can come and see the games …. It’s been a fun event for us.”
Looking ahead, the coach said coming into the new year “we have to regroup. They’ve been out of school a long time so now it’s getting our bodies readjusted to school, being on a different time schedule.”
Team of coaches
Henry has some unusual support on the sidelines with her coaching staff, including former Egg Harbor Township boys coach George McNally, former Mainland Regional girls coach Sue Repetti, former Holy Spirit coach Jay Connell and former Mustang standout player Shaune (McLaughlin) Slattery.
“When it was first discussed about me taking the job, I said to the athletic director, can I reach out to a few people? He said sure. Once I was able to assemble my staff, I thought it was the best scenario out there for me to take the job,” Henry said. “I have four other people who are more than capable of being head coaches. Three of them already have been and Shaune (McLaughlin) Slattery would be if her job allowed.
“It was us working together and realizing if we’re going to do this, let’s have fun with this. It’s a really great experience. I’ve learned a lot,” she said.
“They just feed off each other. They’re all really good people. They work hard. They put the team first, so it’s been a positive. It’s a lot of energy. The staff is great. The kids love them. They’re always telling stories and they’re all laughing about the stories. It’s all good. It’s been a good vibe.”
On Friday, Ocean City lost a close game to Atlantic City, 38-36. The girls took a slight lead into the fourth quarter, but the Vikings outscored them 15-11 to win the game. Nnewihe led her team with 13 points, Hudson had 10, Chew 5 and Fletcher and Ostrander 4 each.
The Red Raider girls have three home games coming up, Atlantic Tech at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Camden Catholic at 4:30 p.m. Saturday and Cedar Creek at 5:30 p.m. Monday, Jan. 13.
– STORY and PHOTOS by DAVID NAHAN/Sentinel staff
