Avery Jackson hits big shots, key free throws in biggest victory of season
OCEAN CITY — With the game on the line and down by two points in the fourth quarter on Saturday afternoon against arguably their most formidable opponent to date, Avery Jackson confidently launched a long shot well beyond the 3-point arc.
The senior’s shot from the left sideline with 2:48 left in the game found nothing but net and the Red Raiders never trailed again in a dramatic 45-38 comeback win against Camden Catholic at Ocean City Intermediate School.
The Red Raiders, ranked No. 8 in South Jersey, improved to 13-2 on the season while Camden Catholic, ranked No. 7, fell to 11-7. The win gives Ocean City a boost of confidence as the team heads into this week with critical Cape-Atlantic League games against Middle Township and Mainland Regional.
The Fighting Irish came into the game with two McDonald’s All-American nominees in Aaryn Battle and Kassidy Thompson, but Ocean City’s defense prevented Camden Catholic from rallying in the fourth quarter, giving Jackson a chance to play hero.
“This was 100 percent our biggest win,” Jackson said, all smiles and still energized right after the victory. “They are a very talented team and hard to stop, but everyone did their jobs.”
Ocean City entered the fourth quarter leading 30-26 after an outstanding defensive effort in the third period. Camden Catholic leaned on its defense to hold the Red Raiders to one basket over the first four minutes of the final quarter during an 8-2 run.
Thompson’s 15-foot jumper with 3:29 left in the game gave the Fighting Irish a 34-32 lead and appeared at the time taking the momentum in the game.
With the taller Camden Catholic team denying the inside, Jackson let go her pivotal 3-pointer, giving Ocean City the lead right back. That was followed by a couple of key defensive stops and one free throw by Maddy Monteleone and two by senior leader Tori Vliet to make it a two-possession game with 1:15 remaining.
“I felt great shooting the ball today and I knew against this team, the shooting windows were going to be small,” said Avery, who made four 3-pointers in the game to lead all scorers with 17 points. “I had to do what my team needed me to do, and I let it fly. My coaches put a lot of confidence in me and my teammates are behind me.”
Red Raiders coach Stephanie Gaitley confirmed Jackson had the green light, seeing how hard it was to get points in the final quarter.
“Avery’s been making big 3-pointers for us all season,” Gaitley said. “If she’s feeling it, just let it go. We have someone different stepping up for us every game. We had been struggling offensively.
“When Madelyn [Adamson] hit the baseline shot [at the end of the third quarter] and Avery hit the 3-pointer, everybody seemed to take a deep breath and all of the sudden it was easier to be more focused on defense.”
The Red Raiders continued their prowess from the free throw line in big games, finishing the contest 7 of 8 from the charity stripe to preserve the victory.
“It’s an indescribable feeling to beat a team like that,” said forward Vliet, who finished the game with 11 points. “It shows how having true chemistry with your team is the best. They were a really good team and we knew that coming into it. We had to really prepare ourselves for this game and we did.”
Gaitley said the win comes against a team that posed some difficult challenges for the Red Raiders. The Fighting Irish entered the game determined to take away Jackson and Vliet, Ocean City’s leading scorers.
It was good enough to limit the Red Raiders to five points in the second quarter as Camden Catholic took a 23-19 lead into halftime.
“I thought Camden Catholic did a good job taking us out of some things and we had to adjust, but the key was staying composed through that,” Gaitley said. “At halftime, I told them that we were letting them dictate everything. Our strength is that we dictate everything. We needed to reverse that.
“We were a little frazzled because they were playing a triangle-and-two [against Vliet and Jackson]. We hadn’t seen that this year, so our kids were all of the sudden saying, ‘What do we do?’ I told them to just attack it like it’s a man-to-man and just be patient. I told them let’s focus on defense and that will get us back in the game.”
Ocean City returned the favor in the third quarter, ratcheting up its defense in limiting Camden Catholic and its stars’ clean shots at the basket, as they erased the deficit to outscore the Irish 11-3 for a 30-26 lead.
“Every time we go into the locker room, whatever the game is, our coach tells us we’re right where we need to be,” Vliet said. “That helps us reset in our minds so we can get back out on the court and do what we need to do. Maddy Monteleone and Madelyn Adamson played outstanding defense the entire time and I’m so happy for them.”
Vliet said the Red Raiders knew they had to contest every shot against a team that was talented on the offensive end of the court. That meant fighting through screens and not allowing open looks.
“We knew we had to switch on every screen because we knew every person on that team was a shooter or a driver, so we couldn’t give them an opportunity to get to the basket,” she said.
Gaitley said play in the Cape-Atlantic League actually prepared them for the contest against Camden Catholic. Ocean City will now return to the teeth of its schedule with pivotal matchups.
Ocean City traveled to Vineland (6-9) on Monday and will play Absegami (8-8) at home on Wednesday. That sets up critical back-to-back contests at ranked Middle Township (14-3) on Friday and home against archrival ranked Mainland (12-2) on Saturday.
The Middle Township and Mainland contests are big-game CAL rematches. Ocean City defeated Middle Township at home on Jan. 9 in a 40-35 nail-biter and fell to Mainland 51-35 in their Dec. 15 opener on the road.
Ocean City improved to 14-2 with a 40-33 win over Vineland Monday evening. Jackson had 14 points, Vliet had 11, Adamson and A’yanna Morton had 5 each, Naomi Nnewihe had 3 and Monteleone had 2.
By CLYDE HUGHES/Special to the Sentinel
