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Girl’s Basketball Wins Eighth Straight Game Saturday

January 30, 2016

No one said it would be easy, and no one was expecting it to be easy, but the Pirates picked up their eighth straight victory on Saturday with a 53-47 win over Northern Burlington.

“It was definitely a playoff-type game,” Marisa DiLeo said. “I love games like that. It makes you work harder and it was really exciting.”

It was the second win over a Group 3 school this week as the Pirates took down Cumberland 50-48 on Tuesday.

“It’s a great feeling,” DiLeo said. “Two big schools; two big wins.”

At 11-2, the Pirates are in the driver’s seat heading into their three games next week when it comes to accruing more power points before the cutoff date.

“It’s big power points-wise, but I think it’s big mentally,” head coach Bret Jenkins said. “Northern has always given us trouble throughout the years. Not only are we getting more confidence for beating a big team, but we can really jump up there now. We have three more left next week.”

It was a closely contested game from the opening tip to the final buzzer as Cinnaminson held a 17-13 advantage after one quarter thanks to four threes (two from DiLeo and two from freshman Maddie Parrish).

“The support the other girls on the team give Parrish and Maddie Ogden is incredible,” Jenkins said. “The more playing time you get at this level, the more comfortable they get.

The second three of the quarter for DiLeo was the 100th of her career, making her just the third girl in school history to reach the milestone behind Christine Gannon (116) and Jamie Campbell (101).

DiLeo led all scorers with 20. Fiona Flynn was the only other Pirate to score in double digits with 10 as six players scored at least four points.

“This is my fourth year and Marisa did get some varsity time in practice with us as a freshman,” Jenkins said. “She is the first player I’ve coached all four years.”

“I’ve seen her grow all four years. Obviously she can score and play defense, but on the bench she’s a leader too. She has grown on and off the court and it’s been a big reason for our success.”

The Pirates clung to a 31-28 lead at the break.

The third quarter was very light on scoring as the Pirates outscored the Greyhounds 9-7 to lead 40-35 heading into the fourth.

The fourth quarter was a fun one, with Northern Burlington fighting to tie the game multiple times.

Tied at 47, the Pirates fast-paced offense caused the Greyhounds to commit a couple of fouls that sent freshman Maddie Ogden to the line for two shots, connecting on both to make it a 49-47 game.

The Pirates shot 12-of-21 from the line, good for 57 percent on the day.

After a defensive rebound following a missed Greyhounds shot, DiLeo was fouled and sent to the line for a one-and-one. She connected on the first and subsequent shot to give the Pirates a 51-47 lead.

A second trip to the line for a DiLeo one-and-one with 0:09 left in the game gave the Pirates a 53-47 lead that turned out to be the final score.

“We have to run for how many free throws we miss,” DiLeo said. “I guess it’s an incentive to make them so we don’t have to run.”

Girl’s basketball returns to the court on Tuesday with a home game against Moorestown at 6:15pm.

“We go into each game making it it’s own importance for a different reason depending on who the team is,” Jenkins said.

“Tuesday will be a huge power point game against Moorestown and Thursday will be a huge division game when we play Burlington City. We give each game its own importance.”