The Pirates didn’t necessarily ‘need’ a win tonight, but at the same time, they needed a win tonight. Following a 69-20 victory over Medford Tech on Tuesday that snapped a two-game skid, the Pirates wanted to make sure momentum stayed in their corner on Thursday.
They did just that with a 59-41 win over visiting Florence to move to 5-2 on the season.
“You have to give Florence credit; they were making some nice shots in the first half,” head coach Bret Jenkins said.
Girl’s basketball received contributions from almost every player on the roster in the victory, one that saw the full-court press work almost flawlessly for the Pirates.
“One of the things we’ve talked about is we wanted to be deep,” Jenkins said. “We feel comfortable playing 10 or 11. We’re confident in that and I think it really ends up helping us in the third and fourth quarters because we have fresher legs. I think the press eventually wears down people.”
Cinnaminson forced Florence into a ton of mistakes; including errant in-bounds passes, stolen in-bounds passes, countless traveling calls and more.
The Pirates led 17-11 after one quarter, but Florence did its best to make it a game by holding the Pirates to just 10 points in the second quarter to trail 27-22 at the break.
“As they (Florence) started scoring more, we had to keep working hard, getting baskets and taking shots,” freshman Maddie Ogden said after the win.
Senior Marisa DiLeo scored 15 of her game-high 24 points in the first half. DiLeo was the only Pirate to score in double digits, but was one of eight who played tonight to score at least one point.
The third quarter was dominated by the Pirates on both ends of the court. The full-court press really took hold for the Pirates, who used a 15-9 third quarter to pretty much seal the victory heading into the fourth.
“We were a little disappointed in the defense in the first half,” Jenkins said. “I didn’t think we had our normal intensity. Our defense is what’s going to keep us in it until the shots start to fall.”
With a handful of starters sitting in the third and fourth quarters, Ogden and fellow freshman Maddie Parrish saw quite a few minutes. The duo accounted for 12 combined points in the second half (Ogden seven and Parrish five).
“You can see the difference from them. With the two freshmen, they looked really comfortable today,” Jenkins said of Ogden and Parrish. “The game seemed to slow down for them and I don’t think they’re really nervous anymore. They are just going out there and playing basketball.”
Ogden credited the veteran girls on the team for helping her become comfortable with the speed of the varsity game.
“I feel with each game you get more and more comfortable as you start making shots. The older girls are all really helpful. They get me involved and they treat us all the same.”
Florence tried to make a run at the beginning of the fourth, but the Pirates defense was too stifling. Cinnaminson used a 17-10 fourth quarter to take home win number five of the season 59-41.
“As we become more and more of a team, you just start being able to read what the other girls are thinking and it helps us come up with steals,” Ogden said of the team’s defensive effort tonight.
All five of Cinnaminson’s wins this year have come by double digits and tonight was the fourth win by at least 15 or more points.
Girl’s basketball returns to the court on Tuesday, January 12 at 5:15pm with a game at Burlington City.
“Honestly, it’s going to be defense again,” Jenkins said about Burlington City. “Not to sound redundant, but we talk about it in every practice.”
“Today was probably the third or fourth game where we had trouble finishing layups and where our free throw percentage wasn’t where we want it to be. That’s going to happen throughout the year, but if we play solid defense, then we won’t have to worry about that.”
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final | |
| Florence | 11 | 11 | 9 | 10 | 41 |
| Cinnaminson | 17 | 10 | 15 | 17 | 59 |
Cinnaminson Scoring:
Marisa DiLeo 24 (3 threes)
Maddie Ogden 9
Tori Robinson 8 (2 threes)
Anne O’Malley 6
Maddie Parrish 5 (1 three)
Angela Oliveira 4
Ally Herron 2
Fiona Flynn 1
Florence Scoring:
Jackson 6
Cosenzo 20
Stefanoni 3 (1 three)
Worthy 6
Ganney 4
Taylor 2
Cinnaminson Free Throws 7-15
Florence Free Throws 6-16
[…] Pirates Move to 5-2 with Strong Win Over Florence […]