By DAVE O’SULLIVAN
Staff Writer
On X @GDsullysays
In one winter, Woodstown High girls basketball graduate Tori Smick went from first all the way to third on the program’s all-time scoring list. The 2013 graduate was passed by a pair of seniors in the span of just a few weeks near the end of the 2024-2025 season, and those two players — Talia Battavio and Megan Donelson — won’t be forgotten anytime soon.
Two of the best players in all of South Jersey, regardless of school size, both plan to continue their careers at the college level and they finished their careers within 32 points of each other. Battavio officially is now the school’s all-time leading scorer with 1,620 points, while Donelson sits in second place with 1,588 points.
Wolverines coach Matthew Smart couldn’t have asked for a better situation to walk into for his first season at the helm. With Battavio and Donelson dominating on both ends of the court, Woodstown went 19-7, won the Tri-County Diamond Division title, made it to the league tournament semifinals and advanced to the South Jersey Group 1 semis before a tough 46-44 loss on the road at Haddon Township. Battavio and Donelson each scored more than 400 points as seniors and each hit at least 50 three-pointers.
Neither scored more than 300 points during their freshman seasons, showing just how dominant they’ve been the past three years.
“It was a blessing, especially being a first-year coach coming into a program like that, having two talented basketball players — but also two impressive young ladies. It was awesome. They were very helpful to me. We were able to sit down and talk about things and kind of merge some things that they liked with some things I liked. Having them both on the court at the same time was like having two other coaches,” Smart said. “Their vision on the court was so incredible all year long. They always found each other to make a pass for a wide-open shot. Sometimes I was shocked when one would make a pass and the other one would just appear and hit a big three. The elementary school kids always talk about Talia and Megan and how they want to be like them when they end up playing in high school.”
“My dad (Jamie) would say I was always dribbling a basketball, so I’ve loved the game for as long as I can remember. I was about 12 when I started taking it seriously. I stopped doing gymnastics and I said, ‘alright, I want to focus on this more,’” Battavio said. “I don’t know that I had any expectations (coming into high school), but my confidence was up there. I wasn’t expecting to start but I knew that was one of my goals, along with scoring 1,000 points. I didn’t even think about (becoming the school’s all-time scoring leader) but each year I felt a lot more confident. Having a new coach every year was hard, adjusting to their coaching style. But I saw myself becoming more of a leader and playing different styles.”
During their careers, Donelson and Battavio — both outstanding guards who could shoot, score by driving to the basket and get to the free-throw line with regularity — helped Woodstown win 20 games three times, including the sectional championship when they were sophomores. As seniors, they were both outstanding. Battavio had just three games this past season when she didn’t score in double digits, and she had 20-plus points six times. The only teams to shut her down were Cinnaminson, Audubon and Overbrook.
Donelson was just as effective, as she scored in double digits in all but two games, hit five 3-pointers in a game twice and had three double-doubles. As a pair, they combined for 833 points and 101 threes.
“They dictated the pace and they liked pushing the ball and attacking the basket, hitting big threes. They are both very versatile players. Talia did a great job handling the ball, especially under pressure, and Megan always had the challenge of guarding the other team’s best player. She took on that responsibility with pride,” Smart said. “Their games kind of complimented each other. One would draw two defenders and kick it out to the other. They had kind of a telepathic communication. They were playing under their third coach in four years and it was a tough challenge for them, so their high school careers were not easy, by any means, but they never complained. They were always looking for the next challenge. I’m so thankful to have had them for at least one year.”
“Senior year was really fun. It was a heartbreaking end, but now I’m on to the next chapter,” Battavio said. “It was a good four years. It was nice playing with Megan, knowing there were two good scorers out there and that if you stopped one, the other one was going to score. Being in the same friend group outside of basketball helped a lot (with our chemistry on the court). We’re close on and off the court. We both love to run the fast break and we always knew where the other one was going to be. I like that up-tempo style.”
Smart said what separated this duo from a lot of high school basketball players is the lengths each was willing to go to in order to get better. When the high school practices ended, they were just getting started.
“Megan, after every single practice, would go and lift. Talia would go to other training sessions and do rehab work; all sorts of things,” he said. “They were a nice example for the juniors and sophomores to see. It’s a rarity in Group 1 to have one player like that and to have two who are going on to play college basketball, it really was a blessing.”
“Telling myself that I’m one of the best on the court and knowing how much work I put into this sport helps me be confident to shoot the shots that I take,” said Battavio, who’s continuing her career at Goldey Beacom. “I practice every day, even after my high school practices. I would stay after and get shots up. There’s a lot that goes into it that people don’t see.”
What helped a first-year coach a lot, Smart said, was the support he got from the Battavio and Donelson families, as well as the rest of the team. Woodstown may be a small community, but it shows out for its sports teams.
“Their families are ultra-supportive, but not in an overbearing way. You can tell they care about their daughters, they are always in the stands,” Smart said. “That’s one thing that’s awesome about the Woodstown community, almost every single game we have a big crowd come out and support us. It didn’t matter if it was the playoffs or just a regular-season game. Our fans, our community is so special; they care about every girl on the team. I was blessed to come into this small community, it’s very different than anything I was used to. Having been an assistant coach at another school we always scouted Woodstown and their gym was always packed.”
“The playoff games were always so much fun. There were so many people watching, so there was pressure, but I liked that,” Battavio added. “The bus rides, practices with my friends, just talking together, working out together. My sophomore year we won the South Jersey championship game and a lot of my friends were on that team. I still talk to them today. That was such a cool feeling, there were so many people there.”
Smart said he doesn’t know exactly what he’ll do without his two best players next season, but for right now he’s content with celebrating two of the best Woodstown High has ever seen.
“I’ll probably never see it again. It’s something special to come into a program that had two juniors who already had 1,000 points. They never talked about getting the record, but each wanted the other to get it. Talia broke it first, and then in our first playoff game Megan broke it. What was cool about that is the previous record holder, Tori Smick, came to that game and supported the girls and talked to them afterward. It was just a surreal moment to see the three all-time leading scorers in Woodstown basketball history talking to each other,” Smart said. “Basketball is bigger than just your four years at Woodstown, it’s something you can do for the rest of your life. We’ve had so many previous players come back and talk to the girls, and I’m hoping Megan and Talia and all the other seniors will come back and support our program when they can. I can’t say it enough — as good as they are as basketball players, they are both phenomenal human beings and I’m excited to see what they will do in their college careers, and in life.”
