By DAVE O’SULLIVAN
Staff Writer
On X @GDsullysays
HAMMONTON — About two months ago, Hammonton High girls basketball coach Ryan Staiger didn’t even know who Nia Renee was. He introduced himself to the junior transfer from Brooklyn at tryouts.
On Tuesday night, Nia (pronounced NEE-ya) was the reason Hammonton remained undefeated and saw its blistering start to the 2025-2026 season continue. Renee — mostly a defensive stalwart in the Blue Devils’ lineup — drained her only 3-pointer so far this season, and it came at an opportune time. With 52 seconds left in overtime, her long-range shot gave Hammonton a 51-48 lead. The Devils held on by that same score over the final half minute, improving to 13-0. Hammonton and Paul VI (10-0) are the only remaining undefeated teams in South Jersey.
“Honestly, I just shot it. It felt good (when I let it go). I was ready, I was prepared and I was wide open, so I took the shot,” said Renee, who averages 4.5 points per game and finished with five against Atlantic City.
“As soon as she got the ball and no one was playing her, I didn’t even box out — I was like, ‘this is going in. I see what she’s doing, she’s confident, and I was like, ‘this is going in,’” said Hammonton senior forward Sarah Griffiths. “I held up (three fingers), it went in and I just started hyping her up at half court. I was like, ‘I knew that was going in! I knew you were going to make it.’ I have so much confidence in her.”
Staiger said he and his staff have been working all season on Renee’s outside shooting to give her something that can compliment her work on the boards.
“We’ve been working on her shot. This is her first year at Hammonton and at her previous school, they didn’t shoot that much, they were more about driving to the basket. But we’ve been working on it for the last few months. We started shooting more and working on her form. We knew she could drive and that she’s tough, scrappy and physical,” he said. “I really didn’t know anything about her until the first day of practice. I was like, ‘hi, Nia, nice to meet you.’ She’s been a pleasant surprise. We’ve been working on getting some height on her shot, setting her feet. Before, it was always drive, drive, drive. So it was nice to see her first made 3-pointer came at a clutch time. And she had confidence. She had no reservations about taking it. It was awesome. She’s been putting in the work and it’s nice to see that rewarded.”
Sometimes it takes an unlikely hero to help a team stay undefeated, especially as the days in January tick away, and especially against a team like Atlantic City. The Vikings (8-7, 5-2 Cape-Atlantic League National) played their trademark brand of basketball under coach Jason Lantz — getting up-and-down the court, pushing the pace, playing relentless defense and never going away. They’re like a racoon in your attic in wintertime — tough to shake.
The first time the teams met back in December, Hammonton (13-0, 7-0 CAL National) was able to outscore the Vikings 13-8 in the fourth quarter to pull away for a 49-37 win. No such luck this time, as Atlantic City continuously fought back from deficits. The Vikings were down 13-7 in the first quarter, then down 18-13 in the second before tying the score at 22 before halftime.
Hammonton opened up a 10-point lead, 38-28, late in the third quarter on a three from sophomore guard Alivia Ellis, but again the Vikings clawed their way back. A runner from Julia Margliano and four straight points from Peyton Moore got Atlantic City to within 38-36, and moments later a couple free throws from freshman Ayana Frierson tied the game again. The teams then went back-and-forth for the entire fourth quarter before Hammonton’s Layla Cuneo-Snouffer hit a free throw with eight seconds left to tie the game at 46 and send it into overtime.
“The first time we played them, at the end we played more together. In this game, we got a little scared, but we played great and kept it together as a team,” Renee said. “We just had to try to stay locked in (during overtime).”
Added Griffiths, “I was stressed the entire time, but we kept our heads together. Once overtime happened, I was like, ‘OK, this is a new quarter, we’ve got this in the bag, let’s play our game and not let them push us around.’ Once that 3-pointer went in, I was like, ‘ugh, finally, we’re OK.’”
Seniors Taison Parker (15 points), Margliano (10) and Moore (7) led the way for Atlantic City, while Ellis finished with 16 points to lead the Devils and Griffiths added 13 points, six rebounds, two assists, six blocked shots and three steals.
“We know they like to get the ball into the post a lot, we saw that in previous games that they played. So we were like, if they were going to beat us, let’s make them beat us from the outside. We were fortunate enough that, for the most part, we were limiting them to one shot, boxing out (and getting rebounds),” Staiger said. “Jason does a great job over there. That’s one heck of a team he’s got. Even though they have a bunch of freshmen, he’s doing a great job over there. Even from the first time we played them (on Dec. 18), they are so much better than they were. I love coaching in these kinds of games because it makes you think. What adjustments can we make? Which sub are we going to put in? It was like a chess match.”
Griffiths said the Blue Devils were well aware of the challenge the Vikings brought to town.
“I respect (Atlantic City) so much as a team. I’ve played against them all four years of my career and they are always a good team. They are always super aggressive and you always have to bring your ‘A’ game, because if you don’t they will beat you,” she said. “But in the end, we have heart and we keep fighting, no matter if we are down by 10 points or down by one, we’re always fighting until the last possible second. That’s what coach Staiger tells us to do, no matter what the score is.”
For now, the unblemished Devils can take a big breath and get back to the practice floor on Wednesday as they prepare for four games next week.
“It’s been a lot of fun,” Staiger said of his team’s perfect start. “Nobody really thought this. We knew we were going to be a good team. We had a great summer, a great offseason, but 13-0? At Hammonton? We never imagined that. I keep telling the girls to try to focus on one game at a time.”
WHAT’S NEXT: Hammonton travels to Vineland on Monday at 6 p.m. Atlantic City hosts Vineland on Thursday at 5:30 p.m.
